FIU Business and its School of Accounting have been reaccredited for a standard five-year extension by AACSB International, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. FIU Business is part of an elite group of universities that hold a specialized AACSB accreditation for their accounting programs.
The extension of accreditation covers FIU Business’ undergraduate, masters, MBA and doctoral business programs as well as the bachelors and masters degrees in accounting.
In their recommendations to extend accreditation, the AACSB’s Peer Review Team cited FIU Business’ innovative projects, including the ATOM Think Tank and Summer Business Essentials program. They also noted the strong support from the South Florida business community, their contributions to strategic initiatives at the college and their collaboration with students as speakers and mentors.
“The extension of our Business and Accounting accreditation speaks highly of the achievements of our stakeholders,” said Joanne Li, dean of FIU’s College of Business. “Kudos to our wonderful faculty for their hard work on maintaining a high standard of quality business education.”
FIU Business and the School of Accounting have been AACSB-accredited since 1983.
AACSB International is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools offering undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting. Its focus is to advance “quality management education worldwide through accreditation, thought leadership and value-added services.”
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.
During this process, schools must focus on developing and implementing a plan to align with AACSB’s standards, which 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.
Less than five percent of business schools worldwide have earned this distinction. Today, there are 810 business schools in 53 countries and territories that maintain AACSB accreditation. Of those, 186 hold the specialized accreditation in accounting.
In 2003 the AACSB began to require business programs to establish learning goals for each major, to assess students’ progress toward those goals, and to use those assessments to improve curriculum and instruction.
FIU Business was established in 1972. Today, more than 8,000 students are enrolled in the college’s R. Kirk Landon Undergraduate School of Business, and over 2,000 study in its Alvah H. Chapman Jr. Graduate School of Business every year.
