AACSB International has renewed the University of New Orleans’ accreditation in both business and accounting.

A total of 926 institutions across 60 countries and territories have earned AACSB accreditation in business with fewer than 200 maintaining a supplemental accounting accreditation.

“AACSB accreditation is the gold standard for business education,” said Pamela Kennett-Hensel, dean of the College of Business Administration. “Less than five percent of all schools offering degree programs in business at the bachelor’s level or higher hold AACSB accreditation and only one percent of business schools hold supplementary accounting accreditation.

"The extension of our business and accounting accreditation speaks to the high quality and relevance of our programs and to our commitment to continuously improve our offerings. I’m extremely proud of the hard work and dedication exhibited by our College of Business Administration faculty and staff to ensure that our students receive a cutting-edge business education,” said Kennett-Hensel.

Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal focus, engagement with an AACSB-assigned mentor and peer-reviewed evaluation. During this multi-year path, schools focus on developing and implementing a plan to align with AACSB’s accreditation standards.
       
These standards require excellence in areas relating to strategic management and innovation; student, faculty, and staff as active participants; learning and teaching; and academic and professional engagement.  

“Every AACSB-accredited school has demonstrated a focus on excellence in all areas, including teaching, research, curricula development and student learning,” said Stephanie M. Bryant, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB. “The intense peer-review process exemplifies their commitment to quality business education.”  

To achieve accounting accreditation, an institution must first earn AACSB business accreditation. Then, in addition to developing and implementing a mission-driven plan to satisfy the business accreditation quality standards, accounting accreditation requires the satisfaction of a supplemental set of standards specific to the discipline and profession of accounting.

Once accreditation is achieved, each institution participates in a five-year continuous improvement peer review to maintain high quality and extend its accreditation.