Perception of Business School Deans: An analysis of AACSB Accreditation Guidelines Available to Purchase

Business school accreditation is currently striving to provide minimum guidelines that all schools must meet, while at the same time allowing for diversity,since schools are not homogeneous in their goals andmissions. The American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the long established accrediting body has been criticized for being monolithic in its development and implementation of standards for achieving accreditation. This issue has led to the development of a second accrediting body for business education. The Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) was formed in 1988 in part as a reaction to concerns that the standards set by AACSBdid not recognize diversity within the missions of its member schools. The mission issue concerns primarily the role of research and terminal degrees as standards for accreditation. Critics contend that emphasis on research and terminal degree coverage favors the research oriented schools and has limited the number of AACSB member schools that can achieve accreditation. Approximately 280 out of 700 member schools are accredited (Sanford).