EQUIS – European Quality Improvement System

EQUIS – European Quality Improvement System

Accreditation: A Brief Note

The Oxford English Dictionary defines "accredited" in the following way: "Furnished with credentials, publicly or officially recognized; given forth as worthy of belief, authoritatively sanctioned". Although the word dates from at least 1634, perhaps the subject of accreditation has never been as widely discussed as it is today. Three reasons for this newly aroused interest, particularly in the field of education, have to do with the growth in the number of institutions, the spread of those institutions across national borders and the change in the way education is being offered and delivered. Those who enroll in programs that are often increasingly expensive want to be certain that those programs are of high quality and that the degrees or credits granted are both recognized and portable. The governments that support the programs and fund the students also have an interest in assuring that the institutions meet certain standards. For these reasons, a number of agencies have been established to offer independent and external validation based on accreditation which assures that assessments are conducted and that those assessments are based on well-defined benchmarks or competencies.

In the field of higher education for business, the two major accreditors in North America are The Association to
Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and The Association of Collegiate Schools of Business and Programs (ACBSP). A more recent entrant into the field of accreditation is EQUIS, which is based in Europe. This purpose of this brief guide is to provide information about EQUIS and to offer some suggestions about where more information can be found.

What is EQUIS?

EQUIS is an international system of strategic audit and accreditation designed by Europeans for the assessment of institutions in widely different national contexts. Inspired by the particular needs of a European situation characterised by extreme cultural diversity within a large civilizational area, the scope of EQUIS is not limited to Europe. The standards are those of effective education for international management and apply to schools in any cultural environment whether in Europe or outside Europe.

EQUIS was launched in 1997 by the efmd – the European Foundation for Management Development - which has championed the issue of quality in management development for many years and has brought together the key operators in Europe in a common initiative. As Europe´s largest network association in the field of management development, with more than 400 member organisations from academia, business, public service and consultancy in 40 countries of Europe and the world, efmd plays a central role in shaping an international approach to management education.

EQUIS has been designed through a process of close co-operation between existing national accreditation bodies in the field of management education assembled in an association called EQUAL - the European Quality Link – and supported by the European Commission. The criteria and the procedures of this European accreditation system were
defined through EQUAL which today acts as a think tank for issues arising for international accreditation and quality evaluation, contributes to the monitoring of the system, and provides qualified assessors for the audit teams.

EQUIS assessment has been carried out in over 50 schools and many others are in the various stages of the process. There is an increasing demand from schools outside Europe including the United States and Australia. The first institutions in Canada, South Africa and Asia have already received the European Quality Label.
More information is available at the efmd website: http://www.efmd.be/

What is the efmd?

The European Foundation for Management Development (efmd) based in Brussels, is Europe's forum for information, research, networking and dialogue on innovation and best practice in management development. More information can be found at: http://www.efmd.be/

What is EQUAL?

EQUAL is the international association of quality assessment and accreditation agencies in the field of European management education launched and hosted by the Brussels-based European Foundation for Management Development (efmd).

Have any Canadian schools have received EQUIS accreditation?

Three Canadian schools have received EQUIS:

Richard Ivey School of Business - London Ontario - University of Western Ontario
· HEC – Montreal
· UQAM - University of Quebec in Montreal - Université du Québec à Montréal, Ecole des Sciences de la Gestion

What schools have received EQUIS accreditation?

52 business schools have been awarded the European Quality Label as of November 28, 2001.

Australia
Curtin University of Technology, Curtin Business School

Belgium
Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School

Brazil
Escola de Administracão de Empresas de Sao Paulo, Fundação Getulio Vargas (EAESP/FGV)

Canada
Richard Ivey School of Business - London Ontario - University of Western Ontario
HEC – Montreal
UQAM - University of Quebec in Montreal - Université du Québec à Montréal, Ecole des Sciences de la Gestion

Denmark
Aarhus School of Business, Faculty of Business Administration
Copenhagen Business School

Finland
HANKEN - Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Helsinki School of Economics (HSE)

France
Audencia, Nantes.School of Management - Audencia, Nantes.Ecole de Management
Bordeaux Business School - Bordeaux Ecole de Management
Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Rouen
EDHEC - Business School Lille & Nice
E.M. Lyon
ESCP - EAP European School of Management
Grenoble Graduate School of Business, Groupe ESC Grenoble
HEC School of Management, Paris
IAE, Aix-en-Provence - Institut d'Administration des Entreprises d'Aix-en-Provence
INSEAD
Reims Management School
Toulouse Business School, Groupe Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Toulouse

Germany
WHU, Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management

Hong Kong
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's School of Business and Management (HKUST Business School)

India
IMD -International Institute for Management Development

Ireland
Quinn Business School UCD, Smurfit Graduate School of Business UCD, University College Dublin

Italy
Bocconi University School of Management, SDA Bocconi - Scuola di Direzione Aziendale dell' Università Bocconi

Netherlands
Nyenrode University, The Netherlands Business School
Rotterdam School of Management - Erasmus University Rotterdam

Norway
Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Norges Handelshøyskole
Norwegian School of Management, Handelshoyskolen BI

Poland
Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management

South Africa
University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business
University of Stellenbosch, Graduate School of Business

Spain
EADA - Escuela de Alta Dirección y Administración
ESADE - Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas
IESE Business School, University of Navarra
Instituto de Empresa

Sweden
IFL - Swedish Institute of Management, Institutet för Företagsledning
Lund University - School of Economics & Management
Stockholm School of Economics

Switzerland
University of St. Gallen

United Kingdom
Ashridge
Aston Business School, Aston University
Bradford University School of Management
City University Business School, London
Cranfield School of Management
Henley Management College
Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds
London Business School
Open University Business School
Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde
University of Cambridge - The Judge Institute of Management Studies
Warwick Business School, University of Warwick

United States
University of Florida, Warrington College of Business

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