Impact of accreditation on public and private universities: a comparative study

Abstract

Based on two cycles of assessments for accreditation, this study assesses the differential impacts of accreditation on public and private universities in Ghana. Analysis of the evaluator reports indicates no statistically significant difference – improvement or deterioration – between the two cycles of evaluations for both types of institutions. A test comparing the two-cycle aggregated assessment scores between the two categories of universities, however, indicated a significant difference, with the public universities achieving better scores (improvements). Drawing on the evaluators’ reports and the opinions expressed by academics from both categories of institutions, the conclusion was that isomorphic pressures, largely faced by the private universities, accounted for their implementation of suggestions for improvement by the evaluators.

Keywords:

• accreditation
• impact
• isomorphism