A complete listing of accredited members is available at aacsb.edu/accredited-business-schools. It is our policy not to disclose the names of schools currently in the process of seeking accreditation. A complete list of member institutions may be found at aacsb.edu/membership/listings. Membership is open to educational institutions, business organizations, foundations, professional associations, and non-profit organizations with an interest in management education. Please see our membership pages for an overview of AACSB membership.
Membership, however, does not denote AACSB Accreditation and should not be interpreted as achieving accreditation. Accreditation is granted only to those institutions which have undergone a lengthy peer review process and been found to satisfy the Eligibility Procedures and Standards for accreditation.
AACSB does not require prior permission to use the seal, nor do we require a review of your marketing materials. As an AACSB-accredited institution, we encourage you to use the accreditation seal, which you can request through our website. We do ask that you only use the seal provided and do not alter the seal's structure or color in anyway.
Earning AACSB Accreditation is a significant accomplishment, and we encourage you to promote your achievement—in print, on your institution's website, and around campus.
As you think about other ways to promote your accreditation, perhaps in a unique, fun, or interesting way, we want to hear from you! Since you are already using the seal, perhaps you want to share a success story? AACSB is collecting examples of schools from around the world that are promoting their accreditation. Share your story with us by sending your photos, stories, and videos to Sarah Ham at sarah.ham@aacsb.edu.
By default, AACSB Accreditation is granted to the entire institution. This means that all of the institution’s business and management programs are a part of the AACSB review, regardless of whether the programs are housed in the business school or other units of the university. It is possible, in the case of institutional accreditation, to request the exclusion of certain degree programs. A form must be completed for each program a school wishes to exclude, and the school must demonstrate that they meet three criteria for exclusion:
1. Participation—the degree to which the school participates in the program. If more than 25 percent of the curriculum of an undergraduate program is in business subjects, then it must be included. At the graduate level, this percentage increases to 50 percent.
2. Distinctiveness—the ability for the public to clearly distinguish the program from the AACSB-accredited business programs.
3. Control—the amount of administrative control that the business school has over the degree program in question.
AACSB staff members have the authority to approve common exclusion requests. However, questionable program exclusion requests will be forwarded to the appropriate operating committee (IAC, CIRC, AAC).
There is no substantive difference in the IAC-Y and IAC-Z committees. You can submit your reports to either group. However, it is suggested that when you submit to either the Y or Z committee, you remain with that committee for the duration of the initial accreditation process.
For information on AACSB-accredited schools and degree programs, we encourage you to visit our Best Business Schools website to explore programs that might fit your needs and goals.
Many of the institutions accredited by AACSB offer blended and online programs. At present, there are no AACSB-accredited institutions that offer solely online programs. Criteria E in the standards provides the following guidance:
The school must be structured to ensure proper oversight, accountability, and responsibility for the school’s operations; must be supported by continuing resources (human, financial, infrastructure, and physical); and must have policies and processes for continuous improvement. [OVERSIGHT, SUSTAINABILITY, AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT]
Basic for Judgement
AACSB's standards are not prescriptive in terms of specific courses that a certain degree program should include. Curriculum content is addressed in Standard 9. This standard specifies a number of general skill areas and general business and management skill areas that all degree programs should include, in addition to the types of learning experiences AACSB expects to see in certain programs. AACSB does not have a standard curriculum to which we expect schools to adhere; schools have the latitude to formulate a program that is best for the mission of their school and the student population it serves.
AACSB does not evaluate transcripts. However, the appraisal organizations below are used by some schools to evaluate foreign transcripts to establish their equivalence in U.S. schools:
Educational Credential Evaluators 260 East Highland Avenue, Suite 300 Milwaukee, WI 53202 USA +1 414 289-3400 ece.org
World Education Services, Inc. (WES) Locations in New York, Chicago, Miami, Washington, DC and San Francisco Chicago office: midwest@wes.org +1 312 222-0882 wes.org
Center for Educational Documentation, Inc. The Center for Educational Documentation assists international students with the admission process into U.S. universities as well as for the CPA examination in Massachusetts by evaluating their foreign credentials in terms of U.S. educational standards. cedevaluations.com
From the Initial Accreditation Committee handbook, "Processes to support the accreditation review include the selection of comparison groups to form a relevant context for judgments, inform strategic planning activities, and assist in the selection of Peer Review Team members. Reviewers from comparable institutions are better prepared to make evaluative judgments about the School, to understand the School and its aspirations, and to offer suggestions for the School’s improvement."
Schools can identify these groups themselves or use DataDirect to assist in their efforts. You can find DataDirect FAQs and online tutorials at aacsb.edu/datadirect.