This study aims to examine alleged corruption in the accreditation process based on international academic literature and recent investigative reports and also examines measures to improve its integrity. It is a novel attempt to address a major research gap in accreditation.
A quantitative method, a t-test, was used to test two hypotheses related to the causes of the alleged corruption in accreditation and preventive measures. Purposive sampling was used to draw a sample of 395 from a population of 7,266 colleges and universities accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council of India.
The study’s key findings are that there are multiple causes of alleged corruption in accreditation. It also endorses the measures suggested by Dr. K Radhakrishnan’s committee (an expert committee appointed by the Indian Ministry of Education) to improve accreditation integrity to an extent.
The study’s unique contribution is that it is among very few studies investigating corruption in accreditation. While sizable international literature looks at accreditation as a measure to curb academic corruption, very few studies have addressed corruption in accreditation.
