The globally respected Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) has extended the accreditation of SUNY Oswego's School of Business for five years, following a rigorous Continuous Improvement Review.

Commending Oswego's School of Business -- first AACSB-accredited in 2002 -- for a variety of strengths, innovations and unique features, a site-visit report compiled by deans representing other high-performing schools of business noted:

* high levels of student satisfaction with faculty and staff engagement, through advisement, internship supervision, business-based student organizations and other applied-learning opportunities

* a cross-industry advisory board proactively involved in curriculum development and student recruitment
* a pioneering online MBA program, recently top-ranked in the state by U.S. News Media Group
* responsiveness to the needs of business in the region; for example, offering a new MBA program in health services administration and a customized MBA program to SRC Inc. employees  
* a peer-advising system in which upper-division business students serve as mentors and advisers to lower division students

School of Business Dean Richard Skolnik expressed the school's appreciation for the work of the review team and the AACSB board's subsequent decision to extend School of Business accreditation. The review provides a periodic critique focused on continuous improvement and best practices, providing assurance that students are getting an education that "meets the highest standards," he said.

A business education at SUNY Oswego goes far beyond the classroom, Skolnik said.

"It's a nurturing community, with all the mentoring that takes place engaging students with faculty, staff, alumni and employers," he said. "It really is a larger enterprise than coursework, and I believe the review team was impressed."

Collaborative environment

The report cited key examples of engagement, innovation and impact fostered by School of Business programs, co-curricular events and practices:

* the student-run, IRS-commended VITA program to assist more than 400 Oswego County residents annually with free preparation of income tax returns, coordinated by Beta Alpha Psi accounting and finance honor society
* the Student Investment Club, managing and making recommendations for a $300,000 portfolio of the Oswego College Foundation
* a networking event for 25 companies and about 200 students called Meet the Accountants, organized by Beta Alpha Psi and the Accounting Society in conjunction with faculty and the Office of Career Services

* a Student Advisory Council of representatives from the school's student organizations, meeting with the dean monthly and working with Skolnik and the Alumni Office to bring 10 to 12 alumni to campus for a two-day symposium

* faculty-mentored student research and scholarly presentation opportunities, including participation in SUNY Oswego's daylong Quest symposium and a unique student research conference with Shanghai Normal University in China, alternating venue annually between the schools
* student-centered business competitions against teams from other schools around the nation and world -- particularly those of the Oswego chapters of Phi Beta Lambda-Future Business Leaders of America and Enactus -- with the addition this year of the Launch It! start-up business competition featuring alumni and executive mentoring of student entrepreneurs

"Our students have persistence, a strong work ethic and a collaborative spirit," Skolnik said. "They are competitive, but do so well as a team. Many employers who come to Oswego comment positively on our students as employees."

The review team noted SUNY Oswego has the largest business program in the system of SUNY comprehensive colleges save the nontraditional SUNY Empire State College and, over the years, a number of firsts: the first to offer an MBA program; an option for a five-year program for an accounting bachelor's degree and an MBA; majors in marketing, human resource management, and risk management and insurance; an endowed professorship in finance; and participation in the online Open SUNY network.

For more information on programs of the SUNY Oswego School of Business, visit oswego.edu/business, email business@oswego.edu or call 315-312-2272.