Int. J. Management in Education, Vol. 3, Nos. 3/4, 2009 207 Copyright © 2009 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Reaffirming accreditation through application of Baldrige performance excellence criteria: a case study of a private, faith-based school of business Annette E. Craven*, Jeannie J. Scott and Angelina I.T. Kiser H-E-B School of Business and Administration, University of the Incarnate Word, 4301 Broadway, CPO 141 San Antonio, TX 78247, USA Email: craven@uiwtx.edu Email: scott@uiwtx.edu Email: akiser@uiwtx.edu *Corresponding author Abstract: This case study is based on the eight-year journey towards performance excellence of a private, faith-based university business school working to achieve reaffirmation of its business programme accreditation. During this transition, the school converted from traditional input-based to Baldrige-based criteria, the accreditation association comprehensively revised its business programme criteria, and the business programme began offerings in extended academic programme formats. The business school created a strategic plan grounded in the Baldrige performance excellence criteria, faculty and administrators became trained Baldrige examiners, progress/award applications were made to the state Baldrige programme, and the business school was the first ACBSP-accredited school to submit its Baldrige application in lieu of the traditional self-study. The outcomes of this process include a series of best practices which can be applied across cultures that are presented in the conclusion of the paper. Keywords: Baldrige; business program accreditation; ACBSP; AACSB; quality; continuous improvement. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Craven, A.E., Scott, J.J. and Kiser, A.I.T (2009) ‘Reaffirming accreditation through application of Baldrige performance excellence criteria: a case study of a private, faith-based school of business’, Int. J. Management in Education, Vol. 3, Nos. 3/4, pp.207–219. Biographical notes: Annette E. Craven is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of the Incarnate Word, H-E-B School of Business and Administration in San Antonio, TX. Her PhD is in Higher Education Administration and Human Communications, her masters’ degrees are in Human Relations and Adult Education, and her bachelor degree is in Business Administration. She has served as a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Examiner (2007–2009), a Quality Texas Examiner (2003–2008) and as an ACBSP Baccalaureate/Graduate Degree Commissioner. Her research interests include quality management and continuous performance improvement in higher education, and cross-cultural differences in the global environment.