We are AACSB accredited
In May 2022, the faculty of management was accredited by AACSB International, a recognition received by less than 6 percent of business schools around the world.
AACSB – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business – connects educators, students, and business to achieve a common goal: Create the next generation of great leaders. Synonymous with the highest standards of excellence since 1916, AACSB provides quality assurance, business education intelligence, and professional development services to over 1,600 member organizations and more than 850 accredited business schools worldwide.
AACSB accreditation ensures high-quality business programs
AACSB accreditation ensures a school is providing its students with a challenging, relevant education that prepares them for the business world. In order to earn and sustain business accreditation, an institution must align with a set of nine business accreditation standards that focus on mission and strategic management; support for students, faculty, and staff; learning and teaching; and academic and professional engagement of students and faculty.
Accreditation by AACSB is a process of continuous improvement whereby we had to set goals, improve our programs and demonstrate that we are achieving these goals. It is a rigorous process that ensures business schools are delivering the best in business education.
AACSB accreditation provides a framework for the faculty’s vision
The accreditation process provided a strong framework for developing and rolling out the faculty of management’s strategic vision. This led us to identify our strengths and differentiate our programs.
Our two greatest strengths – industry partnerships and experiential learning – inspired us to expand our experiential offerings to benefit all students in every year of the business programs. We aspire to become known as “The Experiential Business School of Canada.”
Impacting students’ learning and careers
Experiential learning is now embedded in all years of our business programs to benefit all students. Students test their classroom knowledge in the real world through industry and community projects, Co-op placements and internships. They develop valuable skills, and gain meaningful experience and confidence to prepare them for their careers.
Additionally, we have introduced professional development into all programs. Students have the opportunity to identify their leadership strengths and weaknesses and participate in personal and professional development exercises to help them improve.
AACSB accreditation sends a signal to the world that graduates and alumni from their institutions are prepared to lead in today’s competitive, global business environment. Graduating from an AACSB accredited business school will help our alumni stand out to employers.
AACSB-accredited schools:
- are recognized worldwide by top employers and other universities
- have access to employers that only hire graduates from AACSB accredited schools
- have more access to recruiters
- have graduates that receive higher, more competitive salaries
- have students that are more international and are likely to earn higher levels of education
- have students with high-graduating GPAs
- are challenging and teach the best skills that give graduates a distinct advantage.
Impacting our faculty members’ teaching and research
Accreditation has inspired our faculty members to practice innovative teaching methods. For example, they are collaborating with businesses and community groups to integrate their challenges and opportunities into the classrooms where students apply their learning to find solutions and develop strategies. In the Strategic Management course, our BBA students recently partnered with the Fredericton Local Immigration Partnership (FLIP) to help integrate immigrants into the community more effectively.
Accreditation has inspired us to develop a stronger research culture. Faculty members are motivated to pursue quality research, consider the impact of their discoveries in business and society, and publish their work in top tier journals. For example, finance professor Dr. Azam Shamsi recently published an article on making better investment decisions in the Journal of Empirical Finance.
For our community
The AACSB accreditation process has motivated us to build stronger partnerships with our alumni and community. Sharing stories about the impact of our programs and research are a priority. For example, we regularly share stories about our programs, students, faculty and alumni on our blog, Ideas with Impact, in our alumni newsletter and other media.
More than ever, alumni and business partners are involved in our extracurricular activities and classroom projects. For example, the first-year Business Planning & Entrepreneurship course engaged with 45 mentors from the business community who provided guidance and support to BBA students during the 2021-2022 academic year.
New Brunswickers will know they have a business school in their community that is recognized by one of the leading accrediting bodies in the world.
