IACBE - Requirements for Candidacy Status

Candidacy Requirements

The purpose of becoming a candidate for accreditation (hereafter referred to as candidacy status) is to provide the academic business unit with an opportunity to prepare itself to be in compliance with the IACBE’s Accreditation Principles, to develop a comprehensive self-study, and to undergo a site visit conducted by a professional team of peer reviewers from academic business unit members of the IACBE.

In order to become a candidate for accreditation by the IACBE, an academic business unit must:

Be an educational member of the IACBE.
Submit an application for candidacy status. Applications for IACBE candidacy status must be approved and signed by the institution’s chief executive officer (i.e., president, chancellor, director general), affirming the academic business unit’s commitment to abide by the accreditation policies and procedures of the IACBE and to attaining and maintaining excellence in business education.
Pay its application fee for candidacy status to the IACBE.
Provide evidence that its parent institution has institutional accreditation from an appropriate nationally-recognized institutional accrediting organization. Institutions located outside of the United States must provide evidence of equivalent recognized institutional accreditation from an appropriate organization in the relevant country or region, or approvals or authorizations to award degrees from an appropriate governing, legal, or similar body. This evidence should take the form of a copy of the most recent letter from an appropriate nationally-recognized accrediting organization affirming or reaffirming institutional accreditation. For institutions located outside of the United States, this evidence would be the most recent equivalent letter, certificate, charter, or license from an appropriate accrediting, governing, legal, or similar body in the relevant country or region granting institutional accreditation, recognition, approval, or authorization to award degrees. In cases where this documentation is written in a language other than English, the academic business unit must submit a copy of the original non-English version of the letter, certificate, charter, or license, and an English translation of the original documentation.
Provide evidence that its parent institution has offered at least one bachelor’s- or graduate-level program in business, with enrolled students, for at least two years.
Submit a copy of the most recent catalogs, prospectus, marketing brochures, or other materials that describe the institution’s undergraduate and graduate degree programs. If this material is online, provide the website address (URL) for and an electronic version of this material (e.g., a non-editable document such as a PDF file).
Provide a program overview of the institution’s business programs. This overview should include the following information:
1. The mission statement of the academic business unit.
2. A listing of all business programs offered by the institution regardless of the academic units that administer them. These include associate-, bachelor’s-, master’s-, and doctoral-level programs and all programs at the institution that have “business,” “industrial,” “administration,” “management,” “leadership,” or “organizational” in the degree designation or program name.
3. An identification and description of all locations where business programs are offered.
4. For each of the programs listed in item 7.b above, a description of the curricular requirements for the program (including each major, concentration, specialization, and emphasis); If this information is found online and/or is included in the institution’s catalogs, prospectus, marketing brochures, or other materials, provide the URL address(es) for the location(s) on your website where this information can be found and/or the page numbers for the relevant sections of the catalogs, prospectus, marketing brochures, or other materials.
5. For each of the programs listed in item 7.b above, provide the following information:
  1. Academic unit that administers the program
  2. Name and title of the program coordinator (e.g., dean, director, department/division chair, program director, etc.)
  3. Total number of credit hours (or contact hours as applicable) required to earn the degree
  4. Number of credit hours (or contact hours) in the program that are in the traditional areas of business education; Note: The following typical disciplinary areas are considered to be the “traditional areas of business education”: business administration, accounting, finance, human resources, information management, international business, management, marketing, economics (principles of microeconomics/macroeconomics), business law, business ethics, business communication, and business-related quantitative methods.
  5. Percentage of the total number of credit hours (or contact hours) required for the degree that is composed of credit hours (contact hours) in the traditional areas of business education; Note: Undergraduate degree programs in business are eligible for accreditation if and only if 20 percent or more of the total hours required for the degree are in the traditional areas of business education, and graduate degree programs in business are eligible for accreditation if and only if 50 percent or more of the total hours required for the degree are in the traditional areas of business education.
6. For each of the institution’s eligible business programs, an identification of the program’s mode of delivery; This can be fully on-ground, hybrid delivery, or fully online.
7. The total enrollment of the institution by headcount and, for each of the institution’s eligible business programs, the total enrollment by headcount in the program (including each major, concentration, specialization, and emphasis) for each of the past three years.
8. For each of the institution’s eligible business programs, the number of degrees conferred in the program (including each major, concentration, specialization, and emphasis) for each of the past three years.
9. An identification of the eligible business programs, and the locations at which they are offered, that the institution wishes to include in the accreditation review.
10. An identification of the eligible business programs, and the locations at which they are offered, that the institution wishes to exclude from the accreditation review, along with the rationale for exclusion; Note: The determination of the programs and locations to be included in and excluded from the accreditation review will be made well in advance of the self-study year by the IACBE Board of Commissioners.
11. A listing of full-time faculty members who teach in the eligible business programs, along with their highest-earned degrees, degree disciplines, the institutions from which their degrees were earned, their titles, and their teaching areas; If the institution employs no full-time faculty, list those faculty members who are used on a regular or continuing basis. This listing should also include all full-time and ongoing/continuing personnel who have administrative or other service responsibilities, but who also teach in the eligible business programs. These personnel would include any deans, directors, department/division chairs, program directors/coordinators, etc. who teach in the eligible business programs.
12. A listing of non-teaching personnel who have administrative or other service responsibilities associated with the eligible business programs, along with their highest-earned degrees, degree disciplines, the institutions from which their degrees were earned, and their titles; These personnel would include any non-teaching deans, directors, department/division chairs, program directors/coordinators, etc.
13. For institutions located outside of the U.S., an identification of the language(s) in which each of the institution’s eligible business programs is taught.
Provide figures for the most recent fiscal year for total unrestricted educational and general expenditures for the institution as a whole, for all academic instructional units of the institution, and for each academic unit that administers the eligible business programs for which the institution is seeking accreditation.
Submit a current and complete outcomes assessment plan. The assessment plan must encompass all eligible business programs for which the institution is seeking accreditation, must conform to IACBE guidelines as outlined in the IACBE document entitled “Key Content Areas of an Outcomes Assessment Plan,” and must be prepared using the assessment plan template developed by the IACBE. Note: These documents are available for download from our Accreditation Documents page.
Submit organizational charts for the institution and for each academic unit that administers the eligible business programs for which the institution is seeking accreditation.
Undergo a candidacy visit by an IACBE representative.
Be reviewed by the IACBE Board of Commissioners.

