Elevate: Americas

Begin your day by networking over breakfast. This is an excellent opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, make new connections, and discuss the sessions ahead.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

Join us for a session focused on the redesigned myAccreditation platform. This session will give participants the chance to explore new features, ask questions, and share feedback directly with AACSB staff.

Join Business School leaders from around the globe and Metropolitan Business School Steering Committee leadership in a networking session developed around the latest conference-related trends facing Metropolitan Business Schools. Attendees can expect an engaging workshop encouraging new connections, the exchange of insights on innovation, and reflections on "best practices" in teaching and learning. Find out more on the AACSB Metropolitan Business School Listserv.

In an era when artificial intelligence can outthink, outwrite, and outcalculate us, what’s left for business schools to teach? Jeff DeGraff, known worldwide as The Dean of Innovation, argues that the age of predictability has ended, and that our mission is no longer to produce answers, but to cultivate adaptive minds. In this keynote, DeGraff takes business school leaders behind the scenes of a remarkable real-world transformation inside a massive organization built for control, and shows what happens when hierarchy meets the speed and ambiguity of change. With humor, candor, and stories that move from boardrooms to classrooms, he challenges higher education’s most sacred assumptions and offers a bold new vision for how business schools can thrive in the Age of Intelligence.

In an era when artificial intelligence can outthink, outwrite, and outcalculate us, what’s left for business schools to teach? Jeff DeGraff, known worldwide as The Dean of Innovation, argues that the age of predictability has ended, and that our mission is no longer to produce answers, but to cultivate adaptive minds. In this keynote, DeGraff takes business school leaders behind the scenes of a remarkable real-world transformation inside a massive organization built for control, and shows what happens when hierarchy meets the speed and ambiguity of change. With humor, candor, and stories that move from boardrooms to classrooms, he challenges higher education’s most sacred assumptions and offers a bold new vision for how business schools can thrive in the Age of Intelligence.

Make the most of your networking break by connecting with peers in a way that’s most relevant to you! Dedicated tables will be set up to help you engage in meaningful discussions. Connect with colleagues from institutions similar to yours — large or small, public or private, research-intensive or teaching-focused, urban or rural. Exchange best practices, explore common challenges, and build valuable connections in an informal setting.

Make the most of your networking break by connecting with peers in a way that’s most relevant to you! Dedicated tables will be set up to help you engage in meaningful discussions. Connect with colleagues from institutions similar to yours — large or small, public or private, research-intensive or teaching-focused, urban or rural. Exchange best practices, explore common challenges, and build valuable connections in an informal setting.

Enjoy coffee and refreshments while connecting with colleagues and peers. Take this opportunity to visit the Exhibitor Showcase and discover new ideas and partnerships. Be sure to stop by the Discover AACSB area to explore our full range of offerings – from the Academy to technology, data, and other valuable resources designed to support your institution’s success.

As AI reshapes the future of work, business schools are rethinking how to prepare students for an increasingly digital world. This session explores practical approaches to embedding AI across the curriculum—integrating it into disciplines from marketing to management—while supporting faculty, ensuring ethical use, and aligning with institutional goals for innovation and impact.

This session clarifies AACSB’s faculty qualification standards and offers practical examples of how schools classify and develop faculty across categories. Participants will explore sample criteria, faculty profiles, and strategies to align faculty portfolios with their school’s mission and accreditation expectations.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

In January 2026, AACSB will release an exposure draft of the proposed accreditation standards designed to guide business education into the next decade. This session will provide participants with an overview of the draft, highlight the major areas of change, and explain the intent behind the revisions. Attendees will have the opportunity to provide feedback and learn how to prepare their schools for potential impacts on accreditation expectations. The session offers an opportunity to understand the direction of AACSB’s evolving standards and contribute to shaping the future of business education.

Make the most of your networking break by connecting with peers in a way that’s most relevant to you! Dedicated tables will be set up to help you engage in meaningful discussions. Connect with colleagues from institutions similar to yours — large or small, public or private, research-intensive or teaching-focused, urban or rural. Exchange best practices, explore common challenges, and build valuable connections in an informal setting.

Enjoy coffee and refreshments while connecting with colleagues and peers. Take this opportunity to visit the Exhibitor Showcase and discover new ideas and partnerships. Be sure to stop by the Discover AACSB area to explore our full range of offerings – from the Academy to technology, data, and other valuable resources designed to support your institution’s success.

Business schools face mounting financial pressures that demand innovative, resilient strategies. This session explores practical approaches to strengthening donor engagement and aligning fundraising with mission, while also highlighting new revenue opportunities such as executive education, corporate partnerships, digital programs, and entrepreneurial ventures to ensure long-term sustainability and impact.

This session explores how business schools can embed risk analysis into strategic planning to strengthen mission alignment and sustainability. Featuring sample risk registers, ownership models, and mitigation triggers, participants will gain practical tools to identify, assess, and manage risks as part of an integrated planning process.

As the role of business schools evolves, faculty collaboration is increasingly vital for producing research with meaningful impact. This session will explore innovative faculty models that foster interdisciplinary partnerships, strengthen industry connections, and enhance research relevance for business and society. Participants will gain insights into structures and practices that encourage collaboration, amplify visibility, and position faculty scholarship to influence both academia and the broader community.

This session explores how to design and sustain Assurance of Learning (AoL) systems that go beyond compliance to truly enhance student success. Participants will learn practical strategies for closing the loop on learning goals, engaging faculty in the process, and using assessment data to drive meaningful curricular improvement.

