ATLANTA, March 24, 2000. Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business has achieved reaffirmation of accreditation of its bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs in business administration by recent action of the Board of Directors of AACSB - The International Association for Management Education (AACSB). The official announcement was made this month in St. Louis, Mo.
To achieve accreditation, the business programs must satisfy the expectations of a wide range of quality standards relating to curriculum, faculty resources, admissions, degree requirement, library and computer facilities, financial resources, and intellectual climate that are all mission-linked. During the accreditation process, the Robinson College was visited and evaluated by business school deans with detailed knowledge of management education, applying standards widely accepted in the educational community.
The report applauded the Robinson College of Business for its commitment to implementing online technologies for non-traditional students, implementation of a formative post-tenure review process, and the use of instructional innovation grants to foster improvements in teaching. "Re-accreditation by the AACSB sends an important signal of excellence and moves us closer to the international recognition we seek," said Dean Sidney E. Harris.
As of March 2000, there are 383 colleges and universities that have achieved AACSB accreditation for their degree programs in business. This total consists of 17 institutions outside the United States (seven in Canada, two in Europe, two in Mexico, two in Asia, one in Central America, one in South America and one in the United Kingdom); the remaining 366 are U.S. educational institutions.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are approximately 1,200 U.S. institutions that offer the undergraduate business degree. Included in that total, there are more than 700 graduate business programs. In accounting, 142 institutions have achieved AACSB accreditation at various degree levels.
The J. Mack Robinson College of Business is one of the most heralded business schools in the Southeast. The College's part-time MBA program has been listed in the top ten by U.S.News & World Report for the past five years. In addition, the magazine recently listed Georgia State's undergraduate insurance program as 2nd best in the nation, the management program as the 21st best, and the management of information systems (MIS) program as 17th best. Overall, the undergraduate program is ranked in the top 5 percent of programs nationally by U.S.News. In addition, Business Week listed the College's Executive MBA program as one of the top 20 leading programs in the country. Forbes has named the College as one of the best business schools for return on investment. With approximately 8,200 students, the College is one of the nation's largest accredited business programs.
AACSB is a not-for-profit organization consisting of more than 800 educational organizations and corporations. Its mission is excellence in management education in colleges and universities. Headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., AACSB is the premier accrediting agency and service organization for business schools.
For more information, contact:
Tammy Demel
Office of External Affairs
Robinson College of Business
404/413-7078
404/702-9743 (cell)
Sharon Barber, AACSB, 314-872-8507
