Quality and accountability in sport management education: accreditation and assessment

Quality and accountability shape how sport management education is designed, delivered, and judged within contemporary higher education systems. Accreditation and assessment operate as the primary mechanisms through which educational standards, professional relevance, and public trust are established. In an applied and interdisciplinary field such as sport management, these mechanisms must balance academic rigour with the expectations of students, employers, and professional bodies. Quality is expressed both culturally, through reputation and graduate outcomes, and procedurally, through formal quality assurance processes that regulate learning, teaching, and assessment. The sport management landscape is characterised by multiple and sometimes competing sources of authority, including global accrediting organisations, research-led professional associations, and long-established UK chartered bodies. These frameworks shape curriculum priorities, define what counts as legitimate knowledge and competence, and influence how programmes signal value in increasingly competitive education and employment markets. Assessment plays a powerful role in this environment, especially when designed as authentic, competency-based tasks that mirror professional practice and industry expectations. Such approaches support the development of applied capability, professional identity, and employability. Together, accreditation structures and assessment practices determine how quality and accountability are experienced by students, educators, and employers, shaping the credibility, relevance, and future direction of sport management education.