Preparation for our 2024 AACSB Re-Accreditation

Last week, I attended the AACSB Associate Dean’s Conference in Boston. It made me genuinely excited for our re-accreditation review next fall. I am not joking. Why?

Standing amongst peers, I felt proud of our story to tell. We have challenges. Some things are certainly still under development. But we do great work and are overwhelmed with creative ideas, speakers, staff who go above and beyond, opportunities for student engagement, strong research faculty, and faculty who are industry experts. My list could be longer!

It feels like we’re punching a bit above our weight, and it also feels like we are on the brink of becoming something even better. It sometimes is an uncomfortable place to be, but it also makes me personally hopeful and excited for The College.

An accreditation visit allows us to tell our story to our peers. It gives us a chance to come together and quantify and qualify all the good things happening. It will enable us to hear areas where faculty consistently identify pinch points and use that feedback to help us move forward.

The work is already underway to gather the data for our reports. Marcia Snyder is working with Chairs to update our curriculum maps and Fall 2023 Continuous Improvement plans. Patti Goff is currently working to gather Fall 2023 percentages for faculty qualification. I am collecting and quantifying our publications from the past five years. A recent post in TEAMS includes shortcuts for using the Faculty Activity System (FAS). If most of us accurately enter most of our activities, pulling most of what we need for the reports should be simple.

It will take a team effort, and we will do our best to keep it simple and fun.