The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International has announced that the State University of New York at Fredonia School of Business has earned accreditation for its degree programs in Accounting, Public Accountancy, Finance, Management and Marketing.

“AACSB congratulates the State University of New York at Fredonia, and Officer in Charge Mojtaba Seyedian on earning accreditation,” said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “AACSB Accreditation represents the highest achievement for an educational institution that awards business degrees. The entire Fredonia team-including the administration, faculty, directors, staff, and students-are to be commended for their roles in earning accreditation.”

“It is indeed an honor for the State University of New York at Fredonia to receive this prestigious recognition. It serves to validate the high-quality business education that our faculty has been offering to students,” said Dr. Seyedian. “I join AACSB in congratulating all who worked so diligently over the years to bring this accreditation to fruition! It is a standard that Fredonia will continue to uphold well into the future.”

“This accreditation is the result of years of hard work and dedication among so many people at Fredonia,” said Fredonia President Virginia Horvath. “This accreditation supports what we have known on our campus all along; that Fredonia business students are among the brightest and most talented, and are well prepared for the world that awaits them after graduation.”

With this accreditation, Fredonia is now ranked among the top 5 percent of Business Schools (777 out of about 19,000) in the world, and among the top 25 percent of Business Schools (517 out of about 2,000) in the United States.

AACSB-accredited schools have successfully undergone a rigorous review process conducted by their peers in the business education community, ensuring that they have the resources, credentials, and commitment needed to provide students with a first-rate, future-focused business education. During the multi-year process the school focuses on developing and implementing a plan to align with AACSB’s Accreditation standards. The standards require excellence in areas relating to: strategic management and innovation; student, faculty, and staff as active participants; learning and teaching; and academic and professional engagement.

“This accreditation is a great accomplishment. The administration worked for this recognition, but the driving force has always been the hard-working faculty in all departments,” said Dr. Russell Boisjoly, School of Business faculty member and Dean of the School of Business from 2009 to 2017. “The collaboration with our community has also been vital to reaching this goal.”

Fredonia’s commitment starts with engagement. Students take their studies out of the classroom and work with outside businesses and clients to work and problem-solve on all facets of the business world, from marketing, to operations, to finance. All business students are required to take an internship in their field.

During the 2015-2016 academic year, Fredonia business students participated in 213 internships for local and regional organizations. Faculty and students conducted 470 projects with individuals, companies and organizations. Faculty also contributed over 90 different volunteer or uncompensated activities to their academic and community affiliations. The benefits of these activities are captured not only by the recipients of the pro bono project work or internship, but also by the students and faculty who get the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge to a “live” business problem (students) or witness the “best way” to carry out project work within a course with multiple teams for a company (faculty).

Fredonia is constantly examining its course load strategically to ensure classes are aligned with what industries are looking for in future employees. The business student organization, Enactus, is among the top campus groups in the country. Fredonia graduates have entered into highly-competitive positions in companies like Geico, Frito-Lay, ADP, and Wal-Mart, to name just a few.

“Quality business education is critical to developing the next generation of leaders, and I commend Fredonia for its dedication, as well as its leadership in the community,” said Reid. “Through accreditation, the Fredonia School of Business has not only met rigorous standards of excellence, but has also made an external commitment to ongoing improvement to ensure that they will continue to innovate and deliver the value promised to their students.”