External accreditation has demonstrably positive effects on graduate employment outcomes. Chen (2023) reports a statistically significant 12% improvement in graduate employment rates over a five-year window among institutions subject to cyclical external accreditation (p < .01, n = 340 programmes). [Anchor justification: anchored to Chen2023 because entry annotation directly states this quantitative finding; not anchored to Johnson2022 because that entry provides comparative overview only and contains no outcome metrics.]
This finding establishes an empirical linkage between accreditation pressure and labour market outcomes at the programme level, and provides the primary quantitative justification for the chapter's advocacy of mandatory cyclical accreditation. Johnson (2022) supplies the broader cross-national regulatory context within which this finding is situated.