The college has achieved continuous AACSB accreditation since 1969 -- just eight years after the school's founding -- and is among the top schools of business accredited for Business and Accounting.
BusinessWeek's 2009 ranking of best undergraduate business schools continues to place the NIU business college within an elite group of b-schools nationwide. In 2009, the NIU College of Business ranked 73rd nationally out of a very small group of 101 elite business schools that made BusinessWeek's final short-list of programs designated as The Best Undergrad B-Schools in the country. This year, NIU's ranking beats out other nationally known schools such as the University of Iowa (#76), Rutgers (#90), Loyola (#95), and Fox Temple (#99). NIU received high marks from its business students in the areas of Quality of Faculty: B; Quality of Job Placement Services: A; Quality of Facilities and Services: A. NIU's College of Business has been ranked among the best by BusinessWeek since the inception of the publication's undergraduate ranking in 2006.
For more than a decade, U.S.News & World Report has consistently ranked The Northern Illinois University College of Business as among the best business colleges in the country. In 2008, the NIU College of Business continued to be ranked as among the nation's best by making the listing of "America's Best Colleges and Programs" (2009), as recently published by U.S.News & World Report. (http://www.usnews.com/)
NIU's M.B.A. program continues to be ranked among the very best graduate-level business programs in the Chicago market, as per this year's Crain's Chicago Business ranking (October 20, 2008). The ranking represents the third consecutive year that Crain's placed the NIU M.B.A. program among the very best, out of a pool of 30 competing M.B.A. programs in the Chicago market. This year, NIU's Evening M.B.A. Program, Professional M.B.A. Program, and Executive M.B.A. Program all ranked within the top six best programs.
Accountancy Program Ranked Among the Elite by Public Accounting Report. Professors across the nation have once again rated Northern Illinois University's accountancy program among the elite in the nation. The Public Accounting Report's 27th Annual Professor's Survey published in 2008, ranked NIU's Accountancy program 13th in the United States — and one of only four non-Ph.D. programs in the top 15. The NIU College of Business Accountancy program is the highest ranked non-Ph.D.-granting public university program in the country. Inclusion in the rankings places NIU in some highly regarded company including six Big Ten Schools (including Illinois) and Notre Dame.
NIU Accountancy students' pass rate on CPA exam among best in the nation. NIU accountancy students' performance on the CPA exam has ranked among the best in the nation for three decades. In January 2009, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy released pass rates for candidates taking the CPA exam in 2007. NIU Department of Accountancy graduate students placed 12th in the country (out of more than 900 institutions). NIU is the only Illinois university to have student performance ranked in the top twenty nationally. In addition, our students placed second in the country on the auditing section of the CPA exam (with a 90 percent pass rate). NIU accountancy graduate students placed 24th in the nation in 2006, and 9th best in 2004.
In 2006, the NIU CPA Review was one of only 16 CPA exam preparation programs nationwide recommended in The Journal of Accountancy for CPA exam prep; NIU's CPA program has the distinction of being the only program on the list that is university affiliated and instructed by university faculty, with the remaining 15 programs listed specializing in test preparation only.
Professional Sales program: The first collegiate program ever accredited by the Professional Society for Sales and Marketing Training, this program was also named one of 15 "Incubators for Greatness" by Selling Power Magazine .
Finance Department: Ranked by The Financial Management Journal as among the 100 most prolific in published research 1990-2001. Since 2004, NIU Finance professors' research expertise has been sought and featured by financial/business journalists reporting out of Chicago-area and national media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Forbes Magazine, CFO Magazine, Dow Jones Radio, Smart Money Magazine, Bloomberg TV, among many others.
NIU Business Faculty In the News: The expertise of NIU business faculty is regularly sought by Chicago-area and nationally-based journalists, and featured in various major media outlets, including print, web-based, television, and radio.
Experiential learning opportunities: real world business projects implemented by student teams through the college's Entrepreneurship & Innovation course, and the Experiential Learning Center, among others.
Unique, nationally known undergraduate curriculum: a graduate-school model, integrating the principles of finance, management, marketing, and operations into a cross-functional format.
The Executive MBA: a well-respected program of more than 20 years, with students representing approximately 500 of the leading Chicago-area businesses.
NIU College of Business alumni organizations: The Executive Club, The Rockford Alumni Club, and The Young Professionals Network.