Since 2020, the International Accreditation Office of the School of Management has conducted a detailed interpretation of the AACSB standards, updated the school’s mission in accordance with these standards, and conducted multiple research visits to peer institutions. The school has established an Assurance of Learning (AOL) Advisory Committee, a Curriculum Committee, and curriculum teams, built an AOL curriculum system, and revised the EA report numerous times. These preparations and efforts have laid a solid foundation for the final approval of the EA application. The successful approval of the EA is an affirmation of the school’s achievements in talent cultivation, faculty development, and strategic planning. More importantly, it represents a major milestone in the school’s AACSB accreditation journey, marking the official entry into the AACSB accreditation process and the initiation of the initial accreditation procedure.

In the new year, the School of Management will seize new opportunities, meet new challenges, and fully advance the AACSB international business school accreditation work. The school will appoint AACSB accreditation mentors, carry out work such as school strategic planning, faculty classification, and the construction of the AOL curriculum assurance system in accordance with AACSB standards, and commence preparations for compiling the Initial Self-Evaluation Report (iSER). It will make unremitting efforts to build itself into a first-class domestic and internationally renowned school of management at an early date.

Founded in the United States in 1916, AACSB accreditation was jointly initiated by business schools of 17 prestigious universities including Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University, New York University, Northwestern University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Chicago. After a century of development, the AACSB accreditation standards have become the authoritative benchmark for global management education, with fewer than 5% of business schools worldwide honored with this accreditation. The AACSB accreditation process consists of six phases: obtaining AACSB membership, submitting the Eligibility Application (EA), hosting visits by accreditation mentors, submitting the Implementation Navigation Plan application, compiling the self-evaluation report, implementing the Assurance of Learning (AOL) system, and undergoing the on-site review. The eligibility application is an important channel to demonstrate a business school’s performance in various aspects such as strategic planning, financial status, program offerings, academic influence, and social impact. It is also a critical step for AACSB to assess whether a member institution meets the accreditation prerequisites and requirements, and to determine the scope of accreditation.

(Written by Yi Ruping; Reviewed by Shao Jing & Qiao Caiyan)