Is the AACSB Accreditation Important?

I'm considering a non-AACSB school and I would like to know how important this accreditation is.

What is your opinion?

 

It is just one more layer of prestige that one ads to the educational experience. It might not be indispensible, like ABET, AMA or ABA accreditation is in many instances, but it is a good accreditation to have on a degree granting intitution.

What is the level of degree in question, Bachelor, Master, or Doctoral?

Good luck.

 

MBA-AACSB

MBA

 

As a general rule, the higher the degree the less important AACSB accreditation is. So, unless you are planning on an eventual DBA, you may be ok with a non-AACSB school MBA.

 

I noticed you found it important.

Thank you for responding.

 

Laser,

You're in South Bend. Why not Mendoza's Executive MBA, if you're in the market for a part-time program? Top 30 school, all the accredited goodness you could want, etc., etc...

--Fortunato

 

Well, I'm considering if the GMAT test is worth all the prep.

I could be significantly along with my MBA by the time I get done studying for it.

Notre Dame is very, very expensive! Tuition is $30,000 a semster. I'm trying to avoid being in debt for life.

I'm considering IUSB (IU of South Bend) also. However, I have taken a class there and I was not impressed with the quality of instruction. IUSB is a tier 4 university, and Indiana Wesleyan is tier 3.

IUSB would be considered associated with the Kelley school of business that is so well known.

 

Important, hell yeah. Indispensible, no way.

 

When I arm twisted into going for an MBA, I decided to look at AACSB schools. The one that met my other criteria was San Jose State.

I figured that an AACSB accredited program would be a good way to go. It is not a must have necessity, however I figured if I was going to go through the pain- make it worthwhile.

What I found interesting is that having an AACSB MBA did not stop the academic posturing in the commercial world. I interviewed with a company (full of Hah-vahd, Yale, and Stanford MBAs) and was told I had "a working man's MBA (to which I replied, "as opposed to......?"). Anyhow, when I mentioned that SJSU was AACSB accredited at both undergrad and graduate levels, like his school, he had no idea what I was talking about. I asked if he made BGS, again, a blank. So, I got my poitn across.

At the time i went for the MBA I did not plan to do a doctorate. That decision came later. However, in my cohort, there were several others with non-AACSB MBA degrees, and they went through just fine. So, not having an AACSB degree will not keep you from doing an MBA (maybe from doing a Hah-vahd one- but I don't know that as a fact).

Where you will find it good to have is if you ever decide to teach at a school with AACSB accreditation. They tend to want instructors/profs that have degrees from AACSB schools.

BTW- one thing I learned was that having an undergrad degree from a non-AACSB school did not prevent me from getting into an AACSB program. At the time I went, there was some question as to whether it would be possible to go that route. As it turned out- not a problem.

One last thing- don't get all hung up on the GMAT. I had big time test anxiety (which has subsided over the last couple years) when I took the GMAT. You don't need to spend scads of money on special courses. Just get some good software (I used Kaplan) and practice. You can't really study for the GMAT, but you can prepare. You may need to brush up on rudimentary math/algebra/geometry, but for the most part what will make the difference is sticking to a strategy. You shouldn't need more than a month or two to prepare. Don't let the GMAT determine where you go. Choose the school you want, then meet their requirements.

 

If you are hoping for a full-time tenure-track professorship in business, your doctorate better be from an AACSB school. Other than that, I'm not sure to what extent anyone else would know or care.

 

Russ,

Bravo! This is one of the best pieces of advice I've seen on degreeinfo. Many people get worked up over the GMAT, and I've never understood it - if you use any of the widely available prep materials and understand what the test is looking for before going in, you'll be fine.

--Fortunato

 

Go to the best school that you can afford and fit to your schedule. You never know what lies ahead of you and you would hate to need an AACSB degree later and not have it....

 

I would say that AACSB is very important if you are looking to work in academia. All things being equal, an AACSB-accredited business school will hire someone with an AACSB-accredited doctorate (PhD or DBA) over someone without.

That said, a business school looking to obtain AACSB accreditation (and there are many) will go out of their way to hire faculty with AACSB accredited degrees.

Looking for a school to pursue my doctorate, I completely ruled out non-AACSB-accredited schools. It helped shorten the list.

 

Re: Re: Is the AACSB Accreditation Important?

I must agree with DTechBA( and we don't agree on much). It's better to have and not need than to need and not have!

Although the value in AACSB may not translate well when talking about 3 and 4 tier schools. In some cases it's better to go with a well known local university(if you are looking to work in the area) regardless of professional accreditation.

What ACBSP and AACSB does well is it requires some standardization in MBA programs. This is important in my opinion because it requires programs to meet certain criteria. Otherwise in theory you could have Leadership,Organizational Behavior or history of business degree posing as an MBA. That dilutes the true meaning of the degree in my opinion!

 

Re: Re: Re: Is the AACSB Accreditation Important?

Do you feel the same way about schools accredited by the IACBE as you do AACSB and ACBSP?

Just curious.

 

IACBE, started as an off shoot of ACBSP. I think IACBE isn't bad, but I would rather attend a B-school that has AACSB or ACBSP. I believe the standards are a bit higher(ask faculty who have gone through the reviews of AACSB or ACBSP, we have some here). Yet,IACBE at least sets some standards.

 

Yep. It is important for entry into higher-level business programs, but as Russ notes, not an absolute requirement. It is important for hiring purposes at AACSB-accredited B-schools, but that's a very narrow niche.

Business people hardly even know what it is. Nearly all the best B-schools are AACSB-accredited, but I wouldn't be too quick to draw a cause-and-effect relationship. I think it's a matter of those schools wanting AACSB and vice-versa.

 

I agree with most here, that if you want to teach, it is important, but in industry it is not as common as a requirement (my employer did have it as a requirement though), so make sure to look into that, if you are being funded by an employer.

 

Tuition Correction

Acutally the cost of tuition is $75,500 for 4 semesters.

QUOTE]Originally posted by Laser200
Well, I'm considering if the GMAT test is worth all the prep.

I could be significantly along with my MBA by the time I get done studying for it.

Notre Dame is very, very expensive! Tuition is $30,000 a semster. I'm trying to avoid being in debt for life.

I'm considering IUSB (IU of South Bend) also. However, I have taken a class there and I was not impressed with the quality of instruction. IUSB is a tier 4 university, and Indiana Wesleyan is tier 3.

IUSB would be considered associated with the Kelley school of business that is so well known. [/QUOTE]

 

I am enrolled in an AACSB MBA program, but, for utility on the streets I really do not believe it matters one bit. The name of the school and the reputation is the biggest factor. People do not recognize the name AACSB usually, but they do recognize the name of major private and state universities.

William