Business School’s triple accreditation status confirmed for another three years

The Open University Business School has retained its coveted ‘triple crown’ status until 2024 following an unprecedented period of activity and a bumper year of virtual reaccreditation visits.

Fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide hold these prestigious awards from the world’s three leading international management education associations: the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), and the Association of MBAs (AMBA).

Following the good news of AACSB’s five-year reaccreditation in February this year, the Business School has now successfully achieved AMBA renewal for five years and EQUIS for a further three years after the most robust independent quality review in its history.

The Covid-19 pandemic meant this was the Business School’s first experience of ‘virtual accreditation’ with all three online visits in a seven-month period from November 2020 - May 2021. Many OU staff, students, alumni and corporate partners were involved in these virtual visits from peer review teams which comprised international academics.

Retaining our triple accreditation remains an exceptional achievement and showcases the Business School’s quality and standing. Studying with a triple accredited business school ensures not only the highest quality teaching but gives our students’ qualification international recognition. This recognises the dedication of our staff, excellence of our research and our unrivalled supported open learning teaching model, that supports students without ever compromising on quality. A massive thank you to the more than 100 staff, students, alumni and other stakeholders who took part in this vigorous and demanding assessment process.

Executive Dean, FBL (Faculty of Business and Law), Professor Devendra Kodwani

The Business School has been commended for our commitment to our mission, dedication to our students and student-driven learning experience, our societal impact including our long-standing relationship with the BBC and much, much more.

The hard work will continue so that the School remains at the forefront of teaching, research and innovation. This exciting new chapter will be led by Professor Siv Vangen who became the School’s new head in February 2021. She took over from Professor Kodwani while successfully overseeing the Faculty’s submission to the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021).