Going to college is a big investment. You are going to spend hours studying, writing papers, and taking exams. You also are going to spend a lot of money. All that work and money should give you what you paid for, right?

AACSB Accreditation ensures you receive a return on the investment you've made in your education. AACSB-accredited schools must pass very rigorous quality standards. They have been proven to provide the best in business education worldwide.

AACSB-accredited 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 that 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.

Achieving AACSB accreditation is a rigorous process. Each accreditation standard assesses a school's ability to perform in critical areas, such as teaching, research, curricula development, and student learning. Generally, it takes a lot of work and time to meet all of the AACSB accreditation standards.

Here's a simplified version of how the process works:

• A school must have the ability to grant degrees in their country and have the appropriate local/regional institutional accreditation.
• AACSB begins by working with the school to develop a plan to meet the accreditation standards and its own strategic goals.
• Committees and mentors are assigned to help the school implement their accreditation and strategic plans.
• Once the mentors believe the school has met the standards, a review team, made up of highly experienced educators and business school administrators, will visit the school and make a recommendation for accreditation.
• The review team's recommendation is given to an accreditation committee and the AACSB board of directors for final approval.
• Many times, a school will have to return to the mentors and committees for further development.
• Finally, if all parties believe the school has satisfied the standards, it is granted with AACSB accreditation for its business programs. (All of them.)
• The business school must then be reviewed every five years to ensure it continues to meet the standards.

One of the worst feelings is paying more for something than it is really worth. That feeling is even worse when you graduate and find out that you cannot get a job with the degree you have. Or, when you find out that your future graduate school doesn't recognize your bachelor's degree.

Don't take a chance on a school that may or may not provide you with what you need to succeed. You need a job after you graduate. And, you need to know that what you have learned will be useful in the workplace.

AACSB-accredited schools are considered the best in the world. Be sure you only choose a business school with AACSB accreditation.

Many business schools say, "we are accredited," but not all accreditation designations are the same. In addition to the basic level of accreditation (institutional accreditation), schools can take quality assurance a step further and earn specialized accreditations for specific degree programs and disciplines—such as for business, engineering, or law.

For business degree programs at the undergraduate, master's, and doctorate level, AACSB accreditation is the largest and most recognized specialized accreditation worldwide. The requirements for AACSB accreditation are very stringent. In fact, 86 percent of AACSB-accredited schools say that the AACSB accreditation standards are the most stringent as compared to other types of accreditation they hold.