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The Brussels based European Federation Management Development (EFMD) has accorded its second accreditation to an Indian B-school, this time Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B). "We are delighted at IIMB to have received the EQUIS accreditation. It is indeed an honour to join a select group of schools globally," Prof. Pankaj Chandra IIM B director says. Earlier in the year IIM Ahmedabad became the first B-school in India to get EQUIS. The accreditation system was created in 1997 by a mandate of EFMD's member business schools including Bocconi, HEC Paris, IESE, IMD, INSEAD, ESADE, London Business School, and Rotterdam School of Management. more

IACBE opens its India Office

International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) has established its India office at Alliance Business Academy, a leading business school at Bangalore. The Top Five international accrediting body from the USA sees good possibilities for accrediting Indian B-schools. It began with accrediting two schools of the Alliance group. Founded in 1997, the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) is a specialized accrediting body that accredits business and business related programs, both in the United States and internationally. The IACBE is one of the three organizations which accredit business programs both at the graduate and undergraduate level, the other two being AACSB and ACBSP.

The IACBE specializes in the accreditation needs of educational institutions whose primary purpose is excellence in teaching and learning. The IACBE’s innovative assessment approach to accreditation asserts the exceptional quality and outreach of the business program that students and employers alike have come to demand. Currently, the IACBE has over 230 members in more than 20 countries throughout the world and has accredited over 160 programs till date.

IACBE Address:
c/o Alliance Business School
Chikkahagade Cross
Chandapur – Anekal Main Road
Anekal, Bangalore – 562106
Karnataka, India

AACSB opens Asian HQ office at Singapore

The Asian headquarters of AACSB International has been opened. The Asian office was started formally at a simple ceremony attended by people belonging to around 50 organizations and academic institutions from 14 countries on June 4,. showing the power of global networking world's oldest and most respected accrediting agency. Rick Cosier, chairman of the Board of AACSB and John Fernandes, president and chief executive officer of AACSB were present at the office opening along with Dr. Swan Gin Beh, managing director of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

AACSB International's Asia HQ address and numbers:

more from AACSB International

Asian Universities Ranking is out

Topuniversities.com has come up with its Asian universities ranking for the current year covering 200 universities..The following is the list of top ten ranking with the tenth rank being shared by two universities.

For more detail please follow this link.

Dr Pritam Singh Joins Association of MBAs Board

An eminent B-School expert and former director of Indian Institute of Management Lucknow IIM-L and MDI Gurgaon and currently Emeritus Professor of MDI, Dr Pritam Singh has been invited to join the International Accreditation Advisory Board (IAAB) of Association of MBAs one of the top three global accreditation agencies. Dr Singh is the first Indian to join any international accreditation advisory bodies. The appointment of Dr Singh is an endorsement of his extensive work in the promotion and development of business education in India. He joins the 20 member IAAB of Association of MBAs popularly known as AMBA. Dr Singh also is the recipient of one of the highest civilian honours Padmashree for his work in education from the Government of India. The next formal meeting of the IAAB will be held in London on Tuesday 13th - Wednesday 14th October 2009 in London. The list of IAAB members can be downloaded from this link.

Dr Singh's joining the IAAB was first proposed during the two day international conference of Association of MBAs held in association with Standards for Educational Advancement & Accreditation SEAA at New Delhi on November 10 & 11, 2008.

German Swiss Accreditation Co-operation

The German accreditation facilitation agency Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation FIBAA has signed an agreement with the Associaton of Swiss Student Bodies VSS for getting recognition as an accreditation agency from the Swiss Federal National Economy Department (EVD, Berne). The agreement would enable FIBAA can inspect Higher Education Institutions HEIs, which have applied for accreditation in Switzerland. The association is already active as an experienced accreditation partner to Swiss. The VSS, operating from Zurich from 1920 represents the student bodies of faculties, HEIs and universities at federal level. For more details contact at FIBAA: Dr. Heinz-Ulrich Schmidt (schmidt@fibaa.org)

"Accreditation Process Must be Improved"

Business education is booming in India, but the bulk of rank-and-file programs in the country suffer from outdated textbooks, professors who don't keep up with economic trends, and narrow curriculums, according to a recently released report by an Indian business group quoted in Business Week magazine's June 3, 2008 datelined report on international b-schools says.

The Business Barometer study by the the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (Assocham), the country's leading chamber of commerce organization was released in June. It found that beyond the top 30 institutions, most business school professors and lecturers in India's business schools are ignorant of the world's major economic trends and key developments, such as the subprime crisis in the U.S. Few read business publications.

The study's author, Jyoti Bhutani, called the findings "shocking," adding that Indian businesses are finding it difficult to get top-quality graduates. She said there is "a huge gap" between the pay packages offered to grads of top Indian business schools (BusinessWeek.com, 4/13/08) and those provided to grads of the lesser institutions.

"As the teachers themselves are ill-informed, even the students remain unaware of real-world developments," Bhutani said. "It has a direct bearing on the employability of the students."

Adding to the problem is a patchwork of more than a dozen accreditation agencies in India. The National Knowledge Commission, which serves as an advisory group to India's Prime Minister, criticized existing Indian regulators and accreditation bodies in a 2006 report.

"There are several instances where an engineering college or a business school is approved, promptly, in a small house of a metropolitan suburb without the requisite teachers, infrastructure, or facilities, but established universities experience difficulties in obtaining similar approvals," the commission wrote in the report.

M.S. Shyamsundar, deputy adviser for the government-run National Assessment & Accreditation Council, said his agency had accredited about 15 business schools, all of which adhered to his agency's strict criteria and guidelines. He acknowledged that the academic quality of business schools varies widely throughout the country. "I think we have different shades of quality institutions, ranging from very mediocre to very good," Shyamsundar said in a telephone interview.

Accreditation Must Be Improved

He said he hopes more business schools will come forward for accreditation in the next few years, a step that will go a long way to improve the reputation of these management institutions. "Quality is one of the pressing concerns," he said. "This is why we are asking them to come forward for accreditation. Once they do this, the schools can know their strengths and weaknesses."

John Fernandes, president of the U.S.-based AACSB, said his agency is working with four or five of the top Indian business schools that are seeking AACSB accreditation. Most are members of the "elite" business school cadre in India, known as India Institute of Managements. None of the top Indian business schools has accreditation from AACSB, one of the leading business school accrediting agencies.

Setting a high standard for Indian business schools by satisfying a quality accrediting agency is an important step for Indian business schools, said Assocham's Bhutani. An improved accreditation process would have a ripple effect on all Indian business schools, he continued, forcing them to improve the quality of teachers, materials, and professional development