The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) has granted conditional accreditation to Freed-Hardeman University’s Master of Business Administration program, according to Dr. Tom DeBerry, director of the program. Now in its sixth year, the MBA program at FHU is the only MBA program in West Tennessee to be accredited by ACBSP, according to the agency’s web site.
FHU’s MBA program joins the undergraduate program in having ACBSP accreditation. The undergraduate School of Business’s programs have been accredited since 1994. Accreditation was reaffirmed in 2004. The current undergraduate programs are: accounting, finance, management (human resources, entrepreneurship and global business), and marketing.
FHU has until September 30, 2014, to remove the conditions cited by ACBSP. According to the accrediting agency, “It would be extremely rare that a school receive accreditation without these improvement opportunities…” since the organization believes, “Business schools and programs should pursue regular cycles of planning, execution and evaluation of every process and system. Ongoing improvement of these processes and systems leads to ever higher quality and student/stakeholder satisfaction."
DeBerry expressed his pleasure at receiving ACBSP accreditation. “We are gratified that ACBSP has recognized the quality already built into our program. We look forward to continuous improvement as we deliver a high quality product to our students. While our program has been repeatedly recognized by a nationwide ranking organization for its relatively low cost as an online-accessible MBA, the combination of affordability and high quality, as evidenced by this accreditation, makes investing in yourself with a Freed-Hardeman MBA truly a ‘best buy,’” he said.
FHU’s MBA program may be completed online, on campus, or by a combination of the two. Currently, approximately 75 students are enrolled in the program. For admissions information, contact Jim Brown at jbrown@fhu.edu.