Florida International University’s (FIU) College of Business and its School of Accounting have been reaccredited for a standard five-year extension by AACSB International, the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools offering undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting. The business school was one of 17 universities in the United States to maintain its accreditation.
“This is an important affirmation of the respected performance of the college in teaching, life-changing research and community service,” said David R. Klock, dean of the college.
Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal review, evaluation and adjustment, sometimes spanning several years. The criteria include a high-quality teaching environment, a commitment to continuous improvement and curricula responsive to the needs of businesses.
In addition to developing and implementing a mission-driven plan to satisfy the business accreditation quality standards, accounting accreditation requires the satisfaction of another set of standards specific to the discipline and profession of accounting. Ruth Ann McEwen is director of FIU’s School of Accounting.
Effort tapped multiple college constituencies.
While lauding the entire faculty and staff for its “exceptional performance” and praising the “many individual faculty and staff members and key committees who worked exceptionally hard in preparation for the AACSB visit last fall,” Klock, who joined the college as dean on October 1, 2012, singled out Dean Emerita Joyce J. Elam for “her innovative leadership during the evaluation timeframe and Associate Dean Deanne Butchey and her team for their many years of hard work in preparation for the AACSB visit.”
He also extended a “special thank you to all of our alumni and friends,” acknowledging that their “significant and long-term support has been critical to our success.”
Today, there are 672 business schools in 44 countries and territories that maintain AACSB Accreditation. The additional specialized AACSB Accreditation for accounting programs is held by 178 institutions.
“AACSB commends deans, heads of business units and academic and non-academic staff at each institution for their exemplary work in helping their schools earn or maintain the highest honor in business school accreditation,” said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International.
