MEDIA RELEASE

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) has announced the University of Hawaii at Hilo College of Business and Economics (CoBE) is one of 45 institutions worldwide whose business accreditation has been renewed.

Founded in 1916, AACSB is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.

AACSB accreditation is considered the mark of quality distinction most widely sought after by business schools. A total of just 579 institutions across 35 countries, or less than 5 percent worldwide, have earned AACSB accreditation.

“This is the gold standard,” Chancellor Rose Tseng said. “To achieve and maintain AACSB accreditation places CoBE in some very exclusive company with the finest business institutions around the globe.”

Other universities earning Maintenance of Business Accreditation include Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Quinnipiac, Yale, Kuwait University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Toulouse Business School-Groupe ESC Toulouse of France.

Accreditation is achieved through a rigorous internal review process, evaluation and adjustment that can take up to several years to complete. Along the way, the school must develop and implement a plan to meet 21 AACSB standards requiring a high quality learning environment, a commitment to continuous improvement and curricula responsive to the needs of business.

“It takes a great deal of self-evaluation and determination to earn and maintain AACSB accreditation,” said Jerry Trapnell, chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “Schools not only must meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculty, and staff must make a commitment to ongoing improvement to ensure continued delivery of high-quality education to students.”

CoBE was established in January 2004 and earned initial accreditation from AACSB-International approximately one year later. The ensuing five-year Maintenance of Accreditation process culminated with a site visit late last year by a review team from AACSB. In January, the AACSB- International Board of Directors voted to continue the College’s accreditation.

“AACSB accreditation affirms the investment that the faculty, students and community advisory board have made to assure high quality business education and to create an exceptional learning environment,” CoBE Dean Marcia Sakai said. “Our school has been recognized for its best practices by involving external stakeholders in its mission development and strategic planning processes and by transforming students into student leaders as they plan and coordinate major student events on campus.”

Sakai said as the school moves into the next Maintenance of Accreditation cycle, work will begin on the development of focused tracks, such as marketing and tourism. She anticipates those tracks will become the seeds for eventual majors. The school will also evaluate the integration of sustainability and indigenous perspectives against the backdrop of globalization.

UH-Hilo’s achievement will be recognized at the April 2010 AACSB International Conference and Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California.

— Find out more:
http://business.uhh.hawaii.edu
www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/