Processes and Procedures
FAQs - Processes and Procedures
How does our school start the accreditation process?
The first step in the accreditation process is to establish membership with Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½. To apply for membership, please . Additional details about membership are available at aacsb.edu/membership/educational. The Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ membership team can be reached at [email protected].
Once membership is established, a school should familiarize its faculty and administration with the Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ accreditation standards and the accreditation journey. To proceed into the accreditation process, the next step is to submit an eligibility application. Details on how to submit the eligibility application are available here.
Eligibility applications are accepted at any time. Schools are encouraged to provide a draft of their eligibility application to Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ staff for review. Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ staff will check for completeness and any potential concerns. Once the eligibility application is complete, the Initial Accreditation Committee (IAC) will review the application at the next scheduled meeting. Meeting dates and applicable deadlines are available here.
Eligibility applications are due to the committee at least two months in advance of the meeting. If approved, a mentor will be assigned to help guide the school through the initial accreditation process.
Many schools find it useful to send their staff to the Business Accreditation Seminar, which offers an in-depth overview of the initial accreditation process and the nine business accreditation standards. Additionally, the small group allows for detailed conversation and specific questions related to each school’s situation, as well as comprehension of the overall process requirements.
Once membership is established, a school should familiarize its faculty and administration with the Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ accreditation standards and the accreditation journey. To proceed into the accreditation process, the next step is to submit an eligibility application. Details on how to submit the eligibility application are available here.
Eligibility applications are accepted at any time. Schools are encouraged to provide a draft of their eligibility application to Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ staff for review. Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ staff will check for completeness and any potential concerns. Once the eligibility application is complete, the Initial Accreditation Committee (IAC) will review the application at the next scheduled meeting. Meeting dates and applicable deadlines are available here.
Eligibility applications are due to the committee at least two months in advance of the meeting. If approved, a mentor will be assigned to help guide the school through the initial accreditation process.
Many schools find it useful to send their staff to the Business Accreditation Seminar, which offers an in-depth overview of the initial accreditation process and the nine business accreditation standards. Additionally, the small group allows for detailed conversation and specific questions related to each school’s situation, as well as comprehension of the overall process requirements.
Do documents need to be translated into English?
We make every effort to organize peer review teams with members who speak the primary language spoken at the school, but because there is no guarantee that the peer review team members will speak the school's primary language, all salient documents will need to be translated into English. This will also help the committee members who may not speak the language. While there is no expectation that all documentation be translated into English, documents that will assist the PRT (and subsequently the committee) in rendering an accreditation decision should be available in English. All accreditation documents, such as the eligibility application, iSER, final SER, etc., must be in English. The faculty members’ curriculum vitae (CVs) should be in English, but all of the journal articles or other intellectual contributions do not need to be translated into English. Assurance of learning summary reports should be in English; however, meeting minutes and student work are not expected to be translated. Other examples of materials that should be translated include faculty handbooks, which will help a committee and team understand how faculty are managed; codes of conduct; student handbooks; a sample of syllabi; marketing materials (although not all); and student/alumni evaluations that a school may have distributed to get feedback.
To help in cases where team members do not speak the language spoken at the school, it is common for the school to have a translator either present for the entire visit or parts of the visit in which participants do not speak English.
To help in cases where team members do not speak the language spoken at the school, it is common for the school to have a translator either present for the entire visit or parts of the visit in which participants do not speak English.
If I have a complaint against an Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½-accredited institution, how do I let Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ know?
Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ has a complaint policy that includes the process for filing a complaint with Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ against an Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½-accredited institution. An excerpt from the policy states all complaints should:
Our complaint policy is available here.
The accreditation standards are available here.
- identify the complainant and his/her relationship with the institution;
- identify the specific eligibility criteria and/or accreditation standard(s) relevant to the complaint, and describe how the institution does not align with the standard;
- provide documentation that supports the complaint; if the complainant has pursued the complaint through the institution’s channels, provide complete evidence of this process and the outcome.
Our complaint policy is available here.
The accreditation standards are available here.
How long will it take for our school to become accredited?
The amount of time it will take a school to earn accreditation depends largely on how closely aligned they are with Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ standards when they apply for eligibility. On average, we observe that schools take between four and five years to earn Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ Accreditation.
How can I update my Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ information, job title, etc.?
Individuals can update information by accessing myÓ£ÌÒµ¼º½. Individuals noted as Official Contacts for Ó£ÌÒµ¼º½ purposes should submit an Official Contact Change form to [email protected]. For more information, official organization contact definitions, and to access the contact change form, please visit the updating your information page.