The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) has reaffirmed business and accounting accreditations for the Kent State University College of Business Administration.
Founded in 1916, AACSB is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools, and the largest business education network connecting students, educators, and businesses worldwide.
For over a century, AACSB accreditation has been synonymous with the highest standards in business education, and has been earned by less than 5 percent of the world’s business schools. Today, 799 institutions across 53 countries and territories have earned AACSB Accreditation. Further, 186 institutions hold additional specialized AACSB Accreditation for their accounting programs, placing Kent State among fewer than 1 percent of schools worldwide to hold dual accreditation.
“This affirms the high-quality programs and faculty we have at the Kent State College of Business Administration from bachelor’s through doctoral levels,” said Deborah F. Spake, Ph.D., dean of the College of Business Administration. “This places the College in the small group of business schools worldwide that hold both business and accounting accreditation.”
AACSB accreditation standards 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.
To achieve accounting accreditation, an institution must first earn AACSB Business Accreditation. Then, in addition to developing and implementing a mission-driven plan to satisfy the business accreditation quality standards, accounting accreditation requires the satisfaction of an additional set of standards specific to the discipline and profession of accounting. Once accreditation is achieved, each institution participates in a five-year continuous improvement peer-review to maintain high quality and extend its accreditation.
“AACSB congratulates each institution on their achievement,” said Stephanie M. Bryant, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB. “Every AACSB-accredited school has demonstrated a focus on excellence in all areas, including teaching, research, curricula development and student learning. The intense peer-review process exemplifies their commitment to quality business education.”
More information about the College’s accreditation and rankings
Media Contact:
Joni Bowen, jbowen1@kent.edu, 330-672-1279
Kent State College of Business Administration
Kent State University's College of Business Administration is among the fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide to obtain dual AACSB accreditation in both business and accounting. The College enrolls more than 4,000 students and boasts 10 undergraduate majors, 13 minors and a Professional Sales Certificate program; master's degrees in accounting, business administration (MBA and EMBA), business analytics, and economics; as well as a Ph.D. program with concentrations in accounting, finance, information systems, management and marketing.
The Kent State College of Business Administration ranks among the top 100 public business undergraduate programs in the 2018 U.S. News and World Report and 45th in 2016 by Bloomberg Businessweek based on an employer survey of how well schools prepared students for jobs. The College is ranked as one of the nation’s Best Business Schools by Princeton Review. The College is committed to sustainability as an advanced Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) signatory and is recognized by the Sales Education Foundation as a top university for professional sales education.