University of Northern Colorado’s Monfort College of Business (MCB) was recently reaccredited in business and accounting by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) programs, underscoring the college’s outstanding leadership, faculty, curriculum and students.
Only 5% of business schools worldwide have earned AACSB accreditation. Of the 985 AACSB-accredited schools, only 195 are accredited in both business and accounting. MCB is one of these 195 schools.
MCB has a history of “firsts” and “only.”
- The first business school in Colorado to be dually accredited in business and accounting in 1992.
- The only business school recognized by the Colorado Commission of Higher Education as a Program of Distinction.
- Number one in the world for Accounting Information Systems and Experimental Accounting Information Systems.
- Number 12 in the world for Experimental Financials.
- Number 23 in the world for Experimental Auditing.
In addition to the accolades, MCB faculty and staff have strived to have far-reaching impacts beyond the classroom.
“Business schools are increasingly challenged to make a meaningful impact on not only their immediate stakeholders, but also in society. Creating a positive societal impact and being a force for world benefit are an important part of our mission moving forward,” said Krahnke, Associate Dean of the Monfort College of Business.
MCB is home to several community impact programs including the East Colorado Small Business Development Center, which helps grow small businesses, fosters job creation, and provides access to capital to spur business growth. MCB also partners with the City of Greeley on the BizWest Economic Forecast symposium, and hosts the annual Entrepreneurial Challenge (E-Challenge), an annual competition for college students and Colorado-based entrepreneurs. The college has also collaborated with the City of Greeley and created an innovation ecosystem to provide immersive learning and career opportunities to MCB students while accelerating the development of innovation clusters in the region, greatly expanding the impact of this collaboration.
“It’s about continuously improving ourselves in all aspects of what we do; teaching, helping students learn and making sure we have the right people who are qualified to teach the subject,” Krahnke said.
“MCB has done so much with the advising center and the student success center. Our faculty and staff have excelled in helping students feel ‘this is my college; this is where I belong.’”
Business faculty and staff have spent the past five years making improvements based on recommendations from prior reviews by the association, including:
- Encouraging faculty research and publication
- Assessing, maintaining and updating curriculum, and
- Incorporating diverse and multicultural content
Some of these activities include having students holding active roles in the annual E-Challenge. For example, students managed the competition, opening participation to high school students and serving as mentors to them, and expanding the scope to involve the City of Greeley and the High Plains Library District.
Faculty sought to extend their teaching talents beyond the UNC classroom by working to improve financial literacy among refugees and partnering with Greeley leaders to host Innovation Talks.
All these initiatives help foster the vision of the college: “Equipping students with the necessary knowledge, tools, and inspiration to reach their potential. Advancing business practice through quality research. Promoting entrepreneurship and professional engagement in the community.”
Building an exceptional business college is truly a team effort of working together for the common goal, which is to prepare our students for leadership in the real world.
“I would like to thank UNC’s leadership, the Dean’s Leadership Council, alumni, faculty, and staff who all support the Monfort College of Business and our mission to prepare our students for leadership and career success,” said MCB Dean, Ken Colwell.
Dick Monfort, ’76, a generous donor to UNC who is also the owner and chairman of the Colorado Rockies, current Chair of UNC’s Board of Trustees, and the son of Kenneth W. Monfort, after whom the college was named, was one of many involved in the reaccreditation process.
“I’m thrilled that Monfort College of Business was successful in its AACSB accreditation in both business and accounting. It was clear during the interview that we didn’t just have a passing grade; we nailed it. Monfort College of Business continues to be in the very top tier of business schools in the nation,” said Monfort.
