<p>"I agree with ryan, AACSB accreditation is not the best indicator of the quality of education being provided."</p>
<p>To clarify, I was speaking solely about the AACSB Accounting accreditation. I haven't looked at the list of schools that are accredited for business, so I'm not going to say that the business accredidation is a good indicator or not, although I do believe that most decent programs are accredited.</p>
<p>ryanbis, I mean AACSB accounting accreditation... of course the business school you go to should have a distinct accreditation (either ACBSP or AACSB) which holds it to higher standards of education, but being specifically accredited for accounting is not necessarily an indicator of a better school, and I know this because the business school I go to is accredited by ACBSP (not AACSB), and is regarded much higher than 3 of the 5 business schools in my state which are all accredited by AACSB for both business and accounting, and is comparable with the other 2.</p>
<p>311, with all due respect i find it very hard to believe that ACBSP programs anywhere are more highly regarded than AACSB programs. the former is largely comprised of community colleges and to a lesser extent very small local teachers colleges with a very small graduate level footprint if any at all. would you care to reveal which programs you say are better and which are not? there is not a dean in the nation i know who ever would desire ACBSP over AACSB unless it is a junior college.</p>
<p>drj, I don't disagree, AACSB accreditation is highly recognized and includes most of the big/well known schools around the globe. However, if you were to take a sample of residents who have lived/studied in Utah and ask them what schools are the highest regarded among the following:</p>
<p>Weber State University
Utah State University
Southern Utah University
University of Utah
Brigham Young University
Westminster College</p>
<p>I can almost guarantee that their perception will almost always include Westminster College in the top 3 of that group. In a recent salary study, Westminster had a higher percentage of students who did an internship with local companies, higher percentage that landed full-time employment within 3 months of graduating, and a lower percentage of students receiving starting salary offers <$30,000... the study included BYU, Utah, Utah State, Weber State, Utah Valley State College, and Westminster College. I would say it may be an anomaly, but Westminster is pretty well regarded and it seems to be gaining even more respect, especially its MBA program.</p>
<p>311,
first of all, i know nothing about westminster college and cannot comment on that. but the chair of my doctoral qualifying committee was the president at u. utah, and i know a little about that ACC program along with BYU. both are solid programs and highly regarded nationally. i presume you are placing westminster in this group and above utah state, weber and SUU? will check this school out, and were i a consultant i would suggest this institution go for the AACSB seal. thanks for your insights, j</p>
<p>Westminster is a member of AACSB, but consciously choose not to be accredited since it is a teacher-learner focused institution and not a research based school. Accounting graduates from Westminster who go on to complete their MAcc normally attend BYU or Utah, and do very well in those programs.</p>
<p>okay, i just checked the westminster web site. the business unit would have a high degree of difficulty achieving AACSB accreditation for two reasons that are apparent from a quick search. first, the vast majority of the faculty have terminal degrees from the same university, utah. no hit on the quality of that place, but academics like to see different perspectives from around the nation and world, not just the utah view. second, a quick search shows this faculty does not publish much--some apparently nothing--and a fairly decent slice listed do not have doctoral degrees. that doesn't necessarily mean you get a bad undergraduate education, it's just that academics like to see more than just teaching. conjecture perhaps, but the guess here is that the other accrediting body spanned into the four-year institutions that did not attract faculty with a zeal for writing and publishing. in the end, though, it's what hiring authorities in the professions say. if they like the westminster product then kudos to that school. do grads there get Big 4 jobs?</p>
<p>Yeah... the big 4 recruits every fall... Deloite, PwC, and EY come every year, I don't know about KPMG though... I haven't seen them during my two fall semesters there. In fact, I work with and provide computer support to the former PwC recruiter over Westminster (he joined industry after 10 years of big 4), and he has nothing but excellent opinions of Westminster Accounting graduates.</p>
<p>looks to me like westminster has found a niche. you don't try to compete with the big boys in the state but you focus on certain professional areas and you do them well. a very smart play, 311, and many thanks for sharing...i learn a lot about other colleges on these boards and here's a great example. thanks, j</p>