Management department retains accreditation

  • Published
  • By John Van Winkle
  • Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The Academy's Department of Management is one of 68 schools to have maintained its accrediation in business from the AACSB.

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business is the premier accrediting body for institutions offering undergraduate, master's, and doctorate degrees in business and accounting.

"We are honored to receive this international honor that recognized the high quality of our program, our students, and our faculty," said Col. Andrew Armacost, Permanent Professor and Head, Department of Management. "We are proud of the innovative undergraduate management program we offer, which helps prepare our future officers for their service to the nation. Our AACSB accreditation provides an important external validation of our high quality faculty, students, and academic program."

"The AACSB moniker stands for outstanding quality, and this distinction honors our faculty, our students, and our program," he added.

AACSB accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in business education and has been earned by less than five percent of the world's business schools. Today, there are 620 business schools in 38 countries that maintain AACSB accreditation.

"AACSB commends the faculty, deans, directors, and administrative staffs of each institution for their exemplary work in helping their schools earn or maintain the highest honor in business school accreditation" said John J. Fernandes, president and chief executive officer of AACSB International.

Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal review, evaluation, and adjustment and can take several years to complete. During these years, the school develops and implements a plan to meet the AACSB accreditation standards which require a high quality teaching environment, a commitment to continuous improvement, and curricula responsive to the needs of businesses.

"It takes a great deal of commitment and determination to earn or maintain AACSB accreditation," said Jerry Trapnell, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. "Schools must not only meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculties and staffs must make a commitment to ongoing improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver high quality education to students."