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Massey University Earns AACSB International Accreditation

TAMPA, FL (September 22, 2009)—AACSB International announced today that Massey University has earned accreditation for its business school. Founded in 1916, AACSB International (AACSB) is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.

"AACSB congratulates Massey University and Pro Vice Chancellor Lawrence Rose on earning initial accreditation, and welcomes them into the AACSB family of internationally accredited business schools," said John J. Fernandes, president and chief executive officer of AACSB International. "AACSB accreditation represents the highest achievement for an educational institution that awards business degrees. Pro Vice Chancellor Rose and the faculty, directors, and administrative staff of Massey University are to be commended for their role in earning initial accreditation."

AACSB accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in business education, and has been earned by less than five percent of the world's business schools. Today, there are 570 business schools in 33 countries that maintain AACSB accreditation. Similarly, 171 institutions maintain an additional specialized AACSB accreditation for their accounting programs.

Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal review, evaluation, and adjustment and can take several years to complete. During these years, the school develops and implements a plan to meet the 21 AACSB standards requiring a high quality teaching environment, a commitment to continuous improvement, and curricula responsive to the needs of business. As required by AACSB standards, all accredited schools must go through a peer review process every five years in order to maintain their accreditation.

"It takes a great deal of self evaluation and determination to earn AACSB accreditation, and I commend Massey University for its dedication to management education," said Jerry Trapnell, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. "Schools must not only meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, faculties and staffs must make a commitment to ongoing improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver high quality education to students."

About AACSB International
AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), founded in 1916, is a membership association of almost 1,200 educational institutions, businesses and other organizations in 74 countries and territories. AACSB's mission is to advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation and thought leadership. AACSB accreditation is the mark of quality distinction most widely sought after by business schools — less than 5% worldwide have earned the achievement. As the premier membership and accreditation body for institutions offering undergraduate, master's and doctorate degrees in business and accounting, the association also conducts a wide array of conferences and seminar programs at locations throughout the world. AACSB's global headquarters is located in Tampa, Florida, USA and its Asia headquarters is located in Singapore.

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