College of Business Maintains Prestigious Accreditation
The College of Business has maintained its business accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees in business and accounting. Only 643 schools of business, or less than 5% worldwide, have earned this distinguished hallmark of excellence in management education.
To maintain accreditation a business program must undergo a rigorous internal review every five years. UCA’s College of Business received initial AACSB accreditation in 1984.
“After joining the ASCSB, a school must demonstrate high quality in its programs through a multi-year process that begins with a well-defined mission and strategy, the establishment of learning goals and the measurement of those goals, and demonstrate that they maintain a highly qualified faculty,” said Pat Cantrell, dean of the College of Business said.
The achievement of UCA’s College of Business will be recognized on April 29 at the 2012 AACSB International Conference and Annual Meeting in San Diego.
College of Business Receives Target Grant
The College of Business has been awarded a $4,000 Target Case Study Grant for a case study competition between finance students. The grant competition allows students to see how an actual corporation approaches defining a business problem and finding solutions.This is the second year the College of Business has received the grant, said Tammy Rogers, interim chair of the Department of Economics, Finance, and Insurance & Risk Management and associate professor of finance.
Financial Decision Making and Advanced Financial students will have the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge to the workforce. Students will be given a case study, which they must develop a solution.
Student teams will present oral presentations to a panel of business faculty. The top four teams chosen by the faculty will then have the opportunity to present their results to executives from Target at the end of the semester. The winning team will receive a $4,000 prize funded by the Target grant.
UCA to Offer New BBA Degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
A new Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship will provide business students with skills necessary to start their own businesses and contribute to companies.
The College of Business has been interested in offering either a minor or a major in entrepreneurship for several years, said Pat Cantrell, dean of the College of Business. The four-year program will begin in the fall of 2012.
The curriculum for the degree program was developed over 18 months by a collaborative effort in the College of Business. The program will be housed in the Department of Marketing and Management in the College of Business. The UCA Board of Trustees approved the degree program in December.