No question that it is oldest and most widely recognized accreditation. I'm not sure how much employers care about it, though. In my discipline, employers hire from the local AACSB accredited schools and also from the non-accredited schools.
Which begs the question, What other accreditation would you recommend for B school? Is there something better?
I am unaware of any other major accrediting body for B-schools. Like any other signaling model, accreditation must have a credible way to distinguish the high-quality from the low-quality in a manner that the low-quality cannot mimic. How distinguishing is AACSB accreditation for the Wharton School if one of the small, unknown, local schools on the AACSB list also has the same accreditation?
How distinguishing is AACSB accreditation for the Wharton School if one of the small, unknown, local schools on the AACSB list also has the same accreditation?
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I don’t think the AACSB accreditation is necessarily intended to distinguish the very best and eliminate the rest but rather to ensure through its evaluation process/criteria that minimum (but high) standards are met and that the business programs demonstrate their commitment to continuous improvement.
Most smaller schools could never hope to achieve AACSB accreditation if this were not the case. The larger, resource rich schools would effectively establish an oligopoly. In other words, AACSB encourages competition by recognizing those “lesser” schools that are making demonstrable strides toward improving the quality of their programs.
As with selecting anything due diligence is necessary to to ensure the best value for your education dollar. AACSB is no guarantee but it can help to narrow down the search for a quality program.