AACSB has evidently revised (Jan. 1, 2004) its new "Eligibility Procedures
and Standards for Business Accreditation" (available at
http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/business/standards01-01-04.pdf
<http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/business/standards01-01-04.pdf>  ).

Under the previous version (April 25, 2003), the first category of
Academically Qualified Faculty (a doctoral degree in the area in which the
individual teaches) included the JD for business law and legal environment
of business classes.

In the revised Standards (pp. 42-44) a doctoral degree now "means completion
of a degree program intended to produce scholars capable of creating
original scholarly contributions through advances in research or theory." A
new category 5 specifies: "Individuals with a graduate degree in law will be
considered academically qualified to teach business law and legal
environment in business." The JD is not specifically mentioned in any of the
new categories of Academically Qualified Faculty. Is this new category 5
referring to JDs?

(I do recall a previous discussion regarding various schools' attitudes
toward JDs vs. PhDs, but I do not recall a specific thread as to
accreditation; if there has recently been such a thread of discussion, I
apologize in advance for the redundancy.)


Robert D. Sprague
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
Chair, Business Foundations Department
Eastern New Mexico University College of Business
(505) 562-2358