GREENEVILLE – The value of a Tusculum University education has received further validation as another academic program has earned industry-specific accreditation and the College of Business has garnered positive reviews for its continuing progress.
Tusculum recently learned the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs has accredited the Master of Arts in organizational training and performance management. This graduate degree is part of the College of Education.
“We have an excellent program that produces graduates who are prepared to achieve success at the launch of their careers and throughout their professional lives,” said Dr. Jeff Burleson, assistant professor of education and MAOT program coordinator. “Like the College of Business, we are focused on quality and are pleased the ACBSP has recognized our program’s caliber for this prestigious accreditation.”
The College of Business secured accreditation for all of its programs from the ACBSP in 2018, and the accrediting body has added the master’s in organizational training and performance management to that list. In its concurrent two-year post-accreditation review of the College of Business, the ACBSP had no concerns for the university to address. This is the latest success for the College of Business, which has received impressive rankings on national websites the last two years.
Besides ACBSP accreditation for the MAOT and the College of Business, they and all other Tusculum academic programs are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Many university programs are also accredited by other bodies.
Dr. Burleson credited Dr. Jacob Fait, the College of Business’ dean, with shepherding the MAOT accreditation process to its successful outcome. Dr. Fait said the idea originated with Dr. Burleson and led the two men to document all elements of the MAOT program and the ways they met the accreditation criteria.
The MAOT program dovetails nicely with the College of Business, Dr. Burleson said. The MAOT blends business-related content such as leadership, strategic planning and group facilitation with educational subjects such as adult learning, curriculum development and learning and instructional design for face-to-face and online courses.
He said MAOT graduates have received excellent jobs at a variety of organizations, including education, banking, manufacturing, entertainment and the military. As is the case with those from the College of Business, MAOT graduates will be able to include the accreditation on their résumé when they list their degrees. This will give employers even more confidence about the strength of these programs.
The addition of the MAOT’s accreditation came at the same time the ACBSP completed a review of the College of Business’ two-year status report. The review resulted in exactly the result the College of Business sought.
“This is a tribute to the exceptional commitment by our faculty and administration to provide programs within the College of Business that support our students and meet the needs of the workforce,” Dr. Fait said. “We will continue to remain on the cutting edge of business education to ensure our students are career-ready professionals.”
Dr. Fait said the College of Business has a five-year strategic plan, which is updated annually to take into account input from faculty, students and advisory board members. He said that process enables the College of Business to make appropriate adjustments to ensure it accomplishes needed goals. That aligns with the ACBSP’s desire that accredited schools seek continuous improvement.
“Our accreditation has been an excellent recruiting tool,” Dr. Fait said. “Employers understand this means our programs meet the rigorous standards of this accrediting body. We want to make sure employers are comfortable and know that the human resources they are bringing into their organizations are well-rounded and appropriately prepared.”
For more information about the MAOT, please visit https://web.tusculum.edu/collegeofeducation/our-programs/graduate-programs/grad-org-training/. To learn more about the College of Business, please visit https://web.tusculum.edu/collegeofbusiness/. Additional information about the ACBSP is available at www.acbsp.org.