A school must be a member of AACSB in order to seek accreditation. Once AACSB membership is established, a school should familiarize its faculty and administration with the AACSB Accreditation Standards and the Accreditation Process. After doing so, a school may begin the accreditation process by completing the Eligibility Application (see below). The Eligibility Application Process involves a review of a school in order to determine if it is eligible to pursue AACSB Accreditation. Eligibility Applications are accepted at any time.

Schools are encouraged to provide a draft of their Eligibility Application to AACSB staff for review. AACSB staff will check for completeness and any potential concerns that may arise. Once the Eligibility Application is complete, the Initial Accreditation Committee (IAC) assigns a mentor to the school. Based on the IAC’s review of the Eligibility Application, the committee provides input to the mentor regarding areas of potential concern.

The mentor visits the applicant school to (a) respond to any concerns related to the Eligibility Application and (b) review how the applicant satisfies each standard—in order to assist in the preparation of a gap analysis (performed by the applicant and used as the basis for the Standards Alignment Plan). If the mentor finds that there is no reasonable expectation that the applicant can develop a successful Standards Alignment Plan, he/she will so advise the applicant. The Accreditation Coordinating Committee (ACC) reviews the Eligibility Application to address any concerns raised by the IAC. The ACC rules on any eligibility issues, such as diversity and excluded programs. If it is determined that a school is eligible, it will then enter the PreAccreditation phase of the accreditation process.

Required Eligibility Application

The application should be saved, completed, and emailed to: iac@aacsb.edu.

Business Accreditation Eligibility Application