European International University

[PearsonOTHMQualifi7654]

- the ACBSP only accredits programs (programmatic accreditation). It is recognized by CHEA. ACBSP does not accredit institutions. It only accredits programs from institutions, which hold regional institutional accreditation. Outside the US, institutions of ACBSP Region 8 (Europe, Africa, Asia) must be institutionally accredited by their governments' official accreditation body.

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• Outside the United States (ACBSP Region 8: Europe, Africa, Asia), ACBSP requires that the institution be legally authorized and recognized by the appropriate authority in its home jurisdiction.

Given that EIU-Paris has achieved ACBSP accreditation for three programs (BBA, MBA, DBA) delivered via its Dubai Regional Campus and associated online delivery, that is of material significance from a programmatic quality-assurance standpoint.

This would reasonably imply that EIU-Paris meets ACBSP’s institutional eligibility requirements, which include lawful establishment and recognition for operation in its home country. 

In France, this is evidenced by its UAI registration (0756213W) with the Ministère de l’Éducation nationale et de la Jeunesse, which confirms administrative authorization to operate as an educational provider.

Ministère de l’Éducation nationale et de la Jeunesse Listing of EIU-Paris
https://www.education.gouv.fr/acce_publi...&uai_ndx=1

The UAI (Unité Administrative Immatriculée) is an official administrative identifier assigned following review and validation by the competent authority. While it is not equivalent to French state degree accreditation, it does establish legal and administrative recognition.

From a U.S. perspective, one could reasonably argue that ACBSP programmatic accreditation already addresses many academic quality concerns for business programs. 
DEAC institutional accreditation could add clarity and portability, but it would be supplementary rather than corrective. 

As observed elsewhere, some institutions initially hold ASIC accreditation and later allow it to lapse after obtaining DEAC, though this is a strategic choice rather than a requirement.

[Eleanor]

- the ACBSP only accredits programs (programmatic accreditation). It is recognized by CHEA. ACBSP does not accredit institutions. It only accredits programs from institutions, which hold regional institutional accreditation. Outside the US, institutions of ACBSP Region 8 (Europe, Africa, Asia) must be institutionally accredited by their governments' official accreditation body.

Given that EIU-Paris has achieved ACBSP accreditation for three programs (BBA, MBA, DBA) delivered via its Dubai Regional Campus and associated online delivery, that is of material significance from a programmatic quality-assurance standpoint.

This would reasonably imply that EIU-Paris meets ACBSP’s institutional eligibility requirements, which include lawful establishment and recognition for operation in its home country. 

not necessarily. The ACBSP has had a long history of turning their head away from their own statutes, criteria, and rules. There is for example a long list of institutions in Switzerland, which do not possess official Swiss institutional accreditation, yet these institutions hold ACBSP accreditation. For this and other reasons, the ACBSP has been exposed to repeated investigation and scrutiny by CHEA and never managed its way into the US Department of Education.

I want to emphasize that institutions holding programmatic accreditation in absence of institutional government/state accreditation are not recognized (including its degrees) within the European Higher Education Area and abroad (at large).

Yet, from a quality assurance perspective ACBSP accreditation has value. I would definitely not label an ACBSP-accredited institution an intentional degree mill or scam. The effort to obtain and maintain this accreditation is too high for a bad player.

[PearsonOTHMQualifi7654]

Thanks for explaining. Switzerland is a useful comparison here. As you note, Swiss Federal Accreditation is notoriously difficult to obtain, which is why many legitimate institutions operate at the cantonal level or rely on validated degree-awarding partners.

For example, SBS Swiss Business School has achieved Swiss Federal Accreditation alongside ACBSP, IACBE, and BAC accreditation. By contrast, institutions such as RFK College appear to operate under cantonal recognition and rely on UK partner universities to award degrees, with those UK institutions themselves holding Royal Charter status and QAA oversight. Different systems, but not inherently illegitimate.

To your broader point, I agree that an institution that has pursued and attained ACBSP programmatic accreditation demonstrates good-faith intent and a willingness to submit to external quality review, particularly given ACBSP’s CHEA recognition and international scope.

In the case of EIU-Paris, I also think it is significant that the institution holds a UAI number and is listed with the Ministère de l’Éducation nationale et de la Jeunesse. 
While this does not equate to state degree accreditation, it does indicate formal inclusion in a national registry and submission to an established regulatory framework.

