OREM — Utah Valley State College is one of 12 institutions of higher education to recently earn international accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the accrediting body announced last week.

To earn AACSB accreditation, a business school must undergo meticulous internal review, evaluation and adjustment — a process that can take from three to seven years, according to the AASCB.

During this period, schools develop and implement a plan to help it meet the 21 AACSB standards that require highly qualified faculty, as well as a commitment to continuous improvement and keeping curricula responsive to the needs of business.

Only 10 percent of the world's business schools have been accredited by the AACSB. Other schools in Utah that have the accreditation include David Eccles School of Business of the University of Utah and the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University.

"That is a huge deal for us ... It has accredited most of the top business schools in the country," said Val Hale, UVSC vice president for institutional advancement and marketing.

Founded in 1916, AACSB is the longest serving and largest global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.