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“We will be able to better compete with other area colleges. Also, many of the larger corporate recruiters only visit AACSB accredited schools,” said Richard Robinson, Director of the SUNY Fredonia School of Business. “But the real reason to do this is that the AACSB process will make us a much improved institution.”
As of December 2005, 515 schools held AACSB business accreditation worldwide. Accredited SUNY schools are Albany, Binghamton and Buffalo as well as Brockport, Geneseo, Oswego and Plattsburgh. Other Western New York institutions with AACSB accreditation include Canisius, St. Bonaventure and Niagara.
The accreditation process will require the SUNY Fredonia School of Business to meet 21 different standards of institutional excellence, including an enhanced curriculum and the continued recruitment of faculty qualified to properly implement AACSB’s standards.
A dean from an AACSB International-accredited school will serve as a mentor to SUNY Fredonia, assisting the School of Business to progressively meet its outlined goals. At the end of the four-year period, SUNY Fredonia will be visited by three AACSB International-approved deans, who will confirm that the prescribed standards have been met.
“The standards are in place to continuously improve every aspect of what we do as a school,” said Dr. Robinson. “This is not something that has an end. We will constantly strive for excellence and constantly try to improve.”
Part of this movement includes targeting what AACSB International refers to as “aspiring programs.” SUNY Fredonia administrators will be required to study successful programs and practices at other colleges and universities to single out aspects that could potentially improve business education on campus.
“The AACSB demands that we examine other programs,” said Dr. Robinson. “We need to identify the programs and ideas that we like. It’s not copying – it’s a way to find what’s right for us, and to stay on the cutting edge of education.”
