gender differential paper IJCRB

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JUNE 2011
INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 3, NO 2
principal for its financial well-being. They further state that there are three factors that determine
this tightness, financial viability, operational viability, and the macro-political climate.
Financial viability means that the agent will be highly receptive to the demands of the principal
from which it derives its funding. Operational viability signifies the agent’s need for specialized
expertise. As stated previously, in most cases the private agent’s authority stems from its high
level of specialized expertise which it brings to the accreditation process. The source of this
expertise is often the industry itself. In fact, accrediting bodies perform periodic quality reviews
of themselves to ensure that they are competent enough to be able to handle the requirements of
their job. The third variable, the ‘macro-political’ climate, refers to the “cycles of broad public
attitudes towards regulatory matters” (Mattli and Buthe, 2005:406). If we relate this to the
accreditation of Jeddah Community College, financial viability does have applicability in the
sense that JCC had to pay the COE an accreditation fee. In terms of operational viability the
COE has its own specialized expertise in which to carry out the tasks of accreditation. In the
case of the ‘macro-political climate’, it can be safely assumed that most of the broader public in
Saudi Arabia would be favorable to accreditation of a Saudi institution by an accrediting
association from the USA.
The Mattli and Buthe model outlined above suggests that the relationship between the agent
(accrediting body) and the principals (the institutions and federal government) is often filled with
a complex interplay of power dynamics. This power differential is all the more profound since
the history of accreditation in the USA is punctuated with conflictual relations between and
among the various roleplayers /stakeholders (Weissburg, 2008:89-155). This complex interplay
of power dynamics is captured in the following statement by Trivett (1976:8):
“The study of accreditation and institutional eligibility is only to a small degree
an educational issue; it is more a political issue, a study of how the power to
distribute benefits is generated, channeled, and regulated.”
This point is underscored when we realize that accreditation in the US takes place at different
levels. At the highest level, governmental and other agencies govern and recognize the
accrediting bodies. For example, the US Department of Education, the Council for Higher
Education Association (CHEA) and the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors
(ASPA) confer power to associations that oversee accreditation at the regional, institutional or
program level.
The authors have already alluded to the concept of accrediting bodies being private and selfregulatory.
The literature reveals ample debate as to whether government regulation or selfregulation
is more effective. Up to this point there are no easy answers to this question.
Governments around the world generally find it more expedient to rely on privately run selfregulatory
bodies. However, self-regulation is not without its problems. Gunningham and Rees
(1997:366-370) are of the view that standards set by self-regulatory industries, or professions,
may be weak and/or poorly monitored. They also argue that self-regulation can lead to a lack of
transparency and accountability.
It is the authors’ view that if the Mattli and Buthe hypothesis is applied to accreditation, then
accreditation itself becomes a sort of business enterprise, an adaptation of a business franchise
model characteristic of the private sector. In other words, the accrediting body becomes the
“franchisor” while the institution/program becomes the “franchisee”. The three variables
mentioned by Mattli and Buthe i.e. financial viability, operational viability, and the macropolitical
climate all support this business analogy. The COE is currently embarking on a project
to accredit many other colleges in Saudi Arabia.
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