1. MBA Accreditation: Why is it important?
Three quality standardsthatcan help you pick a business schoolwith more
confidence
Accreditation from a reputable organization is one good way to check the quality ofa
business school. Accreditation organizations evaluate the quality standards of a
business school's teaching, faculty, services, and students, among other things.
The three most-coveted, international accreditations for MBA programs are those
awardedby AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS; their methodologies and regional focuses are
briefly described below.
In 2014, there were 67 business schools worldwide thatwere accredited by all three of
the below organizations.This distinction is often referred to as the "triple
accreditation."
AACSB
The US- and Singapore-basedAssociation to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
(AACSB)accredits business schools offering graduate and undergraduate business
programs. It began doing this in 1919, and now accredits business schools in over 47
countries. It has alsobeen accrediting accounting programs since 1980.
An AACSB accreditation in business represents a positive evaluation of a "school's
mission, operations, faculty qualifications and contributions, programs, and other
critical areas." Schools are re-evaluated every five years.
As of mid-2014, around 700 institutions held an AACSB accreditation in business, of
which about 75 percent were located in the United States. Other countries with high
numbers of AACSB-accreditedbusiness schools include Britain (24), France (24), and
Canada (20).
AMBA
The London-based Association of MBAs (AMBA) accredits MBA programs in over 49
countries. By the end of 2013, about61 percent of all 206 AMBA-accredited business
schools were in Europe or the United Kingdom. Together,Latin Americaand Asia
contained 30 percent of AMBA-accredited schools, with only 2 percent located in
North America.
AMBA has been accrediting programs since the early 1980s. Along with MBAs, italso
accredits Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)and Master of Business and
Management(MBM)programs.It judges the quality of a business school's strategy,
mission, faculty, students, curriculum, and assessment. By AMBA standards, for
example, students admitted ontoan AMBA-accreditedprogrammusthave at least
three years of work experience. Three quarters of a business school's faculty must have
a Masters or Doctoral degree in a relevantdiscipline.
2. EQUIS
The European Quality ImprovementSystem (EQUIS) is run by the Brussels-based
EFMD ManagementDevelopmentNetwork. EFMDoffers a number of accreditations,
but EQUIS focuses on institutions that offer undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral
business programs, includingthe MBA.
EQUIS evaluates a business school's governance, strategy, programs,students, faculty,
research and development, executive education, contribution to the community,
resources and administration, internationalization,and corporate connections.
Most of over 150 EQUIS-accreditedbusiness schools are located in Europe or the UK.
As of mid-2014, only three US business schools had earned an EQUIS accreditation.
The countries with the most EQUIS-accreditedbusiness schools include the UK (25),
France (16), and China (15).