The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business at Elon University has achieved accreditation by AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. This accreditation is the highest possible in business education and caps a five-year initiative at Elon to make major investments and improvements in the quality of the business programs.
A team of three business school deans representing AACSB International visited Elon in February, reviewing the school’s extensive self-evaluation report and meeting with students, faculty and staff. The list of newly accredited institutions was announced by AACSB April 8.
“Achieving AACSB accreditation fulfills one of the major objectives of our NewCentury@Elon strategic plan,” says Leo M. Lambert, Elon president. “Special congratulations go to Dean John J. Burbridge and the outstanding faculty of the Love School. AACSB accreditation is the result of their hard work, planning and dedication. Current business students as well as alumni can take pride in promoting the world-class quality of their business education. It is one of Elon’s finest distinctions.”
Of more than 3,000 collegiate business programs around the world, fewer than 20 percent have earned AACSB accreditation. Only 418 colleges and universities in the nation have achieved the AACSB hallmark of excellence. Elon joins Duke and Wake Forest as the only independent universities in North Carolina with AACSB accreditation.
To achieve accreditation, business programs must satisfy the expectations of a wide range of quality standards relating to strategic management of resources, interactions of faculty and students in the educational process, and achievement of learning goals in degree programs.
Elon business programs include undergraduate majors in business administration, accounting and economics along with a master’s program in business administration (MBA). Concentrations are offered in finance, international business, management, marketing, and management information systems. About 850 undergraduates and 80 graduate students study in programs focused on producing graduates who have the knowledge, skills and character essential for responsible business leadership in the 21st century.
The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business includes 31 full-time faculty members. The school was created in 1984 with a gift from the family of pioneering textile magnate Spencer Love and his wife, Martha. The founder of Burlington Industries, Spencer Love is recognized as the most influential 20th century North Carolina business leader.
AACSB International is a not-for-profit organization consisting of more than 900 educational organizations and corporations. Its mission is excellence in management education in colleges and universities. Headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., AACSB International is the premier accrediting agency and service organization for business schools.
Below is the list of schools receiving initial AACSB International accreditation this spring:
- Asian Institute of Management (Philippines)
- Columbus (Ga.) State University
- EDHEC Business School, Lille and Nice (France)
- Elon University
- HHL – Leipzig Graduate School of Management (Germany)
- Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administracion (IESA) (Venezuela)
- Mercer University (Macon and Atlanta, Ga., campuses)
- Morehead (Ky.) State University
- The University of North Carolina at Asheville
- St. Bonaventure (N.Y.) University
- Saint Mary’s University (Canada)
- The University of Sydney (Australia)
- Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School (Belgium)