What is an international MBA accreditation?

Accreditation refers to the academic quality and standards of the program. An international MBA accreditation is a formal acknowledgement from an international accreditation body (such as AMBA, AACSB and EFMD) that a business school, or a specific MBA program in a school, fulfills a minimum level of quality control and international teaching standards. However, accreditation is not the only guarantee for quality. Many well-known business schools offer MBAs without international accreditation.

AMBA, AACSB and EFMD are widely recognized as the foremost MBA accreditation bodies. Some schools have accreditation from all three (called triple-accreditation, read more about triple-accreditation below).

It is a common mistake, however, to believe that only internationally accredited programs can be of a very high quality – and that having more international accreditations (double- or triple-accreditation) means an even higher quality compared with programs that have only one international accreditation.

Why would an MBA program want to have an international accreditation?

In recent years much focus has been placed on international accreditation by the business schools, especially in relation to the marketing of their MBA programs. One reason for this is that MBA graduates are more likely to seek jobs outside their own country or region – and international accreditation helps foreign employers recognize the value and quality of an MBA program.

It is for this reason that obtaining AMBA accreditation will therefore help AVT Executive MBA graduates when they apply for jobs throughout Europe and the rest of the World.

How to assess the quality of an MBA program

A formal accreditation by AMBA, EFMD, or AACSB will inform you that you are applying for a good MBA program.

Another way of checking the quality of the Executive MBA program is to look for the following:

Reputation of the Program/School

What is the reputation of the MBA program in your local community? Does the program deliver what it promises? Are participants and graduates happy with the program and recommend it without hesitation?

Innovation

How visionary and innovative is the business school in offering their programs?

Faculty

Who are teaching the MBA courses? Are they all local faculty members, or does the MBA program bring professors from the best business schools from around the world? What is the background of the faculty not only in teaching, but also in research profile and their consulting activities?

Program design, structure and content

The international standards for an MBA can be used to create very exciting and current MBA programs, which will give you lots of academic and practical insights. Is the program designed for your needs, relating to work, family, personal life. Does it build your academic strengths? Are there study tours? Does the program design help you tie the various courses together so you develop real general management competencies?

Teaching methods, facilities and environment

Is the teaching method primarily traditional lectures, or does the school use innovative and interactive learning styles such as for example case based teaching and live cases? Are the teaching facilities adequate, creating a productive environment where learning is supported?

Contact hours (face-to-face hours) with key faculty

How much contact do you have with key faculty?

AVT Executive MBA at the Cutting-Edge

AVT Business School is keeping abreast with new developments. Being among the first 100 schools globally to adopt the UN PRME standards, AVT Business School is making sure that our Executive MBA is current and state-of-the-art for managers of today and tomorrow. The requirements stated in the United Nations PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education) have become an important part of the accreditation standards.

AVT employs the best faculty from business schools around the world who together with the academic team develop programs that are among the most innovative in the world. The live case, an important part of the AVT Executive MBA program, with well-known companies like Maersk and Lego is an important innovation in management education. Furthermore, the study tours to China and Boston in the CBA and Executive MBA programs combine theory and practice in a way that helps executives to better run their own businesses.

In summary, AVT Business School is keeping abreast with new developments and is one of the innovators in business education. AVT Business School is making sure that our MBA is not only current and up-to-date but state-of-the-art and innovative with the highest standards for managers of today and tomorrow.