CIR Accounting Application
The purpose of this application is to initiate the Continuous Improvement Review (CIR) process for accounting accreditation and to provide updates to concerns identified from the previous review; adjustments to strategic goals and initiatives as well as financial resources and a summary of engagement, innovation and impact examples. The application is subdivided into six parts:
Part I Institution Information Part II Eligibility Procedures
Part III Continuous Improvement and Consultative Feedback Part IV Scope of Accreditation (Eligibility Criterion D)
Part V Review Schedule and Comparison Groups Part VI Signatures
CIR applications are due on July 1st, two years prior to the review year. Applications are reviewed by AACSB staff upon receipt for content and completeness. If responses are determined to need further review, the application will be referred to the Accounting Accreditation Committee. More in-depth information regarding the Eligibility Criteria are in the Eligibility Procedures and Standards for Accounting Accreditation, which can be found at http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/standards/2013-accounting/.
Please note: For institutions that hold both business and accounting accreditation, separate business and accounting CIR applications must be submitted by the July 1 deadline. Information found in the business application that also applies to the accounting application does not have to be repeated in the accounting application. In these cases, the accounting application should reference the business application.
Application Submission Information
Please submit this application and any accompanying documents via email to the Accounting Accreditation Committee Chair at [email protected]
Please note:
There is a page limit of 30 pages.
Email attachments over 20MB will not be received due to server limitations. A confirmation of receipt will be emailed within 1-2 business days.
A paper copy is not required.
For questions or assistance in completing this application, please contact your AACSB Accreditation Staff Liaison. A complete list of staff liaisons is located at
www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/contact.
APPLICATION SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Please submit this application and the accompanying cover letter as follows:
APPLICATION SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Please submit this application and the accompanying cover letter as follows:
1. Electronically: Submit via email one set of all materials to the Accounting Accreditation Committee Chair at
[email protected]. If applicable, this should include a link to course catalogs available online.
PART I – Institution Information
Name of Institution
Name of Business Unit Name of Accounting Unit
Mailing Address Campus Box or Mail Code
City (for schools with campuses in multiple cities, enter city that main campus resides in)
State/Province/Region Postal Code Country
Telephone Number (include country/city code or area code)
Fax Number (include country/city code or area code)
E-Mail Address of Accounting Unit
Name/Title of Business Unit Head (Dean or
equivalent) Name/Title of Accounting Unit Head
Name/Title of Provost or equivalent (Academic
PART II – Eligibility Procedures
Review the Eligibility Criteria noted below, and acknowledge below if the school meets or does not meet the spirit of each Eligibility Criterion. If the school does not feel it complies with the criteria, please provide an explanation why. Additional detail on AACSB’s Eligibility Criteria can be found at:
http://www.aacsb.edu/-/media/aacsb/docs/accreditation/standards/accountingstds_2013_update-3oct_final.ashx.
The school meets the Eligibility Criteria
The school does not meet the Eligibility Criteria. When this box is selected please indicate below which criterion(a) are not met
Additional comments regarding Eligibility Criteria, if applicable.
PART III – Continuous Improvement and Consultative Feedback
1. Describe the accounting academic unit's actions that have been taken and progress to date in responding to “concerns that must be addressed prior to or at the time of the next review” stated in the official correspondence from the Board of Directors regarding the most recent AACSB accounting accreditation review. For each response please note the 2013 Standard(s) that corresponds to the addressed concern.
Related Standard Concern
Insert additional rows as needed
(Optional) List any topic(s) that the accounting academic unit would like to receive consultative feedback on from the team (i.e. non-degree expansion plans, fundraising, advisory board management, etc.).
Topic Additional Information
Insert additional rows as needed
changes, if any, on the accounting academic unit. Also provide an update on expectations for student enrollment across accounting programs.
3. The Continuous Improvement Review is a holistic review centered around the themes of the 2013 accreditation standards – Engagement – Innovation – Impact – rather than a
PART IV – S cope of Accreditation (Eligibility Criterion D)
Degree Programs in Accounting to be Included in Accreditation Review
Confirm all degree programs in accounting subjects at all levels and in all locations offered through the accounting academic unit within your institution to be included in the scope of accreditation are listed in the Business School Questionnaire (BSQ) within DataDirect. Edits to the included programs list should be made via the BSQ. Please contact your AACSB Staff Liaison if the BSQ has been closed and edits are needed or programs are started after the reporting period for the BSQ.
