Owensboro, Ky. (Jan. 11, 2016) – Kentucky Wesleyan College is pleased to announce that the Board of Commissioners of the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) has granted reaffirmation of accreditation of the business and management programs offered through its Center for Business Studies. The IACBE is recognized by the highly regarded Board of Directors of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), a private, nonprofit agency that sets standards for accrediting body recognition.
The IACBE was founded in 1997, and Kentucky Wesleyan was initially accredited in 2005, according to Associate Professor Business Dr. Leslie Korb.
Business Education Worldwide
The Center for Business Studies at Wesleyan undertook a rigorous self-evaluation, a comprehensive, independent peer review and has demonstrated compliance with the following accreditation principles of the IACBE:
- Outcomes Assessment
- Strategic Planning
- Curriculum
- Faculty
- Scholarly and Professional Activities
- Resources
- Internal and External Relationships
- International Business Education
- Educational Innovation
In addition, the Center for Business Studies has demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement, excellence in business education, and advancing academic quality in its business programs and operations.
Dr. Korb remarked, “This accreditation is valuable to Kentucky Wesleyan and to the City of Owensboro because IACBE accreditation is international in scope and focuses on student learning outcomes and quality improvement. The CHEA recognition is significant, as not all accrediting bodies apply to or are recognized by the CHEA, which is known for its impeccable standards. This accreditation provides valuable information about our students’ undergraduate preparation at Wesleyan when they apply to graduate business programs.”
“Kentucky Wesleyan has a rich history of producing innovative and highly successful business persons, accountants and entrepreneurs who have local, national and international impacts,” said President Barton Darrell. “This reaffirmation underscores the high quality of the instruction, the student opportunities for hands-on learning, and the decades of success by our business graduates. Selfishly, as a Business Administration graduate of Kentucky Wesleyan, I am proud and am reminded of what a great education I received.”
Vice President of the College and Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Paula Dehn said, “I am pleased, but not surprised, by this announcement. Our business program has superior outcomes. For example, our accounting students outscored every other college and university in the state on the certified public accountant exam in 2014, and in addition to the No. 1 ranking, Kentucky Wesleyan students were third in the state for pass rate, with a higher pass rate than any state university in Kentucky.”
Taylor Edge, a 2014 Kentucky Wesleyan graduate of the accounting program, is a Staff II Accountant in the Audit and Assurance Services Division at Riney Hancock CPAs PSC in Owensboro. Edge remarked, “The education I received from Kentucky Wesleyan College and the Center for Business Studies prepared me not only for a degree in accounting, but for life and a career after graduation. My extraordinary professors took my success personally, and the skills and lessons I learned from them helped guide me through the rigorous pursuit of my CPA. I am thrilled that an outside entity reaffirmed the accreditation of the Center for Business Studies. This is a great example of The Wesleyan Way, and I am honored to be an alumna.”
The International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) was founded in 1997 and is nationally-recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The IACBE is the leader in mission-driven and outcomes-based programmatic accreditation in business and management education for student-centered colleges, universities and other higher education institutions throughout the world. The IACBE has hundreds of member institutions and campuses worldwide, and has accredited over 1,200 business and business-related programs in the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Central America and South America.
-Kentucky Wesleyan College-