MBA Accreditation
The AVT Business School MBA is on track for EPAS accreditation
In January 2009 our MBA at AVT Business School was declared eligible for the international EPAS accreditation.
AVT is currently preparing for the next stage in the accreditation process and we are expecting final accreditation from the European Foundation of Management Development (EFMD), which grants EPAS status, in the next academic year (2010).
The European Foundation for Management Development is based in Brussels, and is one of the primary and most recognized international MBA accreditation institutions in the world.
What is an international MBA accreditation?
Accreditation refers to the teaching quality and academic standards of the program. An international MBA accreditation is a formal acknowledgement from a certified body (such as EFMD) that a business school, or a specific MBA program in a school, fulfills a minimum level of quality control and international teaching standards.
That said, many high quality schools operate without international accreditation as they have well-known brands and their own reputation.
MBA accreditation systems at a glance
There are three primary international accreditation systems for MBA programs: EFMD (the AVT choice), AACSB and AMBA.
The European Foundation (EFMD), is for business schools and MBA programs, offering the accreditation systems EQUIS and EPAS (again our choice). The EQUIS system is applied when a whole school wants to be accredited. EPAS is applied when a particular MBA program wants accreditation; for which the overall standards and principles are the same.
The American institution is AACSB and they also accredit both schools and programs. And the equivalent British institution is AMBA.
All three institutions 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).
What kind of a guarantee is an international MBA accreditation?
An international accreditation is an important guide to MBA prospects when trying to determine which MBA program to join.
An MBA program is a sophisticated product and joining an MBA program is usually a major investment - both in terms of time, efforts and money.
The accreditation is therefore an efficient way of determining whether an MBA program lives up to the set international standards - just like we have other stamps that helps us determine whether a complicated product meets our requirements: like "HDTV-ready" so to speak.
Is international triple-accreditation a mark of better quality?
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.
Even triple-accreditation has nothing to do with superior quality.
It may not be quite fair to use the metaphor of a drivers license, but it illustrates the value of more international accreditations quite accurately: "Having a triple-accreditation is like having a drivers license to the same car issued by three different countries: it may make it easier for you to document to the authorities in many countries that you are qualified to drive a car, but it does not make you a better driver."
- in other words, the reason for having more international accreditations is the same as having one international accreditation: it makes the MBA degree more recognizable in the world. It has nothing to do with superior quality.
How to assess the quality of an MBA program
A formal accreditation by EFMD, AACSB or AMBA will tell you that you are applying for a good MBA program. But, in addition there are some important indicators to check for yourself (whether the MBA is accredited or not) in order to determine the level of quality:
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 recommending it without hesitation?
Faculty
Who is teaching the courses? Is it all local faculty, or does the MBA program bring professors from the best business schools world-wide? 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 skills?
Teaching methods, facilities and environment
Is the teaching method primarily the traditional lectures, or do the school use innovative and interactive learning styles such as case based teaching? 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?
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.
This is possibly due to the globalization of business as globalization also means 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.
Having an EPAS accreditation from EFMD will therefore help AVT MBA graduates when they apply for jobs throughout Europe and the rest of the World.
Why EPAS?
AVT Business School has opted for the EPAS accreditation because we have found working with EFMD has been highly beneficial in assisting us to improve our CBA and MBA programs.
Another reason for getting international accreditation with EFMD is the knowledge of the hundred or so accredited business schools that will be available to us.
At AVT Business School we are using the EPAS accreditation process to improve our MBA further - we learn from the other schools, just as we are doing with our participation in other EFMD programs such as the GRLI (Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative).
EFMD and EPAS - A Natural Choice
EPAS accreditation was therefore a natural choice and we have chosen EFMD as our primary partner for knowledge exchange, e.g. in the GRLI program, where AVT actively participates. In future we may also look at having accreditations from AMBA and AACSB, but feel that the EFMD mark of approval will be plenty for the AVT MBA at this point as it is recognized in the most remote corners of the world.
AVT at the Cutting-Edge
AVT Business School is keeping abreast with new developments. That is to say that accreditation standards develop and evolve. It is anticipated that requirements stated in the United Nations PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education) will over the coming years become mandatory for accreditation also.
Being among the first 100 schools world-wide to adopt the UN PRME standards, AVT Business School is making sure that our MBA is current and up-to-date with those standards for managers of today and tomorrow.
Key Points
The AVT Business School MBA is on track for EPAS accreditation from the European Foundation of Management Development (EFMD) based in Brussels, and internationally recognized.
Accreditation refers to the teaching quality and academic standards of the program.
There are three primary international accreditation systems for MBA programs: The European institution, EFMD, which offers the accreditation systems EQUIS and EPAS (our choice). The EQUIS system is applied when a whole school wants to be accredited. EPAS is applied when a particular MBA program wants accreditation. The American institution is AACSB and they also accredit both schools and programs. And the equivalent British institution is AMBA. All three institutions are widely recognized as the foremost MBA accreditation bodies.
In future we may also look at having accreditations from AMBA and AACSB.
AVT Business School has found working with EFMD to be highly beneficial in improving our CBA and MBA programs.
EPAS accreditation was a natural choice and we have chosen EFMD as our primary partner for knowledge exchange, e.g. in the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI) program.
The accreditation is therefore an efficient way of determining whether an MBA program lives up to set international standards, that is a mark of quality control ( "HDTV-ready" so to speak).
Note, however, that MBA that are not accredited may still be of high quality. Many non- accredited MBAs are of a very high quality. They may have decided not to go through the accredited process.
In deciding upon an MBA program look for the following indicators: the reputation of the MBA program in your local community; the teaching faculty; the program design, structure and content; the teaching methods, facilities and environment; and the contact hours (face-to-face hours) with key faculty.
In summary, AVT Business School is keeping abreast with new developments and is at the cutting-edge of developing new standards as they evolve. AVT Business School is making sure that our MBA is current and up-to-date with the highest standards for managers of today and tomorrow.