KINGSTON, R.I. – July 29, 2024 – Marking its commitment excellence in business education, the University of Rhode Island College of Business has been awarded full reaccreditation for its business and accounting degree programs by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the global standard in business accreditation.

The College of Business, which celebrated its centennial last year, has maintained its accreditation from AACSB International for more than a half-century, since 1969. It is the oldest, continuously accredited business program in Rhode Island. It is the only institution in the state to have earned the association’s distinctive accounting accreditation, in addition to the overall business school accreditation.

“AACSB’s reaffirmation of the College of Business’ accreditation is a testament to URI’s commitment to excellence in business education, research, and industry engagement,” said Dean Sean Edmund Rogers, who is also the Alfred J. Verrecchia-Hasbro Inc. Leadership Chair. “As Rhode Island’s flagship business school for more than a century, our students get a best-in-class education from professors who are academic experts and experienced industry leaders. We’re proud to be among a small group of colleges of business – less than 10% globally – that meet the gold standard of business education and training.”

With the extension, URI is among an elite group of business schools worldwide dedicated to pursuing high-quality business education. A total of 1,026 institutions in more than 65 countries – only about 6 percent of the world’s schools that offer business degrees – have achieved AACSB accreditation. Only 194 of these institutions have achieved AACSB’s specialized accounting program accreditation.

URI’s accounting program enrolls hundreds of students annually in its bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, and boasts an industry-leading, six-month placement rate of 97 percent after graduation.

“The area of accounting is proud of the quality distinction demonstrated by achieving this renewal of our separate AACSB accreditation,” said Judy Beckman, Vangermeersch Professor of Accounting and area coordinator of accounting programs, who was recently appointed the college’s associate dean of undergraduate programs. “The accreditation provides a mark of distinction in our delivery of educational programs to undergraduate and master’s degree students, for example, by requiring us to continually update learning goals for a changing work environment they will face.”

Accreditation also signifies a distinction in faculty research productivity, Beckman said.  Research produces new knowledge that feeds into both the college’s educational activities and the function in the practice of accounting. Those research experiences are shared with Ph.D. students – at URI and from other universities – and Doctor of Business Administration candidates.  

The College of Business has been a leader in business, research and outreach in Rhode Island since being established in 1923. The college today has more than 2,300 undergraduate and 350 graduate students across 10 undergraduate majors, eight master’s programs, three Ph.D. specializations, and one executive doctorate.