NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – The College of Business at Tennessee State University has successfully maintained its accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the organization announced recently.

In a letter informing the dean and administration of the reaffirmation of the undergraduate and graduate business programs, the AACSB International commended the college for its “strengths and effective practices.”

It cited, among other achievements, the establishment of “specific” advisory boards that have helped the college gain wide access to industry and the business community; the successful development of an intra-university partnership, which promotes the university and the college’s missions; as well as the development of program initiatives designed to improve retention and graduation.

The AACSB International Executive Vice President and Chief Accrediting Officer, Robert D. Reid, congratulated the university and college administrations, students, faculty and staff for the achievement. He noted that it takes “a great deal” of commitment and determination to earn and maintain an AACSB International accreditation, and applauded the University for initiating efforts, which have helped to distinguish the TSU business program.

“Business schools must not only meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculty and professional staff must make a commitment to ongoing continuous improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver the highest quality of education to students,” Reid said.

The Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Mark Hardy, in congratulating the Dean, Dr. Millicent Lownes-Jackson and the faculty, staff and student of the College of Business, called the reaccreditation “an outstanding” achievement for the college.

“The reaffirmation demonstrates the quality of the instruction and the exceptional nature of the learning environment that is evident in the college,” he said. “I am extremely pleased the college continues to be a distinguished leader among business schools in Nashville and across the country.”

For Dean Lownes-Jackson, upon hearing the news of the reaffirmation, she gave the credit to her “outstanding” faculty, “vibrant” corporate advisory boards, and “dedicated” staff and administrators.

“Our success in maintaining AACSB International accreditation is built on the solid framework of dynamic faculty who are committed to providing quality instruction for our business students and who produce meaningful academic research that informs business thinking and academic practices globally,” Lownes-Jackson said.

Like the AACSB International, the dean said the corporate advisory boards of the college help to ensure the curriculum provides students with the knowledge and skills that the business world needs.

“This is also attributed to our dedicated staff and administrators who work tirelessly to make our college a warm and supportive environment to propel student learning and ultimately, future career achievement,” Dr. Lownes-Jackson added.

Called the “hallmark of excellence” in business education, AACSB International accreditation is held by less than 5 percent of the world’s business programs, according to the AACSB International webpage. Only 687 institutions in 50 countries and territories hold AACSB accreditations.

TSU holds the distinction of the being the first public university in Nashville to attain the AACSB International accreditation in 1994, and the first public HBCU in the nation to simultaneously receive the accreditation in its undergraduate and graduate business programs the same year.

This achievement has not only been in words, but also in the caliber of students the college continues to graduate and how those graduates are impacting the world in various industries. In its annual “People & Places Readers’ Poll” of the Best of Nashville for 2012, the “Nashville Scene” designated the TSU MBA Program one of the best MBA programs in the area.

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About Tennessee State University

With nearly 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.