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AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools
of Business) International, was founded in 1916,
and began its accreditation function with the
adoption of the first standards in 1919. It is
the professional association for college and
university management education and the premier
accrediting agency for bachelor’s, master’s, and
doctoral degree programs in business
administration and accounting.
AACSB International accreditation
represents the highest standard of achievement
for business schools worldwide. Institutions
that earn accreditation confirm their commitment
to quality and continuous improvement through a
rigorous and comprehensive peer review. AACSB
International membership connects your
organization to the global network of
educational institutions, corporate and
nonprofit organizations.
Accreditation is a process of voluntary,
non-governmental review of educational
institutions and programs. Specialized agencies
award accreditation for professional programs
and academic units in particular fields of
study. As a specialized agency, AACSB
International grants accreditation for
undergraduate and graduate business
administration and accounting programs.
Institutional accreditation reviews entire
colleges and universities.
AACSB International accreditation
is the hallmark of excellence in management
education.
Benefits include:
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Research and survey projects on topics
specific to the field of management education
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A wide variety of publications and special
reports on trends and issues within management
education
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Business administration and accounting
accreditation and peer review services
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Professional development programs for faculty
and administrators
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Involvement opportunities for corporate and
educational members on a variety of projects
and initiatives
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Liaison and collaboration with management
education disciplinary associations, regional
dean associations, and counterpart management
education associations worldwide
Through accreditation, business schools provide
stakeholders with the assurance that they:
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Guide educational delivery by a carefully
constructed mission
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Select and support students to produce
outstanding graduates
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Deliver degree programs with qualified faculty
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Structure learning through relevant curricula
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Contribute to knowledge through research and
scholarship
Becoming a member of AACSB International,
supports the College of Business Administration
(CBA), Kuwait University (KU), in achieving its
management education quality and continuous
improvement goals. The association brings
together collegiate management education
administrators and faculty, with business
sector stakeholders, to focus on the challenges
affecting success within the global management
education environment.
The
aspects of suggested change and development must
involve a conclusive revaluation of the academic
degrees offered by CBA, which include a
Bachelors Degree in Accounting, Economics,
Finance, Management and Marketing, and
Quantitative Methods and Information Systems. As
well as increasing the number of general
knowledge courses in the study plan where it
makes up at least 50% of the total credits.
The
English language will be the uniform language of
instruction in all the courses offered.
Therefore, freshmen students will take one prep
year of intensive English courses in which at
the end the student will be able to pass the
TOEFL or BECK examinations. The level of English
competence determines how long the student needs
to spend in the prep year.
During
the academic year 2000, CBA applied for
accreditation eligibility to the AACSB
International, and succeeded in obtaining it in
our very first attempt. Although we were asked
to apply for the initial accreditation for CBA
in the following year, 2001, we opted to
strengthen our strategic management practices at
CBA to fully satisfy the AACSB accreditation
standards in six areas of CBA management.
Following the approval of the eligibility
application in 2000, the following specific
actions were taken towards the goal of obtaining
AACSB accreditation:
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Six
faculty subcommittees were appointed, i)
Mission and Objectives, ii) Faculty
Composition and Development, iii) Curriculum
Content and Evaluation, iv) Instructional
Resources and Responsibilities, v) Students,
and vi) Intellectual Contributions. They are
headed by an AACSB Accreditation Steering
Committee, to comprehensively review the
compliance of the the AACSB standards. The
work of these Subcommittees resulted in an
Initial Self Evaluation Report in 2001. this
report systematically identified strengths and
weaknesses in relation to the AACSB standards.
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The
CBA vision, mission, and objectives has been
finalized with the inputs gathered from both
the internal and external stakeholders of CBA.
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The
academic objectives of each of the degree
programs offered by CBA were also developed
according to the AACSB requirements.
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A
comprehensive CBA Processes Manual has been
prepared by the Subcommittees.
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Departmental coordinators have been appointed
for the specific purpose of facilitating the
prompt completion of the AACSB’s related
activities at the departmental level.
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The
undergraduate degree curriculum was
comprehensively revised to reflect the global
standards and will be implemented at the start
of the academic year 2002-2003.
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A
computerized database has been created for all
the professional resumes of all the CBA
faculty members.
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Course outlines have been prepared for all the
courses offered at CBA, both graduate and
undergraduate levels, with a standard format
as outlined by the AACSB standards.
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Teaching portfolios have been prepared for
most of the courses taught at CBA.
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A
set of outcome measures are being prepared for
use during the academic year 2002-2003, which
provide evidence of achieving the various
objectives of CBA.
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Currently, a carefully thought out strategic
plan is being implemented at CBA.
With
the progress made with the various AACSB
standards, related to the strategic management
practices at CBA, the documents have been
reviewed and evaluated by experienced
international consultants to ensure that we are
advancing on the right path. As a part of this
effort, one of our consultants, Dean Tom
Gutteridge of the University of Connecticut,
USA, has paid us a visit this year. He has met
with various faculty groups, as well as the
University Rector and Vice-Rector to discuss our
progress towards the strategic goal of AACSB
accreditation.
We
have declared the academic year 2002-2003 as
CBA’s Self Evaluation Year. During the coming
academic year, we will be preparing the Final
Self Evaluation Report for CBA’s initial
accreditation in Fall 2003. |