Forty-Nine Business Schools Extend Their AACSB Accreditation in Business or Accounting

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AACSB International announced today that 49 business schools have extended their accreditation in business and/or accounting. Founded in 1916, AACSB International (AACSB) is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master's, and doctorate degrees in business and accounting.

AACSB Accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in business education, and has been earned by less than five percent of the world's business schools. Today, there are more than 687 business schools in 45 countries and territories that have earned AACSB Accreditation. Similarly, 182 institutions hold an additional specialized AACSB Accreditation for their accounting programs.

"AACSB commends each institution for their exemplary work in holding the highest honor in business school accreditation," said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. "Business schools must not only meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculty, and professional staff must make a commitment to ongoing continuous improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver the highest quality of education to students." 

Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal review, evaluation, and adjustment and can take several years to complete. During these years, the school develops and implements a plan to meet AACSB's Accreditation standards, which require a high quality teaching environment, innovative programming, and active engagement with industry. In addition, as required by the AACSB Standards, all accredited schools must go through a continuous improvement peer review process every five years in order to retain their accreditation.

To realize accounting accreditation, an institution must first earn AACSB business accreditation. Then, in addition to developing and implementing a mission-driven plan to satisfy the business accreditation quality standards, accounting accreditation requires the satisfaction of an additional set of standards that are specific to the discipline and profession of accounting.

As ratified by the Board of Directors of AACSB International, the following schools have extended their accreditation in business and/or accounting:

Schools Extending Their Business Accreditation

Schools Extending Their Accounting Accreditation

About AACSB International
AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), founded in 1916, is an association of more than 1,350 educational institutions, businesses, and other organizations in 85 countries and territories. AACSB's mission is to advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation, thought leadership, and value-added services. As the premier accreditation body for institutions offering undergraduate, master's, and doctorate degrees in business and accounting, the association also conducts a wide array of conferences and seminar programs at locations throughout the world. AACSB's global headquarters is located in Tampa, Florida, USA and its Asia Pacific headquarters is located in Singapore. For more information, please visit: www.aacsb.edu.

SOURCE AACSB International