The AACSB was founded in 1916 as a membership organization for business schools. In 1919, the organization began granting accreditation, with the goal of promoting excellence in business education. In 1980, the AACSB developed an additional accreditation program for accounting programs. Today, recognition by the organization involves evaluation of a variety of areas, including the school's mission, faculty qualification and production, quality of programs and graduate success rates.
There are a few different types of accreditation. Reputable institutions first seek institutional accreditation which, in the United States, is granted by one of six regional accrediting bodies. This type of accreditation covers the entire college or university, but does not specifically evaluate individual programs or colleges within the institution. Specialized accreditation is concerned with one or two specific areas of study, and ensures college programs meet standards of excellence within that discipline. In the case of the AACSB, only business and accounting programs are evaluated to ensure these programs maintain industry standards and adequately prepare graduates for careers in these fields.
The AACSB website includes a full list of over 600 schools it recognizes. In the United States, many well-known names make the list. On the east coast, the AACSB accredits such schools as: University of Connecticut, University of Delaware, Florida State, University of Georgia, Wake Forest, Hofstra, Pace, Clemson, James Madison and Old Dominion. In the midwest the AACSB includes such notable names as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Oklahoma State, Kent State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Creighton, Marquette and Wichita State. Making the list on the west coast are Arizona State, University of Oregon, Brigham Young, Gonzaga and Washington State.
The AACSB is considered an international organization. In addition to the United States, the AACSB recognizes colleges worldwide in Canada, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela and Peru. In Europe, AACSB universities are located in The Netherlands, France, The United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Switzerland and Slovenia. In the Middle East, look for schools in Quatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Kuwait, Israel and Egypt. Other locations include Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and China.