A Milestone of Excellence for UAlbany’s School of Business

The School of Business's dual accreditation in business administration and accounting has been extended by AACSB through 2020. (Photo by Carlo de Jesus)

ALBANY, N.Y. (April 26, 2017) -- The University at Albany School of Business’s dual accreditation in business administration and accounting has been extended by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) through 2020.

For the roughly 16,000 business schools worldwide, earning accreditation AACSB is seen as an internationally recognized mark of distinction. Only 786 schools in 53 countries (less than five percent) earned this distinction and fewer still have achieved an additional specialized accreditation for their accounting programs.

Once again, the University at Albany’s School of Business has achieved this elite status, as one of only 186 schools in the world to be dually accredited in both its business administration and accounting programs by AACSB, a distinction held by fewer than 1.2 percent of all eligible programs in the world.

“This is an important milestone for any school – AACSB accreditation is the gold standard for business education,” said Hany Shawky, interim dean for the School of Business. “It means the University at Albany School of Business maintains its high standing among business schools worldwide. More significantly, it’s a testament to our outstanding faculty, students, alumni and corporate connections, as well as our groundbreaking research, mentorship and training, and community outreach.”

UAlbany is one of only 186 schools in the world to be dually accredited in both its business administration and accounting programs by AACSB.

Founded in 1916, AACSB is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting. AACSB is the hallmark of excellence in management education, representing the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. Programs receiving AACSB accreditation have superior faculty, high-caliber teaching, outstanding and innovative programs and meaningful interaction between students and faculty.

The School of Business has achieved several successes recently. Earlier this year, the UAlbany MBA program was ranked among the top 100 MBA programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report. Additionally, the Master’s in Taxation program was named among the top 10 programs in the country by Value Colleges.

UAlbany has been recognized by AACSB for more than 40 years. In 1974, UAlbany’s School of Business was the first school in the world to be accredited by AACSB at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The School maintains this distinction today, fully accredited at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and separately for both accounting and business programs as designated by AACSB through 2020.

AACSB provides internationally recognized, specialized accreditation for business and accounting programs at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral level. The AACSB Accreditation Standards challenge post-secondary educators to pursue excellence and continuous improvement throughout their business programs. AACSB Accreditation is known, worldwide, as the longest standing, most recognized form of specialized/professional accreditation an institution and its business programs can earn.

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