AACSB International announces accreditation

PULLMAN – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International announced today that the WSU College of Business has successfully maintained their accreditation standing at the baccalaureate, master and doctoral levels. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master’s and doctoral 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 567 business schools in 33 countries that maintain AACSB accreditation. Similarly, 171 institutions, including WSU, now maintain an additional specialized AACSB accreditation for their accounting programs.

“Acknowledgment by AACSB International through reaccreditation shows the level of quality at which we are pursuing knowledge and delivering business education and is extremely gratifying. I’m especially pleased with our level of productivity and the community we’ve built in the College of Business here at WSU,” said CB Dean Eric Spangenberg. “It is an honor to work with our faculty and staff and I’m particularly happy that their collegiality and productivity have been recognized in this way.”

“This accreditation reflects the hard work done by faculty, staff and administrators of the College of Business to adopt and maintain a rigorous curriculum and high academic standards.  Our business students are the ultimate beneficiaries of their efforts,” said WSU President Elson S. Floyd.

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 the 21 AACSB standards requiring a high quality teaching environment, a commitment to continuous improvement, and curricula responsive to the needs of business.

To realize accounting accreditation an institution must first earn or maintain AACSB business accreditation. Then, in addition to developing and implementing a mission-driven plan to satisfy the 21 business accreditation quality standards, accounting accreditation requires the satisfaction of an additional set of 15 standards that are specific to the discipline and profession of accounting.

“It takes a great deal of commitment and determination to earn and maintain AACSB accreditation,” said Jerry Trapnell, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “Schools not only must meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculties and staffs make a commitment to ongoing improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver high quality education to students.”

AACSB International is an association of more than 1,100 educational institutions, business and other organizations in 70 countries that are dedicated to the advancement of management education worldwide. In addition to service as the premier accreditation body for institutions offering undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in business and accounting, the association also conducts a wide array of conferences and seminar programs at various locations around the world. Through BestBizSchools.com, AACSB provides a global resource center for prospective business students. For more information, visit http://www.aacsb.edu.

The WSU College of Business spans the four campuses of WSU with the largest campus in Pullman and urban campuses located in Spokane, Vancouver, and the Tri-Cities area. The college conducts scholarly and applied research, and offers degree programs in a variety of business disciplines, and in hospitality business management, supplementing face-to-face offerings through innovative online learning and international programs. For more information, visit the college’s Web site at http://www.business.wsu.edu

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