AACSB International accredits accounting programs
 

The graduate and undergraduate accounting programs in the USI School of Business have received separate accreditation by the AACSB International - the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

"The School of Business earned AACSB accreditation in 1997 and the Department of Accounting and Business Law has been working toward the goal of separate accreditation for the accounting programs since that time," said Dr. Dan Wade, director of accounting programs.

"It is a measure of quality at a point in time," he added.

The accreditation process included a self-review by the Department of Accounting and Business Law. That review found that the primary mission of the accounting faculty is to teach. Faculty research takes on importance as it relates to effective teaching.

There are 10 faculty members in the department. They also are involved in service to the University, the community, and the accounting profession. Processes were put in place to assure that continuous improvement will occur in the future.

The Accounting Circle, an advisory board of professional business leaders, was a partner in the accreditation process. Initiatives the board helped implement are the faculty internship program, Toastmaster's Club for students, graduate scholarship fund, Accountant in the Classroom program, accounting major recruitment programs, and ongoing program review efforts.

The curricula in the programs include a master's degree in accounting that supports Indiana's 150-hour law for students expecting to take the certified public accounting exam. A revised undergraduate accounting program became effective last fall. About 350 students are majoring in accounting at the undergraduate level and more than 50 students graduate each year.

Eric Otto, director of Admission, called the accreditation the "icing on the cake" for the academic programs.

"This accreditation lends even more credibility to the program," he said. "When we make presentations to students who are considering majoring in accounting, this is something we will tell them."

USI joins three other Indiana universities with the same accreditation. The schools are Ball State University, Notre Dame University, and Indiana University, which also received accreditation this spring.

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