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The secret of business school accreditation: What are the differences between the evaluation standards of AMBA, AACSB, and EQUIS?
The accreditation system of business schools is receiving more and more attention, especially in the context of globalization. Whether the quality of business schools meets international standards directly affects students' employment prospects and the school's reputation. Currently, business schools with outstanding performance can be accredited by three major international accreditation agencies, namely AACSB in the United States, AMBA in the United Kingdom and EQUIS in Belgium. Although the standards of these three institutions are different, they all put forward high requirements for the comprehensive development of business schools.
Triple accreditation (also known as Triple Crown accreditation) refers to a business school that has obtained accreditation from AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS, a high degree of academic performance and high-quality teaching resources.
How certification standards are different
First of all, AMBA accreditation is mainly for MBA courses, assessing whether business schools have reached the highest standards in teaching, learning, course design, and career development of students and alumni. This accreditation places particular emphasis on the quality and sustainability of business programs and aims to ensure that MBA degree holders can excel in the global business environment.
In contrast, AACSB's accreditation scope is broader. It not only evaluates individual courses, but also examines the operation of the entire business school, including the school's strategic management, learner success, thought leadership and social impact. In its 2020 revision, the certification has put forward higher requirements for diversity and inclusion to adapt to the rapidly changing global market.
As for EQUIS, this accreditation body mainly examines the overall quality of business schools and their commitment to self-improvement, and emphasizes the school's performance in research results, academic communication and social contributions. It can be seen that the specific details of the evaluation criteria of business schools by these three major organizations are very different. However, the ultimate goal is to improve the quality of business school education.
US certification preferences
In the United States, most business schools choose to pursue AACSB accreditation, and this choice is affected by various factors. The United States generally believes that AACSB certification is sufficient, thus ignoring the certification potential of AMBA and EQUIS. Additionally, business school structures in the United States often do not meet the requirements of AMBA or EQUIS. For example, AMBA’s minimum work experience requirement for MBA students is three years, and the admission standards of American business schools may not meet this requirement.
The current status of global Triple Crown certification
As of April 2024, only 129 business schools in the world have received Triple Crown certification. In different countries, schools that enjoy this honor include IAE Universidad Austral in Argentina, Monash University in Australia, and London Business School in the United Kingdom. Not only do these schools have strong academic resources, they are also considered to have a good balance between practice and theory.
"Beyond the constraints of national borders, students around the world are becoming more cautious in choosing business schools, and triple accreditation marks excellence."
Former Triple Crown certified school
There are 11 business schools that have received Triple Crown accreditation but no longer hold this accreditation, including City University of Hong Kong, ESCP Business School in France and Edinburgh University Business School in the UK. The changes in these schools remind all business schools of the difficulty of continuous quality improvement, especially in the face of the ever-changing business environment.
Challenges for the future
With the rapid changes in the business world, business schools need to not only meet existing accreditation standards, but also adjust to future market needs. In the future, how to ensure the quality of education while meeting the requirements of different international accreditation agencies? Perhaps this will become an important challenge for the development of business schools.
The accreditation of business schools not only affects students' academic careers, but also affects the knowledge and skills they need to enter the workplace. So, as the global market changes, how should future business schools face these challenges?
