Fresno State’s Craig School of Business is one of 85 colleges and universities worldwide to extend its business and accounting accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International).
AACSB looks at the quality of 11,000 colleges and universities worldwide. Fewer than 600 of the 11,000 or 5 percent of colleges and universities have received AACSB International accreditation.
Fresno State has held AACSB International accreditation since 1958, the first California State University campus to receive certification and was the third university in California, behind UCLA and UC Berkeley.
“We have long been proud of the education and experiences our students get within our programs,” said Dr. Robert Harper, dean of the Craig School of Business. “This accreditation helps us demonstrate that the Craig School of Business is among the best of the best worldwide.”
Harper said schools that receive accreditation are reviewed every five years. The Craig School of Business was evaluated by the AACSB in January and received confirmation on March 28 via email that the school’s accreditation would be extended for another five years.
“I’m proud to have it extended and confirmed for us,” Harper said. “[It confirms] that we are continuing to improve because continuous improvement is one of the goals of AACSB. We are offering our students quality programs that will help them succeed in their career.”
Harper said the faculty is pleased to know that the college has been able to extend its certification. It’s a relief for the Craig School of Business because it means that the school has high-quality business programs and the staff does not have to worry about the college being re-evaluated next year.
Harper said the AACSB accreditation is a stamp of approval. It means it met the standards worldwide of all business programs, in particular the U.S., including some of the more prestigious ones.
“We offer a nice quality program,” said Harper. “We worked hard to achieve recognition attributed to students and how they work.”
“We take pride in outside and engaged activities,” said Harper. “We offer opportunities for internships, studying abroad, service learning, and projects with real companies, the whole gamut of external experiences to go along with classrooms.”
The school receives a large amount of community support from businesses and business professionals, Harper said.
“It takes a great deal of commitment and determination to earn AACSB accreditation,” said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International.
“Business schools must not only meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculty and professional staff must make a commitment to ongoing continuous improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver the highest quality of education to students.”