Nottingham University Business School has been awarded renewal of a major independent accreditation, EQUIS, for the maximum length of five years. This achievement places the School among a select global group of business schools which hold the full five-year accreditation. Extensive visits earlier in the year by an international EQUIS peer review team assessed all the School’s operations in the UK, China and Malaysia.
EQUIS is one of the three prestigious accreditation schemes for leading institutions in business education. It is granted and run by EFMD, the European Foundation for Management Development, which is based in Brussels. EQUIS is a mission based accreditation with an international focus and its scope covers the entire School and all its activities.
Achieving the coveted five-year accreditation signals the EFMD’s confidence in the School’s quality and allows Nottingham to position itself as one of the world’s top business schools offering an outstanding education.
Uniquely, Nottingham’s EQUIS accreditation applies to all Business School operations on campuses in the UK, China and Malaysia. It is the only UK business school to hold EQUIS accreditation in three locations.
It takes several years to prepare for the rigorous process of accreditation. EQUIS assesses business schools as a whole, including not only all degree programmes but also all activities and sub-units of the institution covering teaching, research, business connections, executive education provision and community outreach, alumni relations, student opinion, administration and resources.
Responding to the news, Professor Alistair Bruce, Dean of Nottingham University Business School, said: “EQUIS focus on a strong interface with the world of business, internationalisation and contribution to the community, which are increasingly important attributes of leading business schools. We are grateful for the involvement of our alumni and corporate friends and associates in contributing to this success.”
The Dean of Nottingham University Business School Malaysia, Professor Lee Chew Ging, adds, “Nottingham University Business School has the distinction of being the only business school in the world to be accredited for its operations in three countries simultaneously. To secure this accreditation, the school would have had to show evidence of activities of a very high quality, and the existence of a strong international dimension.
Hence, Nottingham University Business School Malaysia is in a unique position to offer the very best in business higher education in Malaysia and in the region in which we operate. Our students will gain a robust international perspective on management issues that will help them understand increasingly globalised and multicultural work environment.”
Dr Hsin-Vonn Seow, who led the Accreditations and Standards Committee at the Malaysia Campus of Nottingham University Business School in preparations for the accreditation assessment, says, “The EQUIS accreditation is one of the most coveted international business school accreditations because of its stringent standards towards quality of the activities of the institution being accredited. The preparation leading up to the EQUIS accreditation provided feedback on how to continue improving the Business School.”
“Further, the site visit by the EQUIS Peer Review Team to the Malaysia Campus of Nottingham University Business School provided the panel with some examples and insights how the Business School achieved and maintained the high quality of our activities on our international campuses. We hope to be able to secure a similar achievement in our efforts towards our AACSB (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accreditation so as to complete the ‘triple crown’.”
The ‘triple crown’ accreditation refers to accreditations awarded to business schools by the three most sought-after business school accreditation associations in the world, namely EQUIS, AACSB and the Association of MBAs (AMBA). As of May 2016, there are 74 business schools in the world with triple accreditations.
Since 1993, Nottingham University Business School has also held accreditation from AMBA, for the quality of its MBA courses. The School recently went through a successful assessment from the AMBA team and was awarded a further five years of accreditation.
Nottingham University Business School Malaysia holds both EQUIS and AMBA accreditations, endorsements signifying the stringent standards for business education that are met at the Malaysia Campus itself.
Professional Accreditations
Nottingham University Business School Malaysia has also recently gained accreditation from professional bodies for individual programmes, including a maximum of 8 Credits for Prior Learning from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) for the BSc/BA (Hons) Finance, Accounting and Management programme.
In addition to the ICAEW exemptions, students on the Finance, Accounting and Management programme also now have the opportunity to study up to four ICAEW Professional Level papers with Nottingham University Business School Malaysia during their annual three-month university break and to sit for ICAEW external examinations for these papers; leaving only three remaining Advanced Level papers to be taken after they graduate while working with one of ICAEW’s Authorised Training Employers.
About EQUIS
EQUIS, the European Quality Improvement System, is the leading international system of quality assessment, improvement, and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration.
Its scope covers all programmes offered by an institution from the first degree up to the PhD, including non-degree programmes. EQUIS has established its prestige and recognition worldwide. EQUIS has accredited 161 institutions across 40 countries from all five continents. The impact of EQUIS in raising the standard of management education worldwide is widely recognised.
EFMD, the European Foundation for Management Development, is the main network organisation for progressive business schools in Europe and worldwide and leading corporations committed to executive development.
About Nottingham University Business School
Nottingham University Business School specialises in developing leadership potential, encouraging innovation and enterprise, and developing a global outlook. It is recognised as one of the world’s top business schools for integrating sustainability issues into its undergraduate, MBA, MSc, PhD, and executive programmes and has unrivalled global reach through Nottingham’s campuses in the UK, China, and Malaysia. The School is accredited by both the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), and ranks among the UK’s top ten for research power. Nottingham University Business School Malaysia is a member of the Association of Asia-Pacific Business Schools (AAPBS), and The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus is a member of the International Council of Islamic Finance Educators (ICIFE).
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More information is available from Chan Wen Li, Director of Information and Communications of Nottingham University Business School at wenli.chan@nottingham.edu.my; Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus on josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my.
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Outstanding Support for Early Career Researchers’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2015. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK by research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
Posted on 4th July 2016