RU Maintains Prestigious AACSB International Accreditation

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) announced that the Radford University College of Business and Economics (COBE) has maintained its accreditation.

Founded in 1916, AACSB is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools offering undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in business and accounting. AACSB accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in business education and has been earned by less than five percent of the world’s business schools, or 650 business schools in 45 countries.

"It takes a great deal of commitment and determination to earn and maintain AACSB accreditation," said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. "Business schools must not only meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculty and professional staff must make a commitment to ongoing continuous improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver the highest quality of education to students."

AACSB accreditation places the COBE among the select American business schools - only 25 percent of the baccalaureate business programs in the United States have AACSB accreditation.

"Accreditation recognizes our world class faculty and their commitment to helping RU's students achieve success through continuous improvement and ongoing development of innovative curricula," said Gilbert. "It is a foundation of the COBE brand as a prestigious business program."

To earn its maintenance of accreditation, RU undertook a rigorous process of internal review, evaluation and adjustment and was visited by a peer review team. In the process, RU developed and implemented plans to meet the 21 AACSB standards that ensure it maintains a high-quality teaching environment, a commitment to continuous improvement and curricula responsive to the needs of business. The RU COBE earned initial accreditation in 1992.

"I would like to commend my colleagues for their hard work by which COBE achieved this endorsement," said Gilbert. "AACSB accreditation is a tremendous accomplishment."

The COBE mission is to provide an active learning environment that develops analytical and innovative business professionals for the dynamic global economy by challenging minds, cultivating talents and connecting people in a technology rich learning environment.