The purposes of the candidacy visit are (i) to provide assistance to the academic business unit as it prepares to enter the candidacy phase of the accreditation process, (ii) to determine whether there are issues of concern pertaining to the resources, processes, business programs, or other aspects of the academic business unit’s operations that need to be addressed prior to beginning the self-study process, and (iii) to evaluate the readiness of the academic business unit to pursue IACBE accreditation.

If candidacy status is granted, it will cover a time period not to exceed five years. Under extenuating circumstances, a single extension of an academic business unit’s candidacy status may be approved by the Board of Commissioners.

A candidate for accreditation is not allowed to claim or imply accreditation by the IACBE until accreditation has been granted.

Once an academic business unit has been granted candidacy status by the Board of Commissioners, the institution may denote this status on its website, in its catalog and official publications, and in its advertising. However, the following form of notice and specific language must be used:

The [academic business unit] at [institution's name] has been awarded the status of Candidate for Accreditation by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). The [academic business unit] has affirmed its commitment to excellence in business education and is eligible to undergo an accreditation review of its business programs.

Candidacy Costs

The costs related to obtaining candidacy status will vary somewhat depending on the institution’s location. The costs of the candidacy visit include an application fee, a candidacy consulting fee, plus travel, food, and hotel expenses for an IACBE representative conducting the candidacy visit. Specific information about the costs associated with obtaining candidacy status can be found by following the link below:

> Candidacy Costs