After a rigorous review, The University of Akron's College of Business Administration has been reaccredited by the foremost international body that evaluates business school quality.
Krovi
The college finds itself in elite company. Fewer than 5 percent of the world's business schools earn accreditation by AACSB International. And fewer than 2 percent of business schools worldwide earn accreditation in both business and accounting, as UA's CBA has.
Premier status
"This recognition from AACSB, in addition to our national rankings, affirms our status as a premier business school," said Dr. Ravi Krovi, dean of the College of Business Administration. "It's testament to our talented faculty and staff, who are truly committed to program quality and student success."
Krovi said the review team highly commended the college's faculty, programs, strategic planning and engagement with the business community. The reviewers' report noted, “The college’s interaction with the northeast Ohio business community is outstanding. With 230 advisory board members, the college benefits by having a stream of guest speakers and mentors for each major. The members seem to be very committed to the college.”
Benefit to students
Krovi said the accreditation will help CBA students stand out.
"It means our students will be even more valuable," he said. "Many top, global corporations recruit from AACSB-accredited schools only."
The accreditation follows a comprehensive overhaul of the college's core curriculum. Course content has been redesigned to increase students' skills in business analytics and critical thinking, two in-demand competencies that will help students advance.
The college has also added a leadership institute to its strong array of center and institutes, designed to provide students with knowledge and practical experience in such areas as sales, global business, direct marketing, information technology and applied marketing research.
Reaccreditation process
Achieving reaccreditation is a process of rigorous review, evaluation and adjustment, and it can take several years to complete. During these years, the school develops and implements a plan to meet the AACSB Accreditation Standards, which require a high quality teaching environment, a commitment to continuous improvement, and curricula responsive to the needs of businesses. In addition, as required by the AACSB Standards, all accredited schools must go through a peer-review process every five years to maintain their accreditations.
To realize accounting accreditation, an institution must first earn or maintain AACSB Business Accreditation. To earn accounting accreditation, the business school must satisfy an additional set of accreditation standards that are specific to the discipline and profession of accounting.
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Media contact: Eileen Korey, 330-972-8589 or korey@uakron.edu