The Value of AACSB Accreditation

Highlights from this Segment

Q: AACSB Accreditation remains a significant priority for you as dean. Could you tell us about how the process has been for you and for your staff up to this point?

A: I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made so far on accreditation. Faculty are engaged, students are really excited, and our alumni are very supportive of what we’re doing. Our students know that when they graduate from an AACSB-accredited school, that jar of opportunities is going to be greater for them, and they’re going to be able to find jobs that pay higher starting salaries. We know as staff and administrators that we’re going to be able to attract the best faculty and the brightest students with this effort.

Q: Can I ask you more about the value, and drill into your perspectives on the value that AACSB Accreditation will bring to the Koppelman School but also to other schools that might be considering taking this journey for quality assurance?

A: A priority of business schools is to find jobs for their students, and businesses are looking for highly qualified students. One thing AACSB does is set standards for quality, so when a school meets those quality standards, they can be assured that their students are prepared for the workforce. Any business school that’s considering AACSB Accreditation is doing the best thing for their students, and also for their faculty. Once the school gets accredited, they can hire the best faculty to come in, and that’s going to raise their stature. At the Koppleman School, some of our alums have become very successful and started their own companies; some of them now belong to AACSB as a corporate member. So they know the value of AACSB Accreditation because they’re members, and they seek to hire students from schools that have that same accreditation.

Q: Regarding AACSB and your involvement as a dean, you’ve been a very committed volunteer with AACSB for some years. Something we hear frequently is that there’s a certain value from participation and engagement with communities, but also as a dean you have a chance to engage and share perspectives. Is that a value point that you’re hearing from your peers—engaging these networks like AACSB?

A: When attending annual meetings and seeing colleagues, we ask them what’s going on at their school. We share our points of price as well as our secrets to success, because we all have the same goal as business school deans—to best prepare our students. We joined AACSB and seek to be accredited because we really want our students to be qualified, and we know that in doing so, they’re going to have the opportunities we want them to have.