What will choosing an internationally accredtied programme mean?
Accreditation of MBA and EMBA Programs By Dr. Linda G. Sprague, FDSI, FIOM
Professor of Manufacturing & Operations Management
China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)
There are a number of national and regional organizations and associations of schools of business and management throughout the world, but the best-known are the two which offer formal accreditation programs. The oldest of these associations is also the originator of such accreditation programs ? AACSB International. Founded in the U.S. in 1916 as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, this organization is now called AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). The AACSB began setting standards for business schools and their programs in 1919.
In 1991 the AACSB instituted “mission-linked accreditation standards” and the formal peer review process. In 2003 the Association’s membership approved a revised set of standards “relevant and applicable to business programs globally and which support and encourage excellence in management education world-wide”. As of April 2004, 482 institutions were AACSB accredited; 64 of these are outside the United States. To quote from their accreditation documents, “AACSB International accreditation assures stakeholders that business schools:Manage resources to achieve a vibrant and relevant mission
Advance business and management knowledge through faculty scholarship
Provide high-caliber teaching of quality and current curricula
Cultivate meaningful interaction between students and a qualified faculty
Produce graduates who have achieved specified learning goals.”
Today the only AACSB-accredited MBA and EMBA programs available in China are imported programs typically given in China at a Chinese host university with faculty from the non-Chinese degree-granting university.The second most prestigious accreditation program is the newer EQUIS ? the European Quality Improvement System ? offered by efmd, the European Foundation for Management Development in Brussels. Like the AACSB process, this is a voluntary, non-governmental assessment of academic quality and professional relevance. EQUIS also requires the institution to demonstrate a high degree of internationalization. In its first seven years, efmd has awarded EQUIS accreditation to 79 business schools throughout the world. Today the only EQUIS-accredited business school in China is the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS).
Both of these accreditations are reviewed regularly and must be fully renewed every five to seven years. It is possible for an institution to join AACSB International as a member; this constitutes only membership and provides no information about the quality of the institution and its programs.Accreditation by either (or both) of these organizations means that the institution meets international quality standards through its faculty and their scholarship, through its teaching, through its relevance to issues facing business and management, and through its management to ensure that the level of quality is sustained. There is increasing attention paid to the international nature of the institution, reflecting the global scope of modern business and management.
