The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the accrediting agency for bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs in business administration and accounting, has extended the accreditation for the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degree programs in business offered by the University of Connecticut through 2016.

The peer review team report notes that the University of Connecticut is to be commended on the following strengths and effective practices:

• Experiential Learning – Experiential learning gives students hands-on experience with real business problems in business settings and allows the students to network with professionals in the participating companies. Experiential learning has several components including internships and the accelerator labs where students work with companies on projects.
• Management and Engineering for Manufacturing – This is a joint degree between the School of Business and the School of Engineering that allows engineering students to learn cost accounting, valuation and capital budgeting skills.
• Graduate Learning Business Center – Located in the heart of downtown Hartford, UConn’s Graduate Business Learning Center is a state-of-the-art facility with the latest technology and is also home to the MBA and Executive MBA programs as well as the SS&C Technologies Financial Accelerator.
• STAR Accounts – Since 2008, each faculty member has been given a Supplementary Teaching and Research (STAR) Account, with funds for each faculty member to spend on any teaching or research activity and travel. Over the past year, more internal grants have been awarded through an open competition process for research and teaching development.

The School has continuously been accredited by the AACSB since 1957.

AACSB Accreditation is known, worldwide, as the longest standing, most recognized form of specialized/professional accreditation an institution and its business programs can earn. AACSB Accreditation Standards are used as the basis to evaluate a business school’s mission, operations, faculty qualifications and contributions, programs, and other critical areas. AACSB accreditation ensures students and parents that the business school is providing a top-quality education.

As of April 2011, 620 member institutions hold AACSB Accreditation. Overall, 38 countries are represented by AACSB-accredited schools. Only 10 percent of all U.S. colleges of business have all of their programs – accounting, business, undergraduate and graduate – accredited by AAACSB.