The FINANCIAL — Unemployment dropped to 5.1 percent in August of 2015 from 5.6 percent in December of the previous year. This means that the unemployment rate in America has (for the most part) returned to the pre-recession rate of around 5.0 percent. This is good news considering that at the end of the recession, in June of 2009, the unemployment rate was 9.5 percent. In the months following the recession, around October 2009, the unemployment rate peaked at a distressing 10.0 percent.
While this latest news from the Bureau of Labor Statistics may provide a morale boost for millennials and the millions of others navigating today’s job market, the waters are still choppy, and employers have raised the bar to the highest levels in history. This is especially true for the business industry. What this means for anyone seeking a business degree is the degree level and the type of accreditation hold more weight than ever before. According to the Bureau, 1.9-2.1 percent of individual’s holding a professional or doctoral degree were unemployed in 2014 compared with 3.5-4.5 of those holding an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. Unemployment was just 2.8 percent for those holding a master’s degree. Most of these professionals attended accredited schools—and not just any accredited school, according to AACSB International.
The U.S Department of Education recognizes several accrediting bodies for business schools and programs. However, just one offers the highest level of accreditation. Established in 1916 by founding members ranging from Harvard, Yale and Columbia to Dartmouth, Northwestern and the University of Chicago, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) is the world’s largest and most prestigious accreditation association for business schools. In fact, just five percent of the world’s 13,000 business programs have earned AACSB accreditation. Currently, just 517 schools in the U.S. are AACSB-accredited.
According to the Association, “AACSB-accredited schools have the highest quality faculty, relevant and challenging curriculum, and provide educational and career opportunities that are not found at other business schools. AACSB-accredited schools produce graduates that are highly skilled and more desirable to employers.” Each school seeking AACSB accreditation must undergo the most rigorous application process of all accrediting bodies, plus continual peer review once they have received the AACSB seal of approval.
In addition to AACSB’s founding members, some of America’s top AACSB-accredited schools include:
Arizona State University – W. P. Carey School of Business (AZ)
Brigham Young University – Marriott School of Management (UT)
Carnegie Mellon – Tepper School of Business (PA)
Cornell University – Johnson Graduate School of Business (NY)
Creighton University – College of Business Administration (NE)
DePaul University – Richard H. Driehaus College of Business (IL)
Duke University – The Fuqua School of Business (NC)
Grambling State University – College of Business (LA)
Indiana University, Bloomington/Indianapolis – Kelley School of Business (IN)
Kent State University – College of Business Administration (OH)
Loyola University Chicago – Quinlan School of Business (IL)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Sloan School of Management (MA)
New York University – Stern School of Business (NY)
Stanford University – Graduate School of Business (CA)
University of California Los Angeles – UCLA Anderson School of Management (CA)
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor – Ross School of Business (MI)
University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill – Kenan-Flagler Business School (NC)
University of Virginia – Darden School of Business (VA)
University of Texas—Austin – McCombs School of Business (TX)
Washington University in St. Louis – Olin School of Business (MO)
While AACSB accreditation has been the “gold standard of business school quality assurance” for nearly 100 years, says Newsweek, other Department of Education-recognized accrediting bodies do exist. If an AACSB-accredited school is out of reach, consider schools accredited by the Accreditation Council for Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) or the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). Other accrediting bodies include the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and regional associations such as the Middle States, New England, North Central, Southern and Western Associations of Schools and Colleges, and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
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