Accreditations
The Maastricht University School of Business and Economics has been awarded three prestigious accreditations, resulting in the so-called Triple Crown accreditation. Only 1% of the business schools worldwide have this Triple Crown, meaning that the Maastricht School of Business and Economics is amongst a very select group of institutions such as INSEAD, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, London Business School and the exchange partners HEC Montreal, Queen’s School of Business, the University of Waikato and EDHEC Lille/Nice.
AACSB, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Since 1916, USA based AACSB International grants accreditation for undergraduate and graduate business administration and accounting programmes, representing the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. Institutions that earn accreditation confirm their commitment to quality and continuous improvement through a rigorous and comprehensive peer review. AACSB International accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in management education.
AACSB International accreditation assures stakeholders that business schools:
- Manage resources to achieve a vibrant and relevant mission.
- Advance business and management knowledge through faculty scholarship.
- Provide high-calibre teaching of quality and current curricula.
- Cultivate meaningful interaction between students and a qualified faculty.
- Produce graduates who have achieved specified learning goals.
SBE was awarded the AACSB accreditation in 2002.
EQUIS: the European Quality Improvement System
EQUIS is the European leading international system of quality assessment, improvement, and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration. For the last 10 years, its fundamental objective has been to raise the standard of management education worldwide, covering all programmes offered by an institution from the first degree up to the Ph.D. level.
EQUIS accredited Institutions must demonstrate not only high general quality in all dimensions of their activities, but also a high degree of internationalisation.
EQUIS assesses institutions as a whole, and looks for a balance between high academic quality and the professional relevance provided by close interaction with the corporate world. EQUIS attaches particular importance to the creation of an effective learning environment and looks for innovation in all respects, including programme design and pedagogy.
SBE was awarded the Equis accreditation in 2005 and was re-accredited in 2008 and 2011.
AMBA: The Association of MBAs
The Association of MBAs was founded in 1967 in the UK, and started accrediting the growing number of MBA programmes through the 1970s and 80s. AMBA accreditation is internationally recognised as the global standard for all Masters of Business Administration (MBA), Doctorates in Business Administration (DBA) and Masters in Business and Management (MBM) programmes. Its strong brand is internationally recognised as the quality kite-mark for the MBA. In fact, accreditation is only recommended if every MBA course provided meets AMBA’s criteria, ensuring prospective students that AMBA accredited institutions only offer courses of a consistently high standard.
SBE was awarded the AMBA accreditation in 2007.
NAVO: The Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands & Flanders
The Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands & Flanders (NVAO) safeguards the quality of higher education in the Netherlands and Flanders. Its role is to evaluate the study programmes of educational institutes and grants quality marks and aids for the advancement of overall quality.
In 2010 NVAO awarded the ‘Distinctive (Quality) Feature for Internationalisation' to two of Maastricht University School of Business and Economics (SBE) programmes. These programmes are: BSc in International Business and MSc International Business.
When NVAO looked at six different criteria
for their evaluation it focused in particular on high level of ambition and
explicit vision on internationalisation in the programmes. The assessment was
made based on a report, and an inspection by an independent panel set up by the
NVAO. The result, the ‘Distinctive (Quality) Feature for Internationalisation'
confirms the impressive international reputation of SBE's BSc and MSc
programmes while setting the bar for other Business Schools even higher.
