I assume that the implication is that the Masters Degree Program in Economic Development is not particularly rigourous, although it it difficult to tell based on the comment.  The CoB may have numerous problems, but to the best of my knowledge the Masters Degree (or the PhD for that matter) in Economic Development is not one of them as it is no longer associated with the CoB.

For readers who don't understand what is going on here, a little clarification might be in order.  AACSB is the accrediting agency for schools of business.  The Economic Development Masters program that is referenced above is NOT in the College of Business at USM.  The courses being offered such as finance, economics, and marketing are business courses.  It is not acceptable to the AACSB for them to be taught outside of the business school and outside the rigid quality standards required by AACSB.  The title of this thread is both true and misleading.  It is true because AACSB will find it objectionable that business courses are being taught in either Science and Technology or Arts and Letters but it is also misleading because it is Ken Malone's department of Economic Development now housed in those colleges that is putting the College of Business at risk and not the B-school itself. 

How many problems at the university stem from economic development and its mismanagement?

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Originally posted by: stinky cheese man
"i'm not sure how this program threatens AACSB accreditation? i just snooped around the net and found any number of economic development graduate programs in colleges other than business and the corresponding business colleges were still AACSB accredited?"

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It may very well depend on the credentials of the people teaching in the program.  Malone's track record hasn't been so good in that particular arena so far.  Maybe you have better information but I heard he's planning to move one econ prof from the coast, hire more USM IDV grads, turn Jud's adjunct assistant prof status into a tenure track job (that's the least he can do for someone he has already named a director) use adjuncts, and fill in with unqualified administrators like himself...yup, AACSB is going to have a field day.  

if the program is not in the COB or the School of Business (which we don't have) how does AACSB have jurisdiction over it? how does it threaten another unit's accreditation status. as i said, i've seen similar programs at other universities (with similar courses) not threaten a COB's accreditation status.

let me give you another example. The university of wisconsin-madison has an AACSB school of business, but economics is taught in the college of arts and letters. what people might consider a business area here (economics) is not housed in the business school there and hasn't affected UWM's AACSB accreditation.

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Originally posted by: stinky cheese man
"if the program is not in the COB or the School of Business (which we don't have) how does AACSB have jurisdiction over it? how does it threaten another unit's accreditation status. as i said, i've seen similar programs at other universities (with similar courses) not threaten a COB's accreditation status. "

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I'm curious about your emphasis on the semantics given that the COB has been referred to as Mississsippi's Business School and wonder whether there is something behind it. 

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Originally posted by: stinky cheese man
"let me give you another example. The university of wisconsin-madison has an AACSB school of business, but economics is taught in the college of arts and letters. what people might consider a business area here (economics) is not housed in the business school there and hasn't affected UWM's AACSB accreditation."

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The econ profs are real economists at Wisconsin with PhDs in economics and everything!  I may regret saying so because I haven't looked at their faculty in quite a long time but if there's a single polymer scientist or IDV grad teaching econ there I will gladly eat my words.  I applaud interdisciplinary programs and if you are referring to one where the students take their business courses in the business school and their geography courses in science and technology and political science in arts and letters then great.  I simply do not have faith in Malone's ability to manage it that way.  The current ad for an economist in Economic Development and the transfer of an economist to that department tends to discredit the argument that they are not tryong to duplicate business resources.

"I fail to understand why the specific college in which those courses are taught would concern AACSB. Courses in statistics, by way of example, are taught in various departments thoughout the university. That is the case at many, if not most, universities. During my graduate and undergraduate career I took courses in statistics in departments of economics, psychology, and education at several different schools. The important thing is whether those courses were taught by qualified personnel - not the locus of the department. Surely AACSB is not that turf conscious."

 

AACSB is very concerned with other (non-business) colleges teaching courses which they market as business.  At another university, a political science department had many courses (human resource management, organizational behavior, etc.) which mirrored the courses in the college of business.  PolySci was marketing their grads as "business trained."  AACSB don't play that.

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Originally posted by: Outside Observer
"At another university, a political science department had many courses (human resource management, organizational behavior, etc.) which mirrored the courses in the college of business.  PolySci was marketing their grads as "business trained."  AACSB don't play that."

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Outside Observer - I hear you, but I was not referring to a department misrepresenting what students trained in their department are able to do. I was referring to the fact that many universities offer courses in statistics (as one example) in multiple departments. Sometimes it is cross-listed, sometimes it is not. There are some other disciplines whose title is similarly used in courses taught outside of the mother department - but those other disciplines do not market their grads as trained in that discipline. As a non- statistics example, your most recent post you mention "organizational behavior." That very title is sometimes llegitimately used by multiple departments. I would hope that wouldn't offend AASCB. If it does . . . tough.

no lexicographic preferences--i understand some of what you say, but we're asking about jurisdictional issues. i've looked at other universities with AACSB business units and other units teaching similar courses. seems to be no problem as long as they're not in the same unit, and maybe, as long as business students can't take the courses. many journalism units have advertising courses as well as marketing departments in business colleges (ala USM). no problem. just because the course looks like a business course, why can AACSB object? if business majors can't take them, where's their jurisdiction?

ED 724 ED Finance

See that word "finance"? That means that they are claiming to teach finance, which is a purely business discipline.

Many fields use statistics and teach their own brand of statistics, but that is not the case here. The program in ED is marketing itself as a pseudo-business degree, and AACSB will bitch-slap the COB if it sees this, unless the COB can convince AACSB to exclude ED from consideration. For example, BET classes (like those for office administration, etc.) train workers to work in business environments, but do not claim to convey information about specific business fields; BET curricula are excluded from the AACSB examination. Something tells me that AACSB won't turn a blind eye to a non-business program that claims to teach "finance."

Some more backstory.  AACSB accredits "business programs" within a university (it's more of a blanket accred.).  Usually, these are all in the CoB.  If not, they go off and examine the external-to-CoB ones, and tie a CoB's accred. to the quality of all the programs.  Biz profs can tell you that many of their undergrads, when thinking about an MBA, go over to ED and inquire about the masters program there.  Malone et al. almost always tell these folks that their degree can be sold to employers as a business degree too since they can take finance, marketing, accounting (etc.), as listed at the top here.  Biz profs know this b/c these students come back over and report verbatim what they were told (to the astonishment of those in CoB I would add).  This program is being sold as a competing "business program" since students can tailor their curriculum to include all those "business" offerings. 

Believe me, this is going to be a problem with AACSB.

robert et al. -- what are the external to CoB programs they would examine? advertising, as in journalism, here? hasn't been a problem. economics? not a problem at the university of wisconsin-madison. what a number of us are questioning, and i'm now about to challenge, is whether AACSB can consider those non-CoB programs in terms of CoB accreditation, if business students cannot take them toward their degree program in the CoB?

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Originally posted by: robert
". . . Biz profs can tell you that many of their undergrads, when thinking about an MBA, go over to ED and inquire about the masters program there.  Malone et al. almost always tell these folks that their degree can be sold to employers as a business degree too since they can take finance, marketing, accounting (etc.), as listed at the top here.  Biz profs know this b/c these students come back over and report verbatim what they were told (to the astonishment of those in CoB I would add).  This program is being sold as a competing "business program" since students can tailor their curriculum to include all those "business" offerings.  Believe me, this is going to be a problem with AACSB."

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I suspect non-business undergrads inquire about the ED masters program because of the "business" offerings at the graduate level without having to take any undergraduate business prerequisites as required for the MBA. And, if they earned the ED masters under the former College of Business and Economic Development, they have a diploma that says they have a "business" degree.