MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones College of Business continues to rack up international recognition for the quality of its programs.

The premier accrediting body in business education worldwide, AACSB International, recently extended Jones College’s business and accounting accreditations for another five years, based on an exhaustive review.

Established in 1916, AACSB is the world’s largest business education alliance, connecting educators, learners, and business to create the next generation of leaders. With a presence in more than 100 countries and territories, AACSB fosters engagement, accelerates innovation and amplifies impact in business education.

Dr. David Urban

“There is no greater distinction for a business or accounting program anywhere in the world than to receive extension of accreditation from AACSB International,” said Jones College Dean David Urban. “It is an assurance for our students and alumni that the educational experience in Jones College is in the elite group of business and accounting programs.”

For more than a century, AACSB accreditation has been synonymous with the highest standards in business education. Today, 890 institutions across 58 countries and territories have earned AACSB accreditation in business. Furthermore, only 189 institutions — including MTSU’s Jones College — maintain supplemental AACSB accreditation for their accounting programs.

“AACSB congratulates each institution on this achievement,” said Stephanie M. Bryant, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB. “Every AACSB-accredited school has demonstrated a focus on excellence in all areas, including teaching, research, curricula development and student learning. The intense peer-review process exemplifies the commitment to quality business education.”

Extension of business accreditation is a process of rigorous internal focus and peer-reviewed evaluation. During this multiyear path, schools focus on alignment with AACSB’s accreditation standards. These standards require excellence in areas relating to strategic management and innovation; students, faculty, and staff as active participants; learning and teaching; and academic and professional engagement.

To achieve extension of accounting accreditation, an institution must develop and implement a mission-driven plan to satisfy the business accreditation quality standards, and a supplemental set of standards specific to the discipline and profession of accounting.

In this file photo, accounting professor Andrea Kelton teaches a class in the Business and Aerospace Building. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

The AACSB review teams evaluating Jones College commented very favorably about the college’s Dale Carnegie Initiative, which requires all Jones College undergraduate business majors to complete the

Dale Carnegie Course in human relations and communication, describing it as “world-class.” Jones College is the only collegiate business school in the country with this curricular requirement.

The reviewers also noted the very positive reports they heard from students, and the enthusiasm and support from the Dean’s Advisory Council and the Accounting Advisory Board.

In summary, the business team commented, “The college and MTSU have made excellent progress since the last review, and that upward trajectory is noticeable and commendable.”

ABET accreditation extended

In addition to the extension of business and accounting accreditation from AACSB International, the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET (formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) has formally approved initial accreditation for the Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Information Systems.

This accreditation is retroactive to Oct. 1, 2019, and extends to Sept. 30, 2025.

“ABET accreditation is something that has been part of my vision for Jones College since I arrived at MTSU in 2013,” Urban noted. “I am extremely thankful that Dr. Tim Greer, chair of the Department of Information Systems and Analytics, as well as our department faculty, accepted the challenge and achieved this international recognition for quality.

“The process to gain initial ABET accreditation began in Summer 2019, so it has required an investment of two years of hard work, which has paid off handsomely, to the benefit of the department, Jones College, and MTSU.”

ABET has existed for over 80 years and accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree levels.

ABET standards have become the measuring stick of quality for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines all over the world. With ABET accreditation, students, employers and society can be confident that a program meets the quality standards that produce graduates prepared to enter a global workforce.