Fogelman Business College Accreditation Reaffirmed a Year Early
For release: Nov. 19, 2002
For press information, contact Curt Guenther

The Fogelman College of Business and Economics at The University of Memphis has received - a year ahead of its anticipated date - reaffirmation of its accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International.

That is good news from the AACSBI, an international business school accrediting organization, but it means even more to the U of M college because in February 2001, the college received a negative review by the AACSBI. The organization had then put the college on "continuous review," to monitor its progress as it took steps to retain its accreditation.

Dr. John Pepin, dean of the Fogelman College, commended the faculty members who worked to make the corrections and retain the college's academic standing. "The faculty really pulled together and worked hard to achieve this goal. You can see the teamwork and culture changes taking place," Pepin said.

In making its report to Pepin, the AASCBI said "...the faculty had made an extraordinary turnaround since ... February 2001," and "the ensuing dramatic improvements ... are not cosmetic, but represent lasting structural and cultural changes that bode well for…continuous improvement and high quality in all their endeavors."

The report also said, "In our view and experience, they have done everything one would expect--and more--to earn reaffirmation... ...A faculty that so enthusiastically engages in the strategic planning process with such extraordinary results ... should be recognized for their achievements."

Among the improvements noted by the AACSBI are the securing of more adequate resources from the state and from private donors, the addition of additional and highly qualified faculty members, the redesign of the College's administrative structure, the restructuring of the College's doctoral program, and the greater use of merit as a determinant of faculty salaries.

Pepin said the AACSBI's two-step reaffirmation process included a review by the organization's Business Accreditation Committee, then approval of the committee's report by the full board of directors of the AACSBI. "We feel very good about this," he said. "We were reviewed by our peers from such institutions as Purdue, Southern Methodist, Wake Forest, DePaul and Vanderbilt, and the approval committee is made up of people from such schools as Notre Dame, Dartmouth, Penn State, USC, and the University of Arkansas. To meet the approval of people like that indicates that we have met the same standards of those schools, which are recognized nationally and internationally."

The AACSBI has 432 accredited members, 396 of them in the United States. The organization is the premier accrediting agency for business schools; its headquarters are in St. Louis, Mo.

To achieve the group's accreditation, business programs must satisfy the expectations of a wide range of quality standards relating to curriculum, faculty resources, admissions, degree requirements, library and computer facilities, financial resources, and intellectual climate that are all mission-linked.

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