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Dalton State College’s School of Business has joined the ranks
of the world’s elite business schools by earning accreditation
from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
International (AACSB), college officials have announced.
Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving
global accrediting body for business schools that offer
undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees in business and
accounting. Fewer than five percent of the world’s business
schools earn AACSB accreditation, which is considered to be the
“hallmark of excellence in business education.”
Worldwide, there are 579 business schools in 35 countries that
maintain AACSB accreditation and 170 institutions that maintain
an additional specialized AACSB accreditation for their
accounting programs.
“As a very young business school, we are extremely pleased to
attain this level of quality in business education for Dalton
State and northwest Georgia,” says Donna Mayo, Dean of the
School of Business at Dalton State.
“This has been a concerted effort led by our faculty, supported
by the administration at Dalton State, and encouraged by the
business community of Dalton and northwest Georgia,” she adds.
“We are grateful for everyone’s hard work and commitment to the
process of achieving AACSB accreditation.”
Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal
review, evaluation, and adjustment and can take several years to
complete. During those years, the school develops and implements
a plan to meet the 21 AACSB standards that require a high
quality teaching environment, a commitment to continuous
improvement, and curricula responsive to the needs of business.
“AACSB accreditation represents the highest achievement for an
educational institution that awards business degrees,” says John
J. Fernandes, president and chief executive officer of AACSB
International, noting that all accredited schools must go
through a peer review process every five years in order to
maintain their accreditation.
“Dean Mayo and the faculty, directors, and administrative staff
of Dalton State are to be commended for their role in earning
initial accreditation.”
Dr. John Schwenn, President of Dalton State, also expressed
pleasure over the announcement, commending the faculty, staff,
and students for the hard work that was undertaken to achieve
this “elite status.”
“Our students benefit from the stringent requirements set by
AACSB,” says Schwenn. “And they have better job opportunities
because some businesses and industries will only hire graduates
who have earned degrees from AACSB accredited institutions.”
Dalton Mayor David Pennington, a 1973 graduate of Dalton State
and a member of the School of Business’s Advisory Council,
agrees, saying “This can only mean better things for Dalton
State and the region as a whole.”
The School of Business at Dalton State has 750 students majoring
in accounting, management, management information systems,
marketing, operations management, and technology management. For
more information on the School of Business, call 706-272-4507 or
visit the website at www.daltonstate.edu/business. |
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