Transition to Six Year Continuous Improvement Review Cycle

Schools with visits currently scheduled in 2024-25 will remain on a five-year cycle. Schools with a visit in 2025-26 will have the option to keep a 2025-26 visit or move their visit to 2026-27. Visits currently scheduled in 2026-27 and beyond will move to a six-year cycle and therefore the visit will be postponed by one year. Please view the chart above to see the impact on your school’s next CIR visit.

The CIR application has been expanded to include sections on societal impact, faculty qualifications, strategic planning, and assurance of learning. The application serves as a mid-cycle report to pinpoint risks to accreditation standards alignment. Schools will submit the CIR application by July 1st in the third year of their 6-year cycle. AACSB staff will review CIR applications and provide a letter to schools with guidance. The CIR application along with the response from AACSB will be shared with the school’s next peer review team.

The CIR application is still due September 1st, 2024. The school’s visit will be moved to 2027-28 to align with the six-year cycle.

Schools with a currently planned 2025-26 visit will receive an email with details on how to inform AACSB of their preference to either keep their visit as scheduled in 2025-26 or move to 2026-27. As always, you can also contact your school’s staff liaison for guidance and assistance. Accreditation Staff Contacts

• Schools with visits in 2026-27 and after will report on their alignment with the AACSB standards based on a six-year accreditation cycle instead of five.

• Tables 2-1, 5-1 (optional for CIR schools), 8-1 and 9-1 (optional) will all reflect a six-year reporting cycle. Tables 3-1 and 3-2 will continue to reflect the most recently completed academic year.

• A school’s faculty qualifications and sufficiency policies will be based on a six-year accreditation cycle.

   

• A school’s criteria for faculty qualifications and faculty sufficiency should address the activities that faculty members are expected to undertake to maintain qualification status within the normal AACSB review cycle (now a six-year cycle).
• It is up to individual schools, considering their mission and expected strategies, to decide whether and/or how to change their faculty qualifications requirements in light of a six-year accreditation cycle, as opposed to a five-year cycle. As an example, a school with a point system for faculty qualifications may decide to increase the number of points required for SA status.
• Note that a school’s criteria for promotion and tenure, as well as annual evaluation, is separate and distinct from AACSB faculty qualification guidelines.

Impact will vary based on where your school is in the accreditation process. Initial accreditation documentation including the Initial Self Evaluation Report (iSER) and the Final Self Evaluation Report (SER) will capture a six-year look back period effective July 1, 2024.

AACSB will embark on a comprehensive review of all resources and documentation to ensure the new 6-year accreditation cycle is reflected. Updated resources will be shared with schools as soon as they become available.