If EIU-Paris were to achieve RNCP registration, with programs mapped to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), that would indeed represent a major milestone for a private distance-education institution operating in France.

At present, my understanding is that EIU-Paris operates under Chapter IV of the French Education Code, specifically:

• Articles L 444-1 to L 444-11, which establish the legal framework for private distance-learning institutions, including authorization to operate and oversight principles; and
  
• Articles R 444-1 to R 444-28, which define the regulatory requirements, including:
  • mandatory registration with the Ministry of National Education,
    
  • administrative, educational, and financial oversight,
    
  • written student contracts detailing services, fees, and termination conditions, and
    
  • prohibitions on misleading advertising or guaranteed employment claims.
    

Under this framework, institutions may lawfully deliver education and issue institutional awards (diplômes d’établissement). These are not diplômes nationaux and are not RNCP-registered, but they are legally issued credentials under French law by institutions authorized to operate as private education providers.

For that reason, I think it is reasonable to conclude that there is meaningful regulatory oversight involved, rather than this being a mere or “random” registration without legal substance.

I have requested a revision of the IEE Evaluation report for my EIU-Paris BBA and will revert once I have a result.

[SteveFoerster]

For this and other reasons, the ACBSP has been exposed to repeated investigation and scrutiny by CHEA and never managed its way into the US Department of Education.

This is pretty disingenuous. The US Department of Education only recognizes institutional accreditors, because the purpose of their recognition is to establish eligibility for Title IV funding. AACSB isn't recognized by them either, for the same reason.

[Eleanor]

For this and other reasons, the ACBSP has been exposed to repeated investigation and scrutiny by CHEA and never managed its way into the US Department of Education.

This is pretty disingenuous. The US Department of Education only recognizes institutional accreditors, because the purpose of their recognition is to establish eligibility for Title IV funding. AACSB isn't recognized by them either, for the same reason.

Re USDoE - correct, my bad. Regarding CHEA investigations and audit, I have been hired and deeply involved.

[SteveFoerster]

Fair enough; I don't doubt you.

For what it's worth, I've long thought that the conventional wisdom on these forums overrates the importance of ACBSP accreditation. One can make a case that a program with AACSB accreditation is worth a premium because it opens more doors for doctoral study and for teaching at business schools. But I've yet to see a reason why someone should pay even one dollar more for a program with ACBSP accreditation over one without it.

[PearsonOTHMQualifi7654]

Quick update for anyone following my EIU-Paris evaluation experience:

I contacted International Education Evaluations (IEE) to request a minor revision to the standardized note in my report, because I felt the wording could be interpreted as implying there is no registration in France.

IEE reviewed the evaluation and confirmed that they consider the report correct as written. They acknowledged that EIU-Paris is duly registered and also lawfully permitted to operate as a business in France, however registration is not the same as academic recognition or accreditation, and stated that the additional notes included in the evaluation are standardized. They refunded the revision fee.

So, for anyone considering IEE: they appear firm on standardized language regarding private French institutions, even when the institution has lawful registration with the French Ministry of Education.

For reference, the IEE report states:

US Equivalency:
Bachelor of Business Administration Degree, Finance

Institution status:
Accredited by the Accreditation Service for International Colleges (ASIC)*

Additional notes:
Completion of this program grants access to graduate-level studies. 

European International University is an Accreditation Service for International Colleges (ASIC) premier institution. ASIC is listed as an international accreditation agency by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). However, this institution is not recognized or overseen by the government agency tasked with ensuring quality and regulating education in France. US colleges, universities, licensing boards and employers may exercise their own judgment regarding accepting this qualification.

______________________________________________________________________

On a side note: EIU-Paris explained to me that the first graduates of its ACBSP-accredited programs are expected this year or early next year. I think it will be interesting to see how those evaluations are handled.

They also stated that they are indeed pursuing RNCP (Répertoire National des Certifications Professionnelles) listing. Ironically, the reason I had even become aware of what RNCP was in the first place is that I had asked EIU-Paris whether the degree could be accepted in Italy, even as an institutional award (Diplôme d’Établissement), in the same way a título propio may or may not be acknowledged in any given country. 

They were transparent in explaining that, because it is not currently RNCP-registered, recognition and portability within European national qualification frameworks is not automatic, and acceptance is likely to be handled case-by-case at the discretion of the relevant authority or institution.