Degree Programs in Accounting Previously Excluded in Accreditation Review Reported on the BSQ (reporting of excluded programs in the BSQ is optional):
Confirm all degree programs in accounting previously excluded from the review and reported in the BSQ are listed as excluded.
Degree Programs in Accounting Previously Excluded in Accreditation Review and NOT Reported on the BSQ:
Add to Table A.1 and check #8. Please note: previously excluded programs do not require completion of the Exclusion Request Form.
Table A.1 – New Degree Programs in Accounting to be Excluded in Accreditation Review:
List new degree programs in accounting for which you intend to seek exclusion from accreditation review. Schools must provide the Program Exclusion Request form for each new degree program. Complete every required section of the form (Independence, Program Distinctiveness, and Operational Control), and as many of the optional sections that apply. All request forms are to be included with this application.
The Program Exclusion Request form is provided in Appendix A. An excerpt on program exclusions from Criterion D is provided in Appendix B.
Table A.1 New Degree Programs to be Excluded from Review:
Please complete the table below. A Program Exclusion Request Form (Appendix A) must be completed for each of the below – not including previously excluded programs.
Degree Title1
11List each program by the degree which is offered including majors and/or concentrations.
2 2Regardless of what colleges, schools, departments, or divisions collaborate to deliver or administer the degree, please indicate
the administrative unit which confers the diploma (i.e. College of Business, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences).
PART V: Review Schedule and Comparison Groups
Review Schedule
We request a Peer Review Team visit in:
Visit year (July 1 – June 30) Rank (in order of preference) July 1 – December 1
January 15 – March 31 April 1 – June 30
Specific visit dates will be requested after the first of the year along with team member nominations.
Comparison Groups *Schools may use DataDirect to assist in the selection of peer and aspirant
schools. For more information, click here: http://www.aacsb.edu/knowledge/data/datadirect/help.
Comparable Peers - A minimum of six comparable peers are necessary to supply the comparable peers statistical data report sent to the school and team prior to your visit if requested.
Competitive Group - Schools listed here do not count towards the minimum of six comparable peers or minimum of three aspirant schools.
PART VI: SIGNATURES
Affirmation of alignment with Eligibility Criterion F: The Head of the Accounting Academic Unit and the institution’s administration have reviewed this information. The institution’s administration confirms that the information in this document is trustworthy and accurate.
☐By checking this box, I certify the above is true.
Name of Head of Accounting Academic Unit
Name of Head of Business School (Dean or equivalent)
APPENDIX A
Program Exclusion Request
A separate copy of this form is required for each degree program for which exclusion from the AACSB International accreditation review is requested. Please complete every required section of the form (marked with an *), and as many of the optional sections that apply.
* Name of Institution:
* Name and Title of Person Completing Form:
* Full Title and Descriptive Information for Program for which Exclusion is being requested
(include the percentage of business content in the degree program):
Basis for exclusion:
Provide a brief, clear description of how the program satisfies the required and all other relevant
categories. Descriptions of the category expectations are discussed in Eligibility Procedure Criterion D of the Eligibility Procedures and Standards for Accounting Accreditation.
1.* Independence (Demonstration of limited or no participation in, and a high level of independence
relative to, the development, delivery, and oversight of programs requested for exclusion) -
2.* Program Distinctiveness (Demonstration of program distinctiveness such that students, faculty,
and employers clearly distinguish such programs from those degree programs identified for inclusion in the accreditation review process) –
3.* Operational Control (Demonstration of a lack of operational control relative to program design,
faculty hiring, development and promotion, student selection and services, curriculum design, and degree conferral) –
4.Subject to non-business accreditation (Degree programs subject to accreditation by other
non-business accreditation organizations) –
5.Specialized field (Specialized degree programs that are not marketed in conjunction with the
business program under AACSB review) –
6.Separate location (Degrees offered on a separate or independent campus) –
7.Participate, but not named (Degree programs offered via a consortium of schools that do not carry
APPENDIX B
Criterion D - ACCREDITATION SCOPE AND AACSB MEMBERSHIP
Basis for Judgment
The accounting academic unit is agreed upon through AACSB processes and meets the spirit and intent of the conditions and expectations as outlined in these eligibility criteria. The accounting academic unit seeking AACSB accounting accreditation must be approved well in advance (normally two years or more) of the onsite visit of the accreditation peer review team. If the accounting academic unit seeking AACSB accounting accreditation is part of or affiliated with an entity or business academic unit that holds AACSB business accreditation or is seeking business accreditation, the relationship of the accounting academic unit to the entity or business academic unit must be clear.
