Thursday, September 20, 2001

Wilmington, NC -- The Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington has received reaccreditation of its bachelor's and master's degree programs in business from AACSB International -- The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the nation’s premier business school accrediting organization. The announcement was made at the Sept. 11, 2001, AACSB board meeting in St. Louis.

The Cameron School of Business received its initial accreditation with AACSB in 1993. Of the 1,200 schools of business throughout the United States, only about one-third are accredited by the AACSB. The reaffirmation process involved an extensive self-evaluation of all aspects of mission, curriculum, degree requirements, faculty resources and performance, student resources, student placement and technology. This was followed by a visit to UNCW by the AACSB Peer Review Team. The Cameron School of Business completed the reaccreditation process in August.

“Our achievement of reaccreditation with AACSB is primarily the result of the hard work and dedication of our outstanding faculty,” said Dean Larry Clark of the Cameron School of Business. “It is the faculty that assures the quality of the programs, attracts outstanding students and sustains the expectations of overall high quality of education that is necessary for AACSB.”

Clark further stated that UNCW’s reputation for overall academic quality and the forthcoming new UNCW Technology Building, to be shared by the Cameron School of Business and the Department of Computer Science, were additional favorable factors for reaccredidation. Funds for the new building will come from UNCW’s share of the Higher Education Facilities bond issue passed overwhelmingly by North Carolina voters last November.

According to Clark, attending a business school that is AACSB accredited has many advantages. First, students are assured that its degree programs meet the stringent criteria set forth by the AACSB and the management community. Second, the school and its programs have an appropriate mission achieved through relevant curricula, qualified faculty, and effective policies and practices. Third, an AACSB accredited program must be continually updated and revised to reflect the changing knowledge and practices of the real business world. Fourth, it allows graduates a competitive edge when seeking a position outside the region because his or her business degree is backed by AACSB.

“The achievement of this rigorous AASCB reaccreditation by the Cameron School of Business is another indicator of the overall academic quality at UNCW,” said Provost John Cavanaugh. “We applaud the dedication and hard work of the faculty, staff and students of the Cameron School of Business.”

The UNCW Cameron School of Business offers the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with concentrations in accounting, economics, finance, information systems, international business, management, marketing and operations management and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. It also offers the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) degrees.

For additional information about the Cameron School of Business’s AACSB accreditation call 910/962-3501 to speak to Dean Larry Clark or Associate Dean Becky Porterfield. For additional information about AACSB, visit www.aacsb.edu.