AACSB-Accreditation

Since April 2011, the School of Business and Economics has been accredited as one of only eleven German business schools by the Association to Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). AACSB is one of the world's most important accreditations for business schools, which has been awarded to only about 5% of all business schools worldwide. This award shows that our school is dedicated to quality-oriented and international standards. Accreditation is also a voluntary commitment to quality and continuous improvement as well as to a strict and comprehensive review process. For our students, the accreditation means that they can rely on an excellent quality of the study offer, a wide range of cooperation with practice partners and close relationships with renowned foreign universities.

Evaluation process

In order to obtain the AACSB accreditation, the school had to undergo an intensive quality and preparation process. Thereby, we must demonstrate alignment with the 15 accreditation standards as well as with our mission statement.     

A peer-review team of experts examines the compliance with the AACSB standards. During the peer-review visis, all relevant stakeholder of the school are interviewed, including professors, staff, students, rectorate members, company representatives and former members of the school. The achievement of accreditation, which is regarded as a seal of quality for outstanding achievements in research and teaching, is not only an award for the institution, but also a commitment to the process of continuous improvement. AACSB standards therefore require proof of the sustainable establishment of these quality assurance processes through a recurrent assessment in a 5-year cycle to renew the accreditation.

The organization

The Association to Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business is the world's most important international accreditation organization in the field of management education. It was founded in 1916 by some of the world's most prestigious universities, such as Columbia University, Harvard University, the University of California at Berkeley, and Yale University, with the aim of promoting a consistent and continuous quality management of its members. To date, approximately 740 educational institutions in 51 countries have been accredited by the AACSB, of which only about 60 are in Europe. The Copenhagen Business School (UK), the Rotterdam School of Management (Netherlands), the Aalto School of Business (Helsinki, Finland), the London Business School (UK), the EM Lyon (Lyon, France), the Seoul National University (Seoul, South Korea) and the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). In Germany, the AACSB process has hitherto been run by the University of Mannheim, the Graduate School of Management of the private HHL Leipzig, the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, the RWTH Aachen University, the private WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management, the private Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, the private European School of Management and Technology as well as the Fachhochschule Pforzheim.

aacsb.edu