University and Business Accreditation Processes: Building on Commonalities

Abstract

National and regional accrediting bodies have specific requirements of higher education institutions designed to ensure educational quality and institutional effectiveness. Specialized accrediting bodies such as AACSB also outline expectations designed to meet similar goals. However, the requirements vary in both scope and scale, and terminology differs. There are many areas of overlap in the principles and standards of national and regional accrediting bodies for universities and of AACSB, including strategic planning and assessment or assurance of learning. This article presents the experiences of one college of business and how its leadership team has built synergy to meet the requirements of both accrediting bodies while minimizing duplication of effort.