An exploratory study of the perceptions of AACSB International’s 2013 Accreditation Standards

The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of an exploratory survey designed to measure AACSB member deans’ perceptions about the recently revised 2013 Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Accreditation Standards. In April of 2013, AACSB International released a major revision of its accreditation standards to better reflect the increased globalization of management education.

The present study surveyed AACSB member school deans via e-mail using SurveyMonkey during October and early November of 2013. A total of 1,131 valid e-mail addresses were found for the deans/heads of member schools (accredited and non-accredited). In total, 259 surveys were completed, resulting in a 23 per cent response rate for member schools with valid e-mails (n = 1,131).

The present study found that the AACSB membership largely perceives that AACSB accreditation is a basic requirement to be a credible and competitive business school, is an indicator of a quality education and is linked to enhancing a business school’s ability to be effective in faculty recruitment and student placement. Even business school’s holding association of MBA (AMBA) and the European Foundation for Management Development’s International Accreditation Program (EQUIS) accreditation seemed to think that AACSB accreditation is a basic requirement to be a competitive business school. The most notable finding of this study is that most deans indicated that they will be able to meet the 2013 standards.

Although at the time of the survey no business school had been subject to review under the new standards, member deans largely felt that the guiding principles and values and the accreditation standards themselves are achievable. In addition, there was widespread agreement that AACSB accreditation is valuable, meaningful and essential in today’s globally competitive environment.