By Dr. Vlad Krotov
AACSB Standard 5 is one of the most important accreditation standards because it makes business schools explicitly accountable for student learning. Unfortunately, in practice, Assurance of Learning (AOL) often presents the greatest challenges for most business schools undergoing accreditation.
Across business schools worldwide, AOL is the area most associated with faculty resistance, missed deadlines, incomplete data, and the infamous failure to “close the loop.”
Importantly, this resistance rarely comes from a lack of commitment to students or teaching quality. Instead, it usually reflects how AOL is designed, supported, and managed within the institution.
The most frequent causes of faculty resistance to AOL are examined below, along with—and perhaps more importantly—what actually works to get past those obstacles.
1. Faculty Don’t Understand AOL
The Problem
Many faculty members experience AOL as a confusing, jargon-heavy, compliance-driven exercise. Terms like learning goals, rubrics, direct measures, and closing the loop can feel abstract, disconnected from day-to-day teaching, and inconsistently applied across programs.
When faculty don’t clearly understand what AOL is, why AOL exists or how it improves student learning, resistance is almost inevitable.
What Works
The following can be done to equip faculty with practical AOL knowledge:
- Invest in practical, faculty-centered AOL training
- Focus on how AOL supports better teaching, not just accreditation
- Provide hands-on workshops using the school’s actual courses and assignments
For example, Accreditation.Biz works directly with faculty to both train them on AOL concepts and co-develop assessment plans, rubrics, and reports, reducing confusion and anxiety.
2. Faculty Lack Time
The Problem
Faculty are already stretched thin by teaching, research, advising, and administrative work. AOL often feels like “one more unfunded mandate” added on top of an already overloaded workload. When AOL is perceived as extra work with no support, deadlines slip and enthusiasm disappears.
What Works
The following can be done to free up faculty time so that they can perform their normal duties and, at the same time, engage in AOL in a meaningful way:
- Hire dedicated AOL staff or assessment coordinators
- Use consultants to handle technical and administrative tasks
- Streamline data collection and reporting processes
Faculty should focus on academic judgment and improvement, not on spreadsheets, templates, and accreditation compliance paperwork.
3. There Are No Meaningful Rewards for AOL Work
The Problem
In many schools, faculty see AOL work as:
- Invisible
- Uncompensated
- Not valued in tenure, promotion, or merit decisions
When faculty quickly realize that AOL efforts are not rewarded—financially or professionally—they deprioritize this important task.
What Works
The following mechanism can be used to offer faculty tangible incentives for participating in AOL:
- Create financial stipends or course releases for AOL leadership
- Establish non-financial recognition, such as awards and public acknowledgment
- Make AOL contributions a formal component of annual reviews, tenure, and promotion
Recognizing and rewarding AOL champions signals that assessment work truly matters.
4. AOL Doesn’t Lead to Real Change
The Problem
Perhaps the most demoralizing issue: faculty collect data year after year, but nothing changes. Reports are written, uploaded, and forgotten; there are no curricular revisions, no pedagogical innovation, and no feedback loops. This situation creates deep cynicism towards AOL. Indeed, why bother if nothing changes?
What Works
The following can be done to make AOL a real vehicle for positive change and improvement in student learning:
- Enforce full AOL cycles, including documented actions and follow-up assessments
- Implement changes at course, program, department, and college levels
- Actively communicate improvements that resulted from AOL to all the relevant stakeholders
When faculty see tangible improvements tied directly to assessment results, buy-in increases dramatically.
Additional Resistance Factors You May Be Overlooking
Beyond the “big four,” several other factors often fuel AOL resistance:
- Fear of evaluation or blame (AOL perceived as faculty performance review)
- Inconsistent leadership support
- Overly complex assessment systems
- Poor alignment between learning goals and curriculum
Each of these issues points back to system design—not faculty motivation.
Conclusion: It’s Not the Standard—and It’s Not the Faculty
AACSB Standard 5 is not the problem. Faculty commitment to teaching and learning is not the problem either.
In most cases, the real issue is an inefficient, overly complex, or poorly supported AOL system.
With the right design, tools, incentives, and leadership, AOL can:
- Improve student learning in meaningful ways
- Reduce faculty frustration and resistance
- Strengthen accreditation outcomes
- Build a sustainable culture of assessment
An experienced accreditation partner like Accreditation.Biz can design, implement, and manage an AOL system that meets AACSB Standard 5, supports faculty, and, most importantly, delivers real improvement in student learning.
When AOL works well, faculty stop resisting it and start owning it.