ACCREDITATION FORUM REVIEW
The 2022 AMBA & BGA Accreditation Forum took place from 14-15 November at the Esade Business School in the vibrant Catalan capital of Barcelona. With content provided by a team of expert speakers keen to share their knowledge, it was specifically designed to provide accreditation professionals at business schools with lots of essential information. Ambition editor Colette Doyle reports on the proceedings MBA, which recently celebrated its 55th anniversary, can now count 295 schools in its network, while the number of student and graduate members has grown to more than 62,000. This overview of AMBA’s present status was presented by CEO Andrew Main Wilson at the start of the two-day event. Wilson also hailed the “remarkable growth” that fellow body BGA has experienced: it can lay claim to having some 235 accredited institutions after only being in existence for the past four years. The session on AMBA new criteria and accreditation updates was presented by AMBA & BGA’s senior accreditation manager Joseph Pilkington, who described the 2022 review led by Steef van de Velde, professor of operations management at Rotterdam School of Management, as “evolution, not revolution”. Pilkington outlined the quantitative criteria: faculty teaching at MBA level must be appropriately qualified and credible, so therefore at least 75 per cent of the teaching staff must hold a relevant postgraduate qualification. The most critical criterion revolves around student numbers: to achieve adequate group interaction and diversity, the expected intake on each accredited programme would involve a distinct learning group of at least 20 students. Pilkington also drew attention to the fact that learning should focus on a generalist curriculum, as MBA graduates are “well-rounded leaders, not specialist experts”. However, specialised MBAs are acceptable if catered to by a range of specialised elective modules offered in addition to the core, generalist curriculum. Understanding the AMBA accreditation process Schools must appreciate that MBA programmes need to be accredited as a portfolio, meaning that they cannot pick and choose which MBAs are submitted for accreditation. In addition, schools cannot seek MBM-only qualification if they already award an MBA programme. This is a multiple-stage process and successful accreditation requires a visit by the assessment team. Maintenance of accredited status means periodic visits, adherence to the conditions set by visiting panels and a commitment to continual improvement. Pilkington then outlined the process. Step one is the application, which involves an initial exploratory conversation with AMBA to establish compliance with the main quantitative criteria. The school is assigned a specific AMBA accreditation director with whom it will liaise throughout the process. Step two is pre-assessment and schools need to complete a document known as SAF (self-assessment form), which is then reviewed by the AMBA International Accreditation Advisory Board (IAAB) to confirm whether the application can proceed. Next, the school must work with the association to set a mutually agreeable date for an assessment visit by an AMBA panel and completion of a self-audit report, or SAR, that tells the school’s story in around 100 pages. This must be submitted along with the existing SAF to the visiting panel members no later than three weeks prior to the visit.
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Ambition | FEBRUARY 2023 | 13
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