UW-L College of Business Administration earns association's 10-year accreditation

La Crosse Tribune, Dec 06, 2002 by Mercer, Anastasia

The University of WisconsinLa Crosse College of Business Administration got some good news this week.

The college will keep its Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accreditation because it meets quality standards related to curriculum, faculty resources, admissions, degree requirements, library and computer facilities, financial resources and intellectual climate.

The college, which was created in 1981, was first accredited in 1982 and has kept its accreditation during its two 10-year reviews, in 1992 and October of this year.

"This is a real tough thing to get," said Bruce May, associate dean of the College of Business Administration. "It's a mark that people going here meet very high standards."

"This is good news for the Students, faculty and alumni," said Chancellor Doug Hastad. "They are committed to excellence and sustained improvement and it shows."

A team of business school deans visited the school for three days in October and made the recommendation after the visit May said. More than 1,720 students are enrolled in the college, which offers majors and minors in accounting economics, finance, information systems, management, marketing and international business.

May said in addition to making the college more attractive to potential students, the accreditation is significant for Coulee Region businesses in need of employees.

"We're supplying our graduates to the businesses of the region," he said. "I think the businesses can be comfortable they're hiring people who have graduated from a topnotch program."

May said many high school seniors who want to study business are looking for the accreditation when they pick a school. He said UW-L is one of only two UW System schools to offer international business majors. UW-Madison is the other.

The accreditation is "a sign of quality of the College of Business Administration in the La Crosse community," he said. "It does make a college much more attractive."