Before investing the money, time and energy in obtaining a business degree, one should determine the quality of the programs being offered. One factor to consider is whether the program is accredited by a specialised accrediting agency.

The Association of Collegiate Schools and Programs (ACBSP) is an international accrediting agency for business schools and programs. ACBSP was established in 1989 in response to institutions wanting an opportunity to validate the quality and integrity of their business schools and programs. ACBSP, with offices in Overland Park, Kansas, is composed of 422 members whose schools confer Baccalaureate or Master's Degrees. Members are located in the US, from Alabama to Wyoming, and abroad in Austria, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.

'Accredited' members are those institutions that have gone through a rigorous internal evaluation (known as a self-study) and an external evaluation by a group of their peers. The method chosen by the institution for demonstrating compliance with ACBSP standards is either one of prescriptiveness (inputs based) or one based on outputs (structured after the Baldrige Criteria). Either method assures the institution's stakeholders that its program is one of excellence. More than 200 of ACBSP's member schools are accredited, and most of the other members are diligently working towards that goal.

For a current copy of the ACBSP Directory of Accredited Graduate Programs, contact ACBSP at (913) 339 9356 or ACBSP@aol.com.

Additional information on ACBSP can be found at its website: www.ACBSP.org.

Author
Roy N Moore, PhD
Interim Executive Director
Association of Collegiate Business Schools & Programs