I have since completed a UK BSc (Hons) and an OTHM Level 6 Diploma, and previously earned a Qualifi Level 5 Extended Diploma (including Level 4), so I am already fully qualified as a bachelor’s degree holder through those universally recognized global pathways. I’m leaving the IEE evaluation as-is. For what it’s worth, I enjoyed the coursework and the interactions with EIU.

[Sagan]

Fair enough; I don't doubt you.

For what it's worth, I've long thought that the conventional wisdom on these forums overrates the importance of ACBSP accreditation. One can make a case that a program with AACSB accreditation is worth a premium because it opens more doors for doctoral study and for teaching at business schools. But I've yet to see a reason why someone should pay even one dollar more for a program with ACBSP accreditation over one without it.

Agreed. Employers don't care either way, but AACSB-accredited schools sure do. They often put extra requirements on applicants coming from non-AACSB schools, for example, and often won't hire professors with degrees from non-AACSB schools. I doubt seriously that any ACBSP-accredited schools have similar practices.

Almost every top MBA program in the U.S. has AACSB accreditation. The correlation is tight.

[PearsonOTHMQualifi7654]

Completely agree. AACSB is still the gold standard, even after leaving CHEA.
That said, I don’t think ACBSP or IACBE are worthless either. 

If a school doesn’t have something like DEAC, having ACBSP/IACBE (and even UK oversight like BAC/ASIC) can still help round out the picture a bit.

Not every institution can jump straight to AACSB, or even DEAC. Most have to start somewhere. And I’ve noticed a lot of schools hold AACSB memberships while they’re building toward stronger recognition, which at least shows intent.

Nobody needs a non-AACSB school, but plenty of people still want an education, and not every school is going to be AACSB.

[SteveFoerster]

Completely agree. AACSB is still the gold standard, even after leaving CHEA.

To be honest, I don't see why CHEA matters at all anymore. Even some of the former regionals have dropped their membership. The only time I see schools mention it is when they have some sort of tenuous second-hand connection to it, usually through their meaningless "International Quality Group", trying to make that seem like something it's not.

That said, I don’t think ACBSP or IACBE are worthless either. 

If a school doesn’t have something like DEAC, having ACBSP/IACBE (and even UK oversight like BAC/ASIC) can still help round out the picture a bit.

Not every institution can jump straight to AACSB, or even DEAC. Most have to start somewhere. And I’ve noticed a lot of schools hold AACSB memberships while they’re building toward stronger recognition, which at least shows intent.

Whoa, there's a lot to unpack here!

What value do you think ACBSP and/or IACBE offer under normal circumstances, as in the overwhelming majority of cases where a school has normal institutional accreditation and then has its business programs programmatically accredited by ACBSP or IACBE?

I'm keenly aware of the hurdles that startup institutions face getting accreditation, so I'm not unsympathetic to the "Well, at least the institution has something!" style argument. But I question whether having one's business programs accredited by ACBSP is any more expensive or time-consuming than having one's institution accredited by ACCSC or DEAC, so it strikes me as odd that one would do the former rather than the latter.

As for ASIC, that's an apples-to-orangutans comparison. To be honest, I find it a little difficult to determine how much, if anything, ASIC means in 2026. One the one hand, institutional accreditation the way Americans think of it has always been outside of their official scope. On the other hand, they're going through an awful lot of effort to look like they add value—if they were (still?) an accreditation mill, they could be that with a lot less effort and expense when it comes to publications, putting on events, etc. You spoke of showing positive intent, and it's probably fair to argue that presently ASIC is at least doing that.

You make it sound like ACBSP is a stepping stone on the way to AACSB, and that's not so. The former accredits teaching in business programs; the latter accredits research in business programs. I know academia loves its pecking orders, but they're not the same.

And finally, given how often that sort of thing is abused, I'm skeptical accreditors should even have "membership" levels, even if they help accreditors pay the bills.

Nobody needs a non-AACSB school, but plenty of people still want an education, and not every school is going to be AACSB.

Outside of those wanting to maximize their options for teaching or doctoral study, the question is whether anyone truly needs a school that has AACSB. (Although Sagan correctly points out that the intersection of AACSB-accredited business schools and prestigious business schools is very large, so there's that.)