Students Provide Proof of Program Quality

In April, MSUM’s Paseka School of Business was notified that its accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) was extended. This announcement wasn’t a surprise: MSUM’s business school has been fully accredited for the past 11 years. Still, it’s an achievement we don’t take for granted. Only 5% of the world’s business schools are AACSB accredited. And achieving accreditation requires a rigorous, multi-year process of intensive self-study and external review.

It goes without saying that accreditation is a testament to the quality of the Paseka School of Business faculty and programs, which include accounting, finance, business administration, business analytics, project management and supply chain management. What might not be as obvious is that this same level of quality is reflected in Paseka School of Business students.

MSUM accounting graduates, for example, have some of the highest CPA exam pass rates in our region (running neck and neck with graduates of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota). Current students do pretty well, too, as evidenced by their performance in both state and international Collegiate DECA competitions.

Through conferences and competitions, DECA prepares students to be business leaders and entrepreneurs. Last year, MSUM’s chapter advanced 33 members to the international competition. In this year’s competitions, MSUM won half of the state events and had four members place in the top three at international competition.

Perhaps because of this success, an MSUM student has been elected national president of Collegiate DECA for the past two years. Last year’s president, Gage Donovan, and next year’s president, Zac Spohn, are both business administration majors.

As proud as I am of our faculty and programs, it’s our students who inspire my strongest Dragon Pride. They provide the proof of MSUM’s quality.

Dr. Anne Blackhurst served as Minnesota State University Moorhead’s 11th president from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2023.