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WU receives AACSB accreditation and completes triple crown accreditation

04/09/2015

WU is the first Austrian university to be granted a five-year accreditation from AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). The AACSB accreditation is a sign of excellent quality on all levels of business education. Only 740 institutions in 50 countries worldwide have been awarded this prestigious distinction. Together with the EQUIS and AMBA accreditations, WU now holds the full triple crown accreditation for business universities. WU is now part of an exclusive group of leading schools: Only 72 business universities worldwide – fewer than 1% – can claim triple crown accreditation by EQUIS, AACSB, and AMBA.

WU is the first Austrian university to be granted a five-year accreditation from AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). The AACSB accreditation is a sign of excellent quality on all levels of business education. Only 740 institutions in 50 countries worldwide have been awarded this prestigious distinction. Together with the EQUIS and AMBA accreditations, WU now holds the full triple crown accreditation for business universities. WU is now part of an exclusive group of leading schools: Only 72 business universities worldwide – fewer than 1% – can claim triple crown accreditation by EQUIS, AACSB, and AMBA.

The AACSB accreditation testifies to the high quality of WU’s academic programs and the excellent qualifications of its faculty. WU was able to document the international compatibility of our curricula as well as our program and learning objectives. Students receive an excellent education in business and economics as well as all related fields. Thanks to WU’s triple crown accreditation, our students can now earn a degree with even stronger international visibility, which will improve the career prospects. The triple crown accreditation will make WU an even more attractive university overall.

 “We are very pleased to be AACSB accredited. This accreditation means that all of our 27 academic programs have been certified to meet strict international standards, especially with regard to program quality, faculty qualification and the achievement of academic objectives,” says Barbara Sporn, Vice-Rector for Research, International Affairs and External Relations.

An elite circle of leading international business schools and universities

There are three major accreditations for internationally renowned business and economics universities and business schools: EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System), AACSB, and AMBA (Association of MBAs), a program-specific accreditation. After its initial EQUIS accreditation in 2007, WU was awarded the maximum five-year re-accreditation in 2013. As of 2015, WU now also holds an AACSB accreditation. Only 740 business schools in 50 countries worldwide are currently AACSB-accredited. Other institutions that have been awarded the university-wide EQUIS and AACSB accreditations include for instance the Rotterdam School of Management (Netherlands), the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy), Copenhagen Business School (Denmark), ESADE (Spain), and London Business School (UK). The MBA programs offered by the WU Executive Academy received the global AMBA accreditation for postgraduate academic programs in 2010.

Implementing a long-term internationalization strategy

“The awarding of the AACSB accreditation underlines WU’s long-term internationalization strategy and its goal of being one of Europe’s leading business and economics universities. The triple crown helps us to keep our focus on high academic standards in teaching and research and to strengthen WU’s international reputation,” says WU Rector Christoph Badelt. “The quality assurance guaranteed by the AACSB accreditation process and the completion of our triple crown are extraordinary achievements for WU, especially with regard to the political situation in the context of higher education in Austria. As a holder of these accreditations, we are competing with universities that have excellent student-faculty ratios, adequate funding, and, in most cases, selective admission policies. Given the challenging political situation WU is facing as a public university in Austria’s higher education system, it is a truly remarkable success for us to achieve such a high level of international recognition.”

The benefits of accreditations

All of these three leading international accreditations stand for certified top-quality teaching and research. Accredited business schools and universities are held in high regard in the international academic community and are attractive locations for highly qualified researchers, teachers, and students from around the world.

Benefits for students

  • Academic degrees awarded by WU are recognized and highly regarded all over the world, which further improves the (international) employability of WU graduates.

  • The academic programs and their contents have an international focus and are continuously updated and refined, drawing on insights from high-quality research.

  • The qualifications of the researchers and teachers working at an accredited university meet exacting international standards.

Benefits for graduates and the business community

  • WU graduates are highly qualified and have a significant advantage in the national and international job market.

  • WU’s degree programs meet strict academic and ethical standards and give students an ideal preparation for careers in business or academia.

  • WU graduates impress employers with state-of-the-art knowledge and the practical skills needed to master current challenges.

Contact:

Cornelia Moll
Press Relations Officer
Tel: + 43-1-31336-4977
cornelia.moll@wu.ac.at

 

WU Press Release "WU receives AACSB accreditation" as PDF

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