FLORENCE, AL - The University of North Alabama's College of Business has been re- accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) for another five years. AACSB is a worldwide, nonprofit membership organization of educational institutions, businesses, and other entities devoted to the advancement of management education.

"AACSB accreditation is a seal of confidence that our business degrees are of the highest quality," said Dr. Greg Carnes, Dean of the College of Business. "While this is the same business accreditation that the larger schools in the state of Alabama have, it is important students know UNA is not a smaller version of the SEC schools. Rather, we have a distinctive mission that is student-centered and is a great experience for students who want their professors to know them by name and mentor them as they prepare for their professional careers."

Of the more than 16,000 business schools that offer degree programs, fewer than five percent are awarded AACSB accreditation. This designation recognizes universities that have achieved the highest standard of excellence in business education worldwide, online, or in-person. The College of Business must not only maintain high standards of excellence, but the faculty, staff, and deans make a commitment to ongoing continuous improvement to ensure UNA delivers the highest level of education to its students. The UNA College of Business was first AACSB- accredited in 2016. Once accreditation has been earned, it is extended for five years with a review in the fifth year.

"This accreditation underscores the depth of our commitment to academic excellence at the University of North Alabama," said Dr. Ross Alexander, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. "Our first doctoral program at UNA, the Executive Doctor of Business Administration, began this semester, and our AACSB accreditation demonstrates that, as UNA expands to the doctoral level, it does so with a focus on quality."

When enrolling at the University of North Alabama, students will be guaranteed that, with an AACSB accredited institution, they are choosing one of the best business schools in the world. Eighty-five percent of alumni from AACSB-accredited universities agree that obtaining a

graduate business education made their professional situation better. AACSB alumni are also among the world's most influential leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs, having an impact on business, government, and nonprofit sectors.

For more, log on to www.aacsb.edu/accreditation or www.una.edu/business.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Human Sciences, and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of the NCAA Division I's ASUN Big South Conference. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/