The College of Business and Technology has earned the AACSB Accreditation and is pursuing ABET Accreditation.
What is the AACSB?
AACSB International (AACSB) is the premier accrediting agency for Schools and Colleges of Business in the world.
Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental process that includes a rigorous external review of a school’s ability to provide the highest quality programs. The accreditation process is a comprehensive review of a school’s mission, faculty qualifications, and curricula, and the process includes self-evaluations, peer-reviews, committee reviews, and the development of in-depth strategic plans. Accreditation ensures that students are learning material most relevant to their field of study, preparing them to be effective leaders upon graduation.
What is ABET?
ABET, also known as The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., is a voluntary, non-governmental accreditation organization for post-secondary programs in engineering, engineering technology, computing, and applied and natural sciences. ABET accreditation assures that a college or university program meets the quality standards of the profession for which that program prepares graduates.
ABET accreditation ensures your educational experience meets global standards for technical education, enhancing employment opportunities, especially with multinational corporations. It supports entry into technical professions through licensure and certification, often requiring graduation from an accredited program. ABET accreditation also qualifies you for many federal student loans, grants, and scholarships, and paves the way for global work opportunities, as it is recognized worldwide and forms the basis for many international accrediting systems.
What does this mean for Northeastern and the College of Business and Technology?
Specialized accreditations increase the value of the degrees you receive from Northeastern Illinois University. Accreditations represent the highest standard of achievement for schools worldwide. Less than 5 percent of the more than 16,000 schools worldwide granting business degrees have earned AACSB accreditation and programs at only 920 colleges and universities worldwide have received ABET accreditation.
To achieve AACSB accreditation, business programs must meet:
- 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.
During the accreditation process, the College of Business and Technology 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. AACSB accreditation is an important external validation of the quality of our curriculum, faculty, and students.
The College of Business and Technology is pursuing ABET Accreditation for its programs in computer science and technology. ABET accreditation tells prospective students, peers, and the professions served that ABET-accredited programs:
- Has received international recognition of its quality.
- Promotes “best practices” in education.
- Directly involves faculty and staff in self-assessment and continuous quality improvement processes.
- Is based on “learning outcomes,” rather than “teaching inputs.”
- Can more easily determine the acceptability of transfer credits.
Specialized accreditation provides proof of the quality of our degree programs. When coupled with prior recognition as a best investment, this firmly places us in the High Quality, Low Cost area of the BCG matrix.
What does it mean for you?
STUDENTS
AACSB-accredited business schools:
- are recognized worldwide by top employers and other universities.
- have employers that only hire their graduates.
- have more access to recruiters.
- have graduates that receive higher, more competitive salaries.
- say being accredited improves the quality of their business programs.
- say being accredited helps them hire and retain the best professors and researchers.
- have students who are more international and are likely to earn higher levels of education.
- have students with high-graduating GPAs
- are challenging and teach the best skills that give a distinct advantage in the real world.
ABET accreditation for computer science and technology programs:
- Verifies that your educational experience meets the global standard for technical education in your profession.
- Enhances your employment opportunities—multinational corporations require graduation from an accredited program.
- Supports your entry to a technical profession through licensure, registration, and certification—all of which often require graduation from an ABET-accredited program as a minimum qualification.
- Establishes your eligibility for many federal student loans, grants, and/or scholarships.
- Paves the way for you to work globally, because ABET accreditation is recognized worldwide through international agreements, and many other countries’ national accrediting systems are based on the ABET model.
PARENTS
You might say selecting a school is similar to purchasing a home. Since it is such a large investment, you wouldn't purchase a home unless it had been inspected, right? Specialized accreditation is a lot like a home inspection but for schools. It helps to ensure that schools have qualified faculty, rigorous curriculum that will teach skills that employers require, and proper assessment of learning processes in place.
EMPLOYERS
Specialized accreditation ensures that CBT graduates learn from the best and are ready to perform on day one. Specialized accreditation establishes that accredited schools have better faculty, curriculum, students, and graduates than other non-accredited institutions.
