The AACSB's membership is made up of more than 1,200 schools, businesses and other organizations in 78 countries. In January 2011, the organization's 607 accredited business schools were spread across 38 countries worldwide, accompanied by 175 accredited accounting schools. These totals represent only about five schools for every 100 business schools. Furthermore, accredited schools are required to maintain their status through a five-year evaluation cycle.
Most business schools are not standalone institutions, but part of a larger school. While most of these schools are already accredited, it is often an advantage to seek out specialized accreditation for departments working in highly specialized and demanding fields. Any college-level school looking for that kind of edge may ask to be considered for AACSB accreditation. The candidate school will forward a self-assessment to the AACSB, which decides whether to send a peer-review team. That team evaluates the school's curriculum and standard of instruction and makes a recommendation whether to continue the process. Business schools and accounting schools have separate criteria.
As of January 2011, the AACSB judges business schools on 21 standard criteria. These are divided into three sets of standards addressing different aspects of the school's activities. One set looks at how the school conducts its own business, and is referred to as "Strategic Management Standards." A second set considers how involved the students and staff are in the educational process and operation of the school, and these are called "Participants Standards." The final set looks at the quality of education received by the students, and how well it fits them for the demands of the real world. These are called "Assurance of Learning Standards."
Accounting schools are vetted using the same process. Each accounting school also is evaluated with a set of Strategic Management Standards, Participants Standards, and Assurance of Learning Standards. There are a total of 15 standards for accounting schools, which are somewhat different from those used in evaluating business schools. Many schools teach both business and accounting, and must adhere to both sets of criteria. As with business schools, accounting schools are reviewed on a five-year cycle in order to maintain their accreditation.