Let us know about free updates
Simply sign up for Business Education Myft Digest and it will be delivered directly to your inbox.
The world’s largest accredited business schools removed diversity and inclusion from reporting standards as President Donald Trump’s campaign for “wake-up” education reached the next generation of managers, entrepreneurs and investors.
The US-based association advancing the University Business School (AACSB) that accredits more than 1,000 business schools around the world, has issued an update to replace “diversity and inclusion” in support of “community and connectivity” with 10 “diversity and inclusion” as one of its 10 “guiding principles and expectations.”
It removed the phrase “AACSB continues to be deeply committed to diversity and inclusion in university business education,” and eliminated another reference to diversity and inclusion in the document.
The action is the latest indication that organizations that previously embraced diversity will scrap or modify policies targeted by the Trump administration in a series of executive orders.
The new AACSB guidance aims to help business schools “still develop an environment where engagement, mutual respect and collaboration is important.”
In a note to its members, the change in the wording said it “reflects the current legal and political environment surrounding politicized higher education and terms of accreditation and reconstruction in the United States and around the world. The goal is to actively reduce risk to members and enhance the long-term stability of the organization.
AACSB CEO Lily Bi said “Dei has become a very complex and evolving concept and has been very politicized in the United States,” and that the organization has changed its language to mitigate the risks of 27 US business schools that had already imposed restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion.
She said the school was “at the incredible challenges with the need to comply with local laws, maintain finances and maintain AACSB accreditation.”
However, she emphasized: “To be honest, our mission hasn’t changed. Our values have not changed. We still have inclusiveness and we continue to be committed to the content of our DEI. If someone is weaponising this concept, we don’t want to shoot this weapon to a member. That’s better than nothing. There’s no future prevention solution. If you don’t take action, it’s the worst thing.”
Many universities and business schools are already asking for less exposure to scrutiny, such as Northeastern University, which removed references to DEIs on their websites. Harvard and MIT have discarded the requirement for both applicants to include statements that faculty jobs intend to contribute to campus diversity.
Equis, a rival Europe-based agency that accredits several business schools in the United States, still mentions diversity in standards of ethics, responsibility and sustainability.
The American Civil Liberties Union insisted earlier this year: The executive order seeks to blend these legitimate efforts and discrimination. . . Businesses, schools, and institutions must resist the fear and confusion these executive orders are designed to create. ”
