Continents International University Becomes a Candidate for IACBE Accreditation – What It Means for Our Students

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Continents International University is a candidate for accreditation by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education: the IACBE Board of Commissioners granted candidacy in July 2024, with the candidacy period running through July 31, 2029. If your university announces it is a candidate for IACBE accreditation, you may wonder what changes for you.

Continents International University is a candidate for accreditation by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education: the IACBE Board of Commissioners granted candidacy in July 2024, with the candidacy period running through July 31, 2029.

If your university announces it is a candidate for IACBE accreditation, you may wonder what changes for you. The short answer: candidacy is a step toward accreditation, not accreditation itself. Your degree is not from an IACBE-accredited program until the full review is done and accreditation is granted.

IACBE, the International Accreditation Council for Business Education, is a CHEA-recognized accreditor founded in 1997. It reviews business programs on student learning outcomes. A school in candidacy is preparing its self-study and evidence for peer reviewers. That preparation often improves courses, advising, and assessment while it is happening, which can benefit current students directly.

Still, keep your expectations grounded. Candidacy does not change how employers view your degree today, and it does not guarantee accreditation will follow. Some schools stay in candidacy for years; a few never finish.

Ask direct questions. Which programs are in the candidacy, and which are not? What is the timeline for the site visit and the board decision? Where can you read the school’s published student achievement results? A school serious about accreditation should answer all of these plainly.

You can also verify the school’s status yourself on the IACBE member status page at iacbe.org. You can confirm the status yourself: IACBE publishes its board decisions on iacbe.org, and the July 2024 summary lists the candidacy with a period running through July 31, 2029. This site’s earlier post on Continents International University’s IACBE candidacy covers the announcement.

For more background, read what IACBE accreditation is and the value it brings to business schools. If you are comparing schools on quality more broadly, this article on why accreditation matters covers the fundamentals.

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