Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Less than 5% of world’s business schools hold this hallmark of excellence
Rider University’s College of Business Administration maintained its business and accounting accreditation by AACSB International — a hallmark of excellence in business education that has been earned by less than five percent of the world's business schools.
Founded in 1916, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, or AACSB, is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.
“This distinction reflects the exceptional quality of Rider University’s business and accounting programs,” said Cindy Newman, interim dean of the College of Business Administration. “We are dedicated to developing students who will face the challenges of working in a dynamic, global workforce, and their remarkable success is a testament to the abilities of our faculty to cultivate their talents.”
Rider was one of only 78 institutions worldwide ratified by the AACSB Board of Directors to extend their global accreditation in business or accounting this year, the AACSB announced on April 19. There are currently a total of 786 business schools in 53 countries and territories that have earned AACSB Accreditation. Further, 186 institutions hold additional specialized AACSB Accreditation for their accounting programs.
“AACSB commends each institution for their exemplary work in holding the highest honor in business school accreditation,” said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “During this peer-review process schools must demonstrate alignment with AACSB’s global accreditation standards, as well as how they encourage engagement, innovation, and impact across the communities they serve.”
Rider’s College of Business Administration offers 13 undergraduate majors, ranging from accounting and information systems to marketing and global supply chain management; three graduate programs, including a Master of Accountancy, Master of Business Administration and executive MBA; and an SAS-endorsed graduate certificate in business analytics.
Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal review, engagement with an AACSB-assigned mentor and peer review. During this multi-year continuous improvement review process, schools focus on developing and implementing a plan to align with AACSB’s accreditation standards. These standards require excellence in areas relating to strategic management and innovation; student, faculty and staff as active participants; learning and teaching; and academic and professional engagement.
To achieve accounting accreditation, an institution must first earn AACSB Business Accreditation. Then, in addition to developing and implementing a mission-driven plan to satisfy the business accreditation quality standards, accounting accreditation requires the satisfaction of an additional set of standards specific to the discipline and profession of accounting.