CSUN Maintains Prestigious AACSB Business Accreditation

The David Nazarian College of Business and Economics at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) has maintained its business accreditation by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest-serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in business.  AACSB accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in business education, and has been earned by less than five percent of the world's business programs.

“It takes a great deal of commitment and determination to earn and maintain AACSB Accreditation,” said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “Business schools must not only meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculty, and professional staff must make a commitment to ongoing continuous improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver the highest quality of education to students.”

A peer-review team of two deans and a provost from other accredited institutions visited the CSUN campus in November as part of the process.  Its report praised the Nazarian College for its “dedicated, collegial faculty and staff,” high-quality accounting initiatives including the Bookstein Institute for Higher Education in Taxation and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, experiential-learning opportunities for students and faculty provided by the Center for Financial Planning and Investment, its in-house career services, its “breakout initiatives” in student professional development, entrepreneurship and real estate, and the future opportunities afforded by the recent college-naming gift from David Nazarian. 

 In addition to maintaining AACSB accreditation, the quality of the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics, the ninth largest business school in the United States, and its programs has been recognized by other prestigious rankings and organizations.  For several years, the College has been included in Princeton Review’s publication on the nation’s “Best Business Schools,” a distinction maintained in the 2015 edition that was announced in October.  CSUN’s “Real Deal” MBA is again included in US News & World Report’s 2015 ranking of best part-time MBA programs.  Since its launch about three years ago, the Nazarian College’s Financial Planning program has been included in Financial Planning Magazine’s annual listing of “Great Schools for Financial Planners” from around the nation, most recently in November 2014.    

 “We are thrilled that AACSB International, the world’s premier business-school accrediting organization, has recognized the quality and impact of CSUN’s David Nazarian College of Business and Economics,” said Dean Kenneth Lord.  “The extension of accreditation attests to our success as a leader in preparing students from diverse backgrounds for career success.”

For more information about AACSB International accreditation, go to https://www.aacsb.edu/educators/accreditation.