AACSB for ISM – a rarely awarded first-class academic seal for the German Business School Dortmund

The abbreviation stands for Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. It has earned a reputation as the world’s leading accreditation organization. Its standards are demanding. It usually takes several years to receive the seal of approval – and it is awarded correspondingly rarely. Various intermediate steps have to be successfully completed before the final audit. Around six per cent of all business schools worldwide have this seal,

In Germany there are currently just over a dozen AACSB-accredited universities. "A new milestone has been reached," comments University President Prof Dr Ingo Böckenholt: "It is at present the most highly regarded international accreditation for a business school. This seal is a confirmation of the high quality of our degree programs."

The AACSB seal certifies ISM’s excellence in research and teaching. It also includes student evaluations. "For internationally oriented students, AACSB accreditation offers enormous added value as proof of the quality of their studies, regardless of whether their career takes them to Europe, the USA or Asia," emphasizes the ISM President. Böckenholt, who is also Managing Director of the private business school, rates the appeal of the new seal accordingly: "It is a confirmation of our continuously expanding global cooperation." In over three decades, ISM has built up a network of around 190 partner universities worldwide.

Harvard, Yale, Berkeley were founding members of AACSB

The AACSB was founded in 1916 as a globally active non-profit organization with top universities such as Harvard, Yale and Berkeley as founding members. Since the end of the 1990s, accreditations have also been issued outside the USA. AACSB accreditation is linked to several quality criteria. Program content, teaching methods, quality of lecturers, student support and research activities are all assessed. Infrastructure, proximity to business practice, the transition to professional life and internationality are also scrutinized.

For the ISM President, the award is "another outstanding opportunity to thank our entire university team and also our partners in situ and abroad for their constant commitment. Our quality standards have been the basis of our joint work at all seven ISM university locations in Germany and in the ISM distance learning program – for almost 35 years now."