Business School Accreditation

Business School accreditation is a form of professional, specialized, or programmatic accreditation. In other words, this is not accreditation for a whole institution, but for business schools and programs. Even more important is the scope of the accreditation. It focuses on business schools and its various programs.

There are three business school accreditors out there. While each is independent of each other, there is a "unwritten" pecking order among them. The AACSB accreditation is the most prestigious as it has been around the longest. The ACPSP is the next in line and often seems to be used as a stepping-stone to AACSB accreditation. The last, but not least is the IACBE accreditation.

1. Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
   Established: 1916
   Location: Tampa, Florida
   Web: www.aacsb.edu
   Accredits schools and colleges of business nationally and internationally--most recognized and prestigious.

2. Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
   Established: 1988
   Location: Overland Park, Kansas
   Web: www.acbsp.org
   Accredits schools, colleges, and programs of business nationally and internationally.

3. International Assembly of Collegiate Business Education (IACBE)
   Established: 1997
   Location: Lenexa, Kansas
   Web: www.iacbe.org
   Accredits schools, colleges, and programs of business nationally and internationally--spin-off from the ACBSP.

All three accreditations are well established in the world of business education. I have seen MBA programs covered by all three accreditors listed above. All three require regional accreditation before they will accredit a business school. Business school accreditation is an added bonus to regionall accreditation and shows that the school is in pursuit of quality.

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