Davis School of Business has completed a ten year process to gain association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation.
AACSB accreditation is considered the most difficult accreditation for a university in the United States to achieve; and only around six percent of universities have achieved this official standing.
The AACSB nonprofit was founded in 1912 with the express intent to “unite the best minds in business education—and the best minds in business—to work as one to achieve a common goal: to create the next generation of great leaders.”
Some of the other accreditations available to universities in the United States are ACBP (Acccreditation Council for Business Schools)and IASB (International Accounting Standards Board), with AACSB considered the most difficult to earn.
AACSB accreditation is a multi-year continual improvement process. In order to qualify, a campus must routinely demonstrate that they are modifying and adapting to current business trends, and continually measuring themselves to AACSB’S standards.
AACSB’s standards focus on continual improvement, quality of scholarship, adaptation to changing business markets, with a focus on diversity, innovation, inclusion, excellence and a global mindset to adapt to changing global markets.
Assistant Department Head of Business Kyle Stone said that faculty chose an accreditation that closely aligned with Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) goals.
“The faculty came together to decide on this accreditation and we decided on AACSB as it is the most rigorous and difficult one,” said Stone. “What makes the Davis School of Business and by extension CMU unique is our focus on practical experience with local businesses compared to a more theoretical approach to a business education, therefore the AACSB accreditation will be an insurance to our students that their education is exceeding current standards.”
The road to AACSB accreditation often takes six to ten years. First, a university must submit annual reports on how the university is motioning towards AACSB’s criteria.
Once a university has completed four or more years of reports on innovation to their programs, a final decision is made through a selective interrogation.
Real-world business leaders come and decide whether or not a program is meeting these requirements—particularly, the final decisions done by AACSB are conducted by other universities’ deans.
AACSB updates their standards every ten years, therefore the Davis School of Business will have to continue to innovate and structurally adapt to changing business climate to continue their accreditation.
The decision to pursue AACSB accreditation was funded by the CMU admin. Annuals fees are due to AACSB, beginning with an eligibility fee of $2,400 for the initial application. Once accepted, the university must Initial Accreditation Committee Process Acceptance Fee of $7,800, and a yearly fee of $7,140 to continue the accreditation process.
Then, to be accredited, the university submits the Initial Business or Initial Accounting Accreditation Visit Application Fee of $18,000. During this process, the university faculty must continue to build, adapt and change the program to meet their standards.
Interim Department Head of Business Suzanne Owens-Ott said this accreditation will improve students’ education.
“This truly is meant to add value to the student’s careers,” said Owens-Ott. “We worked almost ten years building the program as a whole to meet these standards, and now students can show they got a better if not more excellent education at CMU’s affordable price.”
CMU is considered more affordable than some other Colorado AACSB accredited universities. Other AACSB universities in Colorado include Colorado State University, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Colorado Denver and University of Northern Colorado.
With AACSB accreditation, CMU students may expect better employment outcomes and recognition for their business careers for coming from an AACSB university.
Another benefit of accreditation is the outside accountability provided by AACSB to meet and or exceed the standards of other universities with similar accreditations.
Third year business student Jeremy Smith is excited about the achievement.
“I do feel like this will benefit all of us students in the school of business,” said Smith. “Other than another bullet point on our resume, it means that CMU is obligated to follow these standards and cannot slack on education with the money we’ve paid to them.”
Colorado Mesa University will be due in six years to continue assessment of their program to ensure that standards are being met to keep AACSB accreditation.
“While this is a grand step towards something great, it’s another step in a long milestone for our students,” said Stone. “We must innovate for improvement, just as our students are taught to do, to a changing global and chaotic business world.”
