As you are trying to find the right school that will nurture your goals, talents and passions, you will inevitably come across a number of unfamiliar acronyms and titles. In particular, many schools like to emphasize the fact that they are accredited and therefore deserve your application. While accreditation often confers respectability and prestige on a school, students need to know what accreditation means for them and how it will affect their academic journey.
What Is AACSB Accreditation?
In an effort to hold academic institutions to the highest standards of education, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) conducts quality assurance evaluations of business school programs around the globe. The AACSB is the largest business education association in the world and has accredited more than 760 business schools worldwide.
According to the AACSB, its accreditation standards “challenge post-secondary educators to pursue excellence and continuous improvement throughout their business programs.” Using a rigid set of accreditation policies, the AACSB evaluates business school programs for quality of the educational program provided, faculty qualifications, curricula, and continuous improvement and dedication to furthering educational excellence. Universities must voluntarily seek out AACSB accreditation and go through a rigorous evaluation process of self-assessment, peer reviews, in-depth strategic planning and committee appraisal.
What Are the Different Types of AACSB Accreditation?
There are two forms of AACSB accreditation: institutional and specialized. The institutional accreditation process involves national and/or regional accrediting entities coming together to evaluate the entire university. Institutional accreditation also requires that a university maintain its standards of excellence by undergoing a review process every few years.
Specialized accreditation is a supplementary accreditation that academic institutions may seek out for one or more disciplines within the university. A university can only apply for specialized accreditation if it has already met all the standards for institutional accreditation. Specialized accreditations may evaluate specific departments, such as a department of economics, or whole vocational or specialty programs.
What Does AACSB Accreditation Mean for Students?
Students attending a university with AACSB accreditation are receiving business education of the highest quality. Because AACSB accreditation is an ongoing process, students can count on their AACSB-accredited university to provide them with up-to-date information, qualified faculty and the most well-rounded curricula.
If you plan to change universities, AACSB accreditation can help ensure that all your hard-earned credits will transfer from one institution to another. Given that AACSB-accredited institutions work hard to earn their accreditation, such universities often only accept transfer credits from other AACSB-accredited programs. The same principle also applies as you progress from undergraduate to graduate study. Earning an undergraduate degree from an AACSB-accredited institution can strengthen your application when you apply to a graduate program at an AACSB-accredited institution.
Is the USI Romain College of Business AACSB-Accredited?
Both undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of Southern Indiana Romain College of Business are accredited by the AACSB. Additionally, the USI accounting program earned the honor of AACSB International Specialized Accreditation for the department’s dedication to quality education and continuous growth and improvement. As a result of USI’s dedication to top-quality education, the Romain College of Business appears on the AACSB’s BestBizSchools.com list and has won awards in both the Indiana CPA Society’s Student Case Competition and the Institute of Management Accountants’ Student Case Competition.
Earning a Master of Business Administration degree is a life-changing accomplishment. For all the hard work and time you invest, you deserve the highest-quality education and resources, which the AACSB accreditation strives to identify in academic institutions around the world. The USI Romain College of Business believes in the AACSB’s mission and continues to earn its accreditation status year after year with commendable performance outcomes from its faculty and students.
Learn more about the University of Southern Indiana’s online MBA programs
Sources:
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
Best Business Schools: University of Southern Indiana, Romain College of Business