Relax and enjoy the company of your colleagues. This reception is the perfect opportunity to unwind and continue the day’s discussions in a more informal setting.

Begin the final day with networking over breakfast. Reflect on the insights gained and prepare for the final sessions

Make the most of your networking break by connecting with peers in a way that’s most relevant to you! Dedicated tables will be set up to help you engage in meaningful discussions. Connect with colleagues from institutions similar to yours — large or small, public or private, research-intensive or teaching-focused, urban or rural. Exchange best practices, explore common challenges, and build valuable connections in an informal setting.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

Stay up to date on the latest accreditation trends and get answers to your key questions. This interactive session offers practical guidance for schools preparing for Initial and Continuous Improvement Review (CIR) visits. Attendees will gain valuable insights, share experiences, and connect directly with AACSB accreditation experts to strengthen their school’s continuous improvement journey.

Join peers with shared interests or roles to exchange insights, challenges, and best practices. More details coming soon.

This presentation will demonstrate how Marketplace Simulations serves as a vital pedagogical bridge between business theory and professional practice, directly supporting the 2026 AACSB Global Standards for learner success and societal impact. Immersing students in realistic, competitive environments fosters competency-based education through the iterative application of cross-functional skills and meaningful learner-to-learner and educator-to-learner engagement. Furthermore, Marketplace Simulations’ Career Readiness Report (CRR) provides graduates with validated data to demonstrate workforce readiness to prospective employers. It observes a student's real actions within the simulation to develop 24 core performance metrics, including NACE-aligned skills such as: • Critical Thinking: Analyzing complex issues, evaluating evidence, and making informed decisions; • Innovation: Using new strategies to outperform previous benchmarks or competitors; and • Learning Agility: Applying lessons from previous business quarters to new, evolving situations. In Marketplace’s Conscious Capitalism® simulation, students learn to balance profitability with environmental, community, and employee stakeholder needs. This provides a structured framework for Standard 9: Pathways to Impact, teaching students the essential principle of doing good while doing well.

As technology, globalization, and workforce expectations reshape business, what do employers truly need from graduates? In this session, leaders from finance, commerce, and entertainment share lessons from their industries—covering future-ready skills, innovation, leadership trends, and collaboration opportunities between academia and employers. Gain actionable insights to help business schools prepare graduates for success in a rapidly changing world.

Make the most of your networking break by connecting with peers in a way that’s most relevant to you! Dedicated tables will be set up to help you engage in meaningful discussions. Connect with colleagues from institutions similar to yours — large or small, public or private, research-intensive or teaching-focused, urban or rural. Exchange best practices, explore common challenges, and build valuable connections in an informal setting.

Enjoy coffee and refreshments while connecting with colleagues and peers. Take this opportunity to visit the Exhibitor Showcase and discover new ideas and partnerships. Be sure to stop by the Discover AACSB area to explore our full range of offerings – from the Academy to technology, data, and other valuable resources designed to support your institution’s success.

As agentic AI tools become active collaborators in the learning process, educators face new opportunities—and challenges—in how teaching and learning take shape. This session explores the transformative impact of AI that can reason, plan, and act autonomously, and discusses how business schools can harness these technologies to enhance creativity, critical thinking, and personalized learning.

AACSB accreditation is often surrounded by misconceptions that can create unnecessary challenges—or missed opportunities—for business schools. In this interactive panel, Stephanie Bryant, Executive Vice President and Chief Accreditation Officer at AACSB, leads a discussion that debunks common myths and misconceptions about accreditation. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of AACSB standards and an opportunity to address their own questions and misconceptions.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

Shifts in the U.S. policy environment are reshaping how business schools plan, fund, and deliver education. From federal financial aid changes and accreditation updates to state-level pressures and accountability measures, institutions must adapt to evolving expectations from policymakers and the public. This session will provide an overview of the current higher education policy landscape, with particular attention to the recent changes in Graduate PLUS loans and their implications for graduate business programs. Participants will gain insight into the broader regulatory and funding context, explore how schools can proactively respond to policy shifts, and identify strategies to advocate effectively for the role of business education in advancing economic and societal impact.

Make the most of your networking break by connecting with peers in a way that’s most relevant to you! Dedicated tables will be set up to help you engage in meaningful discussions. Connect with colleagues from institutions similar to yours — large or small, public or private, research-intensive or teaching-focused, urban or rural. Exchange best practices, explore common challenges, and build valuable connections in an informal setting.

Enjoy coffee and refreshments while connecting with colleagues and peers. Take this opportunity to visit the Exhibitor Showcase and discover new ideas and partnerships. Be sure to stop by the Discover AACSB area to explore our full range of offerings – from the Academy to technology, data, and other valuable resources designed to support your institution’s success.

Building on the themes of AACSB’s Research Impact framework, this session explores how business schools across the Americas are demonstrating that their research makes a meaningful difference—beyond publications and rankings. Featuring examples from institutions in the region, panelists will discuss how they define, measure, and communicate research impact in ways that resonate with business, policy, and society. Participants will gain practical strategies for integrating impact into their research culture, strengthening institutional narratives, and positioning their schools as drivers of innovation and positive change throughout the Americas.

This session explores holistic strategies for strengthening enrollment and retention—from data-driven recruitment to proactive student support. Presenters will share practical approaches for identifying and assisting at-risk learners through early alerts, advising models, inclusive pedagogy, and effective use of progression data to drive student success from entry to graduation.