WMU News

Haworth College of Business accreditation renewed

April 27, 1999

KALAMAZOO -- The graduate and undergraduate programs of Western Michigan University's Haworth College of Business have had their accreditation renewed by the national accrediting agency for collegiate schools of business.

The board of directors of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business -- The International Association for Management Education voted to renew WMU's accreditation based on the recommendation a five-member peer review team. The team spent several weeks reviewing materials provided by the school and visited the campus for four days in November, meeting with key college and University administrators, faculty members, students and external constituents.

WMU's Haworth College of Business joins only 352 of the nearly 1,200 U.S. colleges and universities offering business degrees who have achieved AACSB accreditation.

"This is a very gratifying result," said Dr. James W. Schmotter, dean of the Haworth College of Business. "We've spent literally thousands of hours seeking the opinions of our external constituents, developing new curricula and changing the way we do things to ensure our students receive the very best business education possible. That a team of demanding external reviewers praised what we have done is a powerful confirmation that we're on the right track."

To achieve accreditation, the business programs must meet standards relating to curriculum, faculty resources, admissions, degree requirements, library and computer facilities, financial resources, and intellectual climate.

In its review, the team commended the Haworth College of Business on a number of aspects including its mission-driven focus and strategic planning activities, enthusiastic involvement of college stakeholders, new bachelor's of business administration program design and assessment features, physical facilities, outreach activities, and its efforts to identify niche programs with unique opportunities.

Team members were deans of the business schools at Texas Tech University, the University of Hawaii, Mississippi State University, the University of South Florida and Miami University.

The Haworth College of Business is WMU's second largest academic college, with more than 3,700 undergraduate students and 800 graduate students. It offers master's of business administration and undergraduate majors in accounting, business information systems, finance and commercial law, management, and marketing. Undergraduate programs have been accredited since 1970, accreditation for graduate programs was granted in 1981.

AACSB is a not-for-profit organization consisting of more than 800 educational organizations and corporations dedicated to excellence in management education in colleges and universities.

Media contact: Marie Lee, 616 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu


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