NEWS RELEASE

Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

2/3/2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES ­Northwestern State University's College of Business has achieved reaffirmation of accreditation by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AASCB) International for six years, the longest period granted by the organization.

AACSB is a not-for-profit corporation of educational institutions, corporations and other organizations devoted to the promotion and improvement of higher education in business administration and management. Organized in 1916, AACSB International is the premier accrediting agency for bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs in business administration and accounting.

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. These standards are mission-linked. During the accreditation process, NSU was visited and evaluated by business school deans with detailed knowledge of management education, applying accreditation standards that are widely accepted in the educational community.

"Earning reaccreditation is a wonderful achievement for the College of Business," said NSU President Dr. Randall J. Webb. "The College of Business has been a driving force at the university and has brought a great deal of positive national and international attention to Northwestern. The faculty, staff and students are extremely dedicated and this has led to Northwestern becoming a prime destination for many companies seeking bright, capable employees."

According to Dr. Joel Worley, dean of the College of Business, AACSB commended the College of Business for its focused mission, its efforts to achieve excellence as shown by the computer information systems program and the development of a reasonable financial plan.

"We are extremely pleased to gain reaccreditation," said Worley. "We came out of the process as well as we could have.

"The team found that there is a strong work ethic by the faculty, students and staff within the College of Business. They indicated that there was a high commitment to learning and that the faculty was willing to work with the students to meet high expectations."

Northwestern's efforts at economic development through its Small Business Development Center were also commended. The SBDC was recently cited as the state's most productive, generating 62 percent of loan production and 47 percent of total capitalization obtained by the 13 Small Business Development Centers in Louisiana.

Worley said that AACSB is one of the toughest accrediting agencies in higher education.

"Only about one-third of the business programs at U.S. colleges and universities have earned AACSB accreditation ­ about 400 out of 1,200," he said. "Accreditation shows that we have an active faculty who is conducting research and developing a body of intellectual capital."

Worley pointed out that AACSB has expanded its scope and now accredits nearly 200 institutions outside the United States.

"The College of Business at NSU meets or exceeds international standards," he said. "Dr. Barry Smiley and Dr. Carroll Aby started the process of building a high quality College of Business. We are determined to continue improving the program."

The College of Business will submit Maintenance of Accreditation Report to AACSB annually and will receive a visit from the association in five years.

Main Menu