AACSB: A Rose is a Rose ...

JACKSONVILLE, AL -- Oct. 8, 1998 -- Let's say you've had your heart set on buying a Porsche. You've slaved for years to get one. When you finally buy it, it comes with a Chevy logo. So you keep telling your friends, "It's a Porsche all the same."

That's about what happened when Jacksonville State University's College of Commerce and Business Administration (CCBA) won accreditation from the AACSB. There's no bigger name among college business accreditation organizations than AASCB -- it is the premier international accrediting body.

AACSB last year changed its name from the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business to the International Association for Management Education. But here's the clincher: They kept the acronym AACSB.

So, when JSU's College of Commerce and Business Administration recently announced it had worked long and hard for accreditation by the International Association for Management Education, administrators felt the need to emphasize that "It's AACSB all the same."

According to Dr. William T. Fielding, dean, AACSB accreditation gives many benefits to students and the institution.

"It opens additional employment opportunities for our graduates," he said. "Many businesses screen out job prospects who did not graduate from an accredited program."

Fielding pointed out that AACSB accreditation may improve JSU's recruiting of business students and business faculty.

"This is a sign of prestige -- accreditation means we're now among top tier colleges of business," he said.

Only 300 colleges nationwide -- out of more than 1,500 total -- are accredited by AACSB.