Business Accreditation

Business Accreditation

The initial accreditation process is a rigorous review that involves peers from business schools, committees, and AACSB staff. It includes a thorough review of information submitted with the eligibility application, mentor visit(s), the development and approval of an initial self-evaluation report (iSER), submission of the final self-evaluation report (SER), and peer review team visit. Once a school achieves initial accreditation, it enters the continuous improvement review phase, undergoing a peer review every six years.

Process

1. Become an educational member of AACSB 

2. If applicable, submit unit of accreditation application

Per AACSB’s Accreditation Standards: “AACSB accreditation is granted to the agreed-upon entity—either the institution (e.g. university) or a single business unit within a larger parent university (or other academic institution), with institutional accreditation being the default accredited entity. In all cases, the AACSB brand will only be applied to the agreed upon entity.”

Therefore, business academic units that would like to enter the accreditation process as the unit of accreditation must submit a unit of accreditation application for review and approval by the Initial Accreditation Committee. This unit of accreditation application must be approved prior to the submission of the eligibility application. Schools considering applying as an academic unit should contact an AACSB accreditation staff member to discuss their institutional structure and whether accreditation as an academic unit is applicable. View more in-depth information on the unit of accreditation.

3. Submit an eligibility application and develop initial self-evaluation report (iSER)

The applicant school submits an eligibility application (for business and/or accounting accreditation) as the first step toward AACSB accreditation. A school may apply for business and accounting accreditation simultaneously, or for accounting accreditation following the achievement of business accreditation. An eligibility application fee applies. View Applicable Accreditation Fees.

A preliminary review of the eligibility application is conducted by AACSB staff. If the application is determined to include all necessary information, it will be escalated to the Initial Accreditation Committee (IAC) or Accounting Accreditation Committee (AAC) for a final decision. 

When the application is approved, a volunteer business school administrator (such as a dean) is assigned to the applicant school as a mentor to assist with the development of an initial self-evaluation report (iSER). At this time, an AACSB accreditation manager is also assigned to the school, who serves as the primary contact person at AACSB for all accreditation-related questions.

4. Pay IAC or AAC acceptance and initial accreditation fee

The applicant school will receive an official letter from AACSB informing the institution that its eligibility application(s) have been approved and that a mentor has been assigned. An invoice for the IAC and/or AAC process acceptance fee and initial accreditation fee will be sent to the school and must be paid in full within one month of receipt.

5. Accreditation standards alignment

The assigned mentor works with the applicant school to determine its current alignment with the accreditation standards and assist with the development of an iSER. If the mentor finds that there is no reasonable expectation that the school can develop a successful plan to align itself with the accreditation standards in the maximum allotted time, they will so advise.

6. Submit final iSER and strategic plan

With the mentor's consent, the applicant school submits its iSER along with its strategic plan to the IAC or AAC for review at its regularly scheduled meeting (view upcoming meeting dates).

The IAC and/or AAC reviews the iSER. This review will lead to one of the following outcomes:

a. Acceptance of the iSER with a recommendation that the school develops a final self-evaluation report (SER), following an invitation to apply for initial accreditation (IAC or AAC must concur).

b. The iSER is accepted with a recommendation that the school enters the implementation phase of the iSER. The school is asked to submit annual progress reports to inform the committee of its progress toward alignment with the standards.

c. Further development of the iSER is needed. A revise-and-resubmit recommendation is made to the school.

7. Final SER review, pre-visit analysis, and school visit

The team reviews the final SER, as well as conducts a pre-visit analysis, which is reviewed and approved by the IAC or AAC, and then sent to the school. 

Once the accreditation visit takes place and the peer review team provides a visit report to the applicant school, which includes a recommendation for accreditation, deferral, or denial of accreditation. The report and recommendation are forwarded to the IAC and/or AAC for concurrence.

8. Ratification or denial of accreditation

Recommendations for accreditation or denials of accreditation are ratified by the IAC and/or AAC. Recommendations are forwarded to the AACSB board of directors for ratification.

Eligibility

Schools that are interested in AACSB accreditation must be a member of AACSB’s Business Education Alliance before applying to pursue accreditation.

Prior to beginning the accreditation application process, a school must determine the scope of accreditation, meaning the degree programs to be included in the AACSB review process. AACSB accreditation is granted by default to the institution. In this case, all of the institution’s business and management programs are included in the scope of the AACSB accreditation review. It is possible in the case of institutional accreditation to limit the programs included in the review by receiving formal approval to exclude particular programs from the scope of accreditation. Details on determining program exclusions are available below.

In contrast to institutional accreditation, schools may apply as a single academic unit within a larger institution offering business and management degree programs. Business academic units that would like to enter the accreditation process as the unit of accreditation must submit a Unit of Accreditation Application for review and approval by the Initial Accreditation Committee (IAC). This application must be approved prior to the submission of the eligibility application. More in-depth information on the unit of accreditation can be found here. Schools should contact an AACSB accreditation staff member to discuss their institutional structure and whether accreditation as an academic unit is applicable before completing the eligibility application.

Eligibility Application

After determining scope of accreditation, a school may begin the first stage in the accreditation process by completing the eligibility application.

Complete the accreditation eligibility inquiry form to have an eligibility application opened in myAccreditation. Access to myAccreditation and submission instructions will be sent to the requester shortly after receipt of the inquiry form.

Complete and submit the eligibility application and profile sheet via myAccreditation.

An accreditation staff member reviews the application for completeness and requests any additional information from the school.

The IAC reviews the application to determine whether eligibility criteria are met and whether the school can feasibly achieve accreditation in the allotted amount of time.

After the IAC has reviewed the application, the school will receive a decision letter with the next steps. If the application is approved, a mentor will be assigned to help guide the school through the initial accreditation process. The school will also be assigned an AACSB accreditation staff liaison.

Determining Program Exclusions

Once the accredited entity is determined, the next step is to gain agreement on which programs within the accredited entity will be included in the scope of accreditation. This is referred to as “programmatic scope.” Programmatic scope will normally include all business degree programs at the bachelor’s level or higher within the accredited entity. Schools may request exclusion of certain degree programs, subject to approval by the appropriate AACSB committee.

Included programs are degree programs in which 25 percent or more of the content for baccalaureate degree programs, or 50 percent or more of the content for post-baccalaureate degree programs, relates to business disciplines such as accounting, economics, finance, legal studies, management, management information systems, marketing, and quantitative methods.

Excluded programs are programs with business discipline content below the thresholds noted above, or for which a specific exclusion request has been granted by AACSB.

A complete description of program exclusion criteria is available in the Philosophy of AACSB Accreditation section of the 2020 Business Accreditation Standards.

Program exclusions may be requested at any time during the accreditation process by submitting an exclusion request form.

The percentage of business content is calculated by dividing the maximum total number of business credits that can be taken in a degree (including electives) by the total number of credits required to earn the degree. For example, a 120-hour bachelor’s degree with 30 or more hours of business credits would normally be included in scope unless an exclusion request is granted by the appropriate AACSB committee

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