The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) started in 1916 in the United States and is the longest standing organisation of business schools in the world. On June 4, it opened its Asian headquarters in Singapore at an event attended by representatives from 45 institutions in 14 countries.
The AACSB is a non-profit organisation with a stated mission to "advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation and thought leadership". There are 1,200 member education faculties and businesses in 71 countries, including 111 members in Asia.
Membership is voluntary and confers the right to seek formal accreditation, which is measured on 21 specific standards and follows six specific principles. Assessment is by specialised agencies and peer review.
The association also gathers data and researches extensively on business education, all of which is available to members, in addition to hosting international conferences and seminars focusing on global trends in management education.
Worldwide, only 5 per cent of the 12,000 business schools and faculties, issuing degrees, are accredited with the AACSB, which is the largest organisation of its kind in the world, the second-largest being Equus in Europe.
Three Hong Kong universities have already achieved accreditation for their business schools: University of Science and Technology, Polytechnic University and Chinese University. Four further Hong Kong schools are AACSB members but are not fully accredited.
