The highly respected Brussels based accreditation body, EQUIS, has praised standard of The University of Sydney Business School’s academic staff, its research and its new facilities and concluded that it is well positioned to extend its global reach.
The EQUIS Peer Review Team (PRT) made the comments as the organisation’s board unanimously reaccredited the School for another five years, the maximum term possible.
Welcoming the reaccreditation, the Dean of the Business School, Professor Greg Whitwell, described it as an “international vote of confidence” in the School’s current direction and something that every staff member could be proud of.
“This is external affirmation of the Business School’s new business not as usual strategy,” Professor Whitwell said. “In our teaching and research our strategy is to challenge the status quo and to search for new ways of doing things as we seek to make people’s lives better.”
EQUIS is an international not-for-profit organisation with more than 800 academic, business, public service and consultancy members in over 80 countries.
Managed by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), EQUIS describes itself as “the leading international system of quality assessment, improvement and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration”.
The University of Sydney Business School’s Director, Accreditations, Associate Professor Mark Freeman, says EQUIS is the “gold standard” endorsement.
“With only 167 others accredited by EQUIS this premier recognition is truly reserved for the top international business schools,” said Associate Professor Freeman. “As the world gets smaller and more competitive it is critical that we provide our stakeholders with the edge and this gold standard accreditation is part of our ongoing effort to do so.”
In its assessment, the EQUIS PRT referred to Business School support for international students, its Bachelor of Commerce program, its research environment and investment in staff.
It also singled out the fields of Accounting, Finance and Transport and Logistics for special mention and was highly complementary in its comments on the Business School’s newly opened Abercrombie Building.