Within the approved accounting academic unit applying for AACSB accounting accreditation, the programmatic scope of accreditation (e.g., degree programs and other programmatic activities to be included in the AACSB review process and subject to alignment with accreditation standards) is agreed upon through AACSB processes and meets the spirit and intent of the conditions and expectations outlined in these eligibility criteria. Program inclusions and exclusions are approved well in advance (normally two years) of the onsite visit of the accreditation peer review team. The accounting academic unit applying for accreditation agrees to use the AACSB accreditation
brand and related statements about accreditation in its electronic and printed communications in accordance with AACSB policies and guidelines.
Guidance for Documentation
Describe the accounting academic unit’s relationship to the entity or business academic unit of which it is part, or describe its affiliation with a separate business academic unit that is seeking or holds AACSB business accreditation. Provide an organizational chart. Provide evidence that the accounting academic unit is predominantly focused on accounting education, research, and outreach.
An accounting academic unit may also be considered a business academic unit (see the AACSB Business Accreditation Standards) for accreditation purposes. In such cases, the accounting academic unit must seek business accreditation and may also seek separate accounting
accreditation. Other organizational structures for accounting academic units will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Describe the accounting degree programs that the accounting academic unit is submitting for the accreditation review and identify any non-accounting degree programs that the unit offers. MBA programs that offer an accounting minor with up to four accounting classes that are not intended to prepare graduates for professional examinations licenses, or designations in accounting are not included in an AACSB accounting accreditation review. Such programs must be reviewed within the business accreditation review.
List all degree programs in accounting offered elsewhere in the institution, including the academic unit responsible for delivering them.
If the institution has multiple academic units that deliver accounting degree programs and one or more seeks AACSB accounting accreditation, each academic unit seeking accounting
accreditation must demonstrate that their activities are clearly distinguished internally and externally from the activities of the rest of the institution, particularly the activities of other academic units that offer accounting degree programs that are not seeking AACSB accounting accreditation.
AACSB International must ensure that its brand is applied strictly and only to the agreed-upon entity applying for accreditation and the programs and programmatic activities included within the scope of its review. For that reason, the applicant must document its agreement and alignment with the following guidelines regarding the use of the AACSB International accreditation brand and related statements about accreditation.
In the case where the entity applying for business and accounting accreditation is a single business academic unit within an institution, the AACSB accreditation brand applies only to the single business academic unit and all business and management degree and accounting programs it is responsible for delivering. The AACSB accreditation brand cannot apply to the institution or to other (non-business) academic units or the accounting degree programs they offer.
Applications for accreditation must be supported by the chief executive officer of the accounting academic unit, the chief executive officer of the business school applicant, and the chief
academic officer of the institution regardless of the accreditation entity seeking AACSB accreditation. In all cases, the institution, business academic units, and accounting academic units agree to comply with AACSB policies that recognize entities that hold AACSB accounting accreditation. Applicants must clearly distinguish the programs they submit to the accounting accreditation review from other business academic units, accounting academic units, and other (non-business) academic units at their institutions that deliver accounting degree programs that do not hold AACSB accounting accreditation.
For all AACSB-accredited entities, the list of degree programs included in the scope of
accreditation review must be maintained continuously at AACSB. If the accounting academic unit that holds AACSB accounting accreditation introduces new programs, it may indicate that those programs are AACSB-accredited until the next maintenance of accounting accreditation review. It may not indicate that new accounting degree programs delivered by other
(nonbusiness/accounting) academic units are accredited prior to the next review.
