Baruch Thanks the Zicklin School of Business AACSB Accreditation Team

It’s now official: The Zicklin School of Business and the Stan Ross Department of Accountancy have maintained their accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). President Stan Altman, Provost Jim McCarthy, Zicklin School of Business dean John Elliott, and the entire Baruch College community would like to extend their thanks to the Zicklin committees who spent many hours collaborating on this year’s AACSB report. The Zicklin School has maintained accreditation by the AACSB since 1933, a distinction that is subject to rigorous evaluation every five years.
Documentation to be provided to the AACSB during the review process calls for anecdotal analysis and self-evaluation of the quality of business programming, faculty, and management within the school. Assigned to this task were three separate committees made up of Zicklin School faculty and staff: a Strategic Plan Review Committee, the Zicklin Executive Committee, and an Assurance of Learning Committee. In addition, each of these committees was involved in the preparation of documents for the Stan Ross Department of Accountancy, which has maintained a separate AACSB accreditation since 1984.

Beyond maintaining the accreditation of the Zicklin School and the Stan Ross Department of Accountancy, the AACSB identified Baruch College’s diverse student body and the Subotnick Financial Services Center as important elements of the Baruch College experience that warrant inclusion in the AACSB database of "best practices."

The AACSB accreditation is a worthwhile venture for the College not only because it is a prestigious endorsement — it also provides Zicklin committees with a strategy to assess the school on a regular basis and to make changes that will improve the quality of education for students. "We call it 'closing the loop'," said Myung-Soo Lee, associate dean for academic affairs in the Zicklin School of Business. "Through the AACSB review process we identify problem areas and take corrective action. Then we begin assessment again, until we’re sure students are meeting our learning goals." Advisory groups meet early in the process to identify goals that can be measured in Zicklin undergraduate and graduate classes.

In addition, the Zicklin AACSB accreditation committees must evaluate whether faculty are meeting the association’s sufficiency standards, which state that at least 50% of faculty must be "academically qualified" — holding a doctoral degree in their discipline and remaining active in industry research — while adjunct professors must be "professionally qualified," or regularly partake in professional development and engagement opportunities, have at least five years of non-entry level professional experience, and a Master’s degree. In both areas, Zicklin School of Business faculty have surpassed AACSB standards this review term. The Zicklin School of Business remains the largest AACSB-accredited school in the country.

To learn more about AACSB accreditation and what it means for Baruch, visit http://www.aacsb.edu/media/faq.asp.