Late last week Rick Coffinberger posed a question on the listserve that
I am only just now getting to.  Inasmuch as Rick asked the question on
ALSBtalk, I am taking the liberty of answering the same way.  Rick asked
whether practicing attorneys teaching bl/le would be considered
professionally qualified under AACSB standards, but not academically
qualified.  He is exactly right.  Under Faculty Size, Composition, and
Deployment, standard FD.5 states that "The faculty, in aggregate, should
have sufficient academic and professional qualifications to accomplish
the school's mission."

While possession of the JD would make practicing attorneys terminally
qualified (that provision is also in FD.5), they would not be
academically qualified because, in addition to the degree, this standard
also requires that the degree be "augmented by subsequent activities
that maintain or establish preparation for current teaching
responsibilities." A common sense reading of that language would say
that publication in addition to the degree is what makes faculty
"academically qualified."  "Professionally qualified" faculty normally
possess a master's degree (although our folks have more than that) and
"relevant professional experience."  This sounds like our adjuncts who
are practicing attorneys, don't you think?

The standard goes on to state that the academically qualified portion of
the faculty should not fall below 50% of the minimum full-time
equivalent (MFTE) faculty.  The percentage varies with school mission.
The percentage should be larger in programs that award graduate degrees,
and higher still in schools with doctoral programs and an emphasis on
basic scholarship.

A word of caution, and I quote:  "Classification as academically or
professionally qualified may be lost if there is not evidence of faculty
development, intellectual contributions, or current professional
experience relevant to the teaching field within the five-year period
preceding the accreditation review."

Thanks, Rick, for raising this.  You are absolutely correct to point out
that terminal qualification is not the only measure AACSB considers.