Standards Committee SOP's

The Standards  for Reporting Employment Statistics are one of the pillars of MBA CSEA, and one of the reasons the organization was formed in 1994 (click here for a history of the organization's founding). They remain a key priority for the board and the organization, and their importance to the industry cannot be underestimated. Without them, the integrity of employment data is at risk on a global level.

The MBA CSEA Standards Committee was originally formed to develop reporting standards appropriate for the MBA career services profession. The committee has since evolved to include standards for master’s in business degrees.View a history of the Standards formation process to date. The committee plays a critical role in applying consistent, holistic, ethical interpretation, education and implementation of the Standards, ensuring that they are widely accepted and utilized across the industry.

The Standards Committee utilizes online collaboration tools for timeline management and file storage.


What makes a good Standards Committee?

Due to the significant knowledge required to make decisions regarding the Standards, and in order to maintain a diverse representative of the membership and the industry, Standards Committee members are selected on an invitation basis with the following goals in mind:
  • A representative from a large school
  • A representative from a small school
  • A representative from a top tier ranked school
  • A representative from a second or third tier, or non-ranked school
  • At least one representative from a European school, as well as a school in APAC if possible
  • A user of each of the vendors that is licensed as part of the MBA CSEA Vendor Standards Compliance Program, as well as a school that uses a home-grown employment data system.


Committee Member Expectations

To maintain a high level of integrity and consistency in decision-making processes, committee members are expected to do the following:

  • Member schools are required to follow the Standards for the programs they have within their school, as well as make their Full-time MBA data eligible for a Standards Compliance Review (if their school has a Full-time MBA program).
  • Actively participate in committee calls and work groups as needed.  Take an active role with committee responsibilities.
  • Committee members must have a strong knowledge of and support the Standards, complete the Standards Committee Training.
  • Speak with a unified message outside the committee meetings – in public and with other MBA CSEA members – with regard to the Standards and their interpretation. This includes supporting the Standards at times when a committee member's school might disagree with a portion of them.
  • Maintain a strong work ethic and ability to make consistent, ethical decisions regarding the Standards.
  • Possess a strong knowledge of the MBA/Masters in Business employment industry and program(s), as applicable to the subcommittee in which they are involved.


Committee Leadership Roles

Executive Director
  • Oversees and is a member of the committee and the leadership team.
  • Assists with selection of committee leadership and members.
  • Is included in all leadership and committee communications and leads committee debriefs.
  • Is consulted about anything the committee will be bringing to the board.
  • Attends all calls with Standards leadership, as well as working group calls if possible.
  • Schedules committee meetings.
  • Uses institutional knowledge to provide guidance and leadership for committee decisions, keeping in mind long-term goals and implications.
  • Manages relationships with the rankings media. Serves as first point of contact for questions from the media, and responds as needed (after consulting with committee leadership). Coordinates and attends annual media meetings and phone calls.
  • Distributes standards-related communications to the membership, such as rankings advisories (after content is created by the committee),
  • Supervises MBA CSEA staff, including the Standards Consultant and Data Analyst. Keeps up-to-date on staff responsibilities and progress, and reports to the board on items that fall under staff responsibilities as needed. Serves as primary point of contact between the Standards Committee and staff.
  • Serves as liaison among all MBA CSEA committees, assisting with opportunities for cross-committee communication and collaboration when needed.
Board Liaison to the Committee (may or may not be one of the committee chairs)
  • Serves as an additional resource to ensure the board and committee are working closely together.
  • Communicates the board's strategic goals to the committee on a regular basis, and ensures they are accomplished.
  • Is a member of the committee and is included on committee communication and leadership calls.
  • Provides regular committee reports to the Board of Directors, and communicates feedback from board meetings to the committee as appropriate.
  • Submits the committee's budget requests to the Treasurer each year.
  •  If possible, attends the annual media meetings in NY and DC (and other media meetings or phone calls, if feasible), along with the Executive Director and President (note: this role may be assigned to another committee member or leader as needed).
Standards Committee Chair/Co-Chair
  • Works closely with the Executive Director to oversee the work of the committee.
  • Assists with committee member selection.
  • Hosts regular meetings with committee members to update progress and make decisions.
  • Keeps the Executive Director up to date on committee progress in between meetings, as needed.
  • Sets and distributes an agenda for committee meetings, with input from the Executive Director as needed.
  • Ensures that minutes are taken at the meetings and distributed in a timely manner after the meeting has concluded (Note: the co-chairs are encouraged to delegate this responsibility to one or more committee members).
  • Assists with decision-making in between meetings as needed.
Standards Consultant
  • Serves as first point of contact to the membership to answer questions about the Standards. Consults with the Executive Director and committee leadership as needed for questions that are out of the ordinary or open for interpretation.
  • Manages and conducts Standards training. Works with committee members to create training material based on frequently asked questions from members and issues identified during the Standards Compliance Review process. Utilizes members of the committee to provide real world examples to the membership.
  • Manages the Vendor Standards Compliance program. This program provides vendors who use the Standards to capture and report employment data with a certification/yearly license to do so. An external firm conducts the inquiry into the system to ensure it is Standards-compliant, and the vendor signs a licensing agreement. The vendor is billed on a yearly basis, and is re-certified if changes are made to their system or to the Standards.
Data Analyst (MBA CSEA Staff position)
  • Manages the Employment Data System. Creates surveys and dashboards,and manages testing process with committee members. Creates reports for members to access. Assists with decision-making regarding surveys and reports. Serves as primary point of contact with survey software companies regarding survey implementation.
  • Serves as primary manager for the Standards Compliance Review process (for the Full-time MBA Standards). Works closely with members to encourage them to be eligible for a review and answers questions about the process. Works with the review firm to manage the process. Makes random selections of schools eligible for review. Provides updates on the review process to the committee, as needed.

Standards Advisory Group

MBA CSEA recognizes the importance of consistency, stability and historical knowledge when managing the Standards.The Standards Advisory Group is an invitation-only team that serves in an advisory capacity to the Standards Committee, Executive Director and Board of Directors, providing an ongoing historical perspective to assist with critical decisions. To that end, the group:
  • Meets as needed to discuss changes in the marketplace and their impact on employment data collection and provide important considerations to the committee.
  • Reviews proposed changes to the Standards during revision years, and provides advice to the committee.
  • Serves as an ongoing resource to the committee and Standards Consultant to answer questions that come up about the historical application of the Standards.
  • Receives updates regarding progress made by the Standards Committee and staff
  • Provides feedback regarding committee activities and programs, as needed
  • May help with additional tasks or projects, as requested
Group members are selected by the President, Executive Director and Standards Committee Chair, and typically consist of MBA CSEA members or former members who have a strong knowledge of the Standards and awareness of organizational history.

The Advisory Group is chaired by the Standards Committee Chair. The Executive Director also attends all meetings. Meeting agendas are developed by the Standards Committee Leadership and Executive Director. Meeting minutes are distributed to the Advisory Group and archived for Standards Committee Members to access as needed.