Accreditation in Sports Management
The North American Society for Sports Management (NASSM) maintains a working list of universities that offer sports management programs. Both NASSM and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) jointly established the premier accrediting body for sports management entitled the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA). COSMA's stated purpose for accreditation is "to promote and recognize excellence in sports management education through specialized accreditation".
Accreditation of institutions is offered to those seeking for bachelors and masters degrees. The importance of accrediation lies in how competitive a field sports management can be. Especially when speaking of sports agenting, there is tremendous competition and every credential needs to be noteworthy in order for a sports management professional to get their foot in the door.
It is important to consult with an academic counselor and find out about a university's accreditation before enrolling in a sports management program. Oftentimes a program will be based upon different principles depending on who they've received accreditation from; or if they've been accredited at all. Some accreditations are more business-focused while others are more keen on the legal aspects of sports management. Still others are focused on the communications and media aspect of sports management and will thus have different standards of what it takes to become an accredited program.
Finances of Membership with COSMA
COSMA offers indivdual membership for $30 annually and institutional membership for $1800 annually. In addition to accreditation, members recieve myriad resources and have much to benefit from this membership.
Elements of Accreditation
COSMA offers a comprehensive manual on its accreditation process that includes the following:
- An Introduction - Herein lies the philosophy of accreditation, characteristics of excellence in sports management education, and the scope of accreditation.
- Accreditation Principles - This includes outcome assessment, strategic planning, curriculum, faculty, scholarly and professional activities, resources, internal and external relationships, and educational innovation.
- Evaluation and Preparing the Self Study - This section includes numerous ways to conduct self-evaluations and judge how close your instituion is to gaining accrediation.
In such a competitive field, every little bit counts. If one is going to spend time, resources and energy on attaining a degree in sports management, they should seriously consider accreditation as being one of the staples they look for in a program; and if one cannot attain it within a program than the means by which they can attain accreditation through an accreditation institution.
Article Resources:
North American Society for Sports Management (NASSM)
NASSM - Accreditation
AAHPERD
COSMA