A systematic approach to improvement, development, learning, collaboration and feedback to society are important tasks at a modern, ambitious business school. The Business School at Karlstad University has now achieved AACSB accreditation.
The work with AACSB accreditation is based on the Business School’s mission: "We educate responsible professionals and conduct research with high societal impact".
- After many years of hard work, it feels like graduating, says Professor Martin Grimberg Löfgren, head of the Business School. We have made our strategic ambitions clear and followed the successes and imprints of our teachers and researchers, students and alumni in education, research, traineeships and in society.
- After a thorough review of all parts of our business, we have reached our goal, explains deputy head, Associate Professor Marie-Therese Christiansson. Our Business School now has a management system for conducting department-wide quality review and business development. Accreditation is a recognition that we live up to quality requirements set globally.
The accreditation applies to all of Karlstad University and opens up many opportunities for collaborations and internationalization.
- This not only shows that we have a Business School of the highest quality, it also opens up opportunities for the entire university. Not least when it comes to international collaborations, says Johan Sterte, Vice-Chancellor at Karlstad University.
With this accreditation, the Business School will be able to more easily create formal collaborations with other business schools and universities. The accreditation will strengthen both the Business School´s and Karlstad University's brands and reputation.
Students will be even better equipped for the challenges of the future, experience more forms of variable and flexible learning and be able to participate in more global classrooms at home. The Business School will also to a greater extent be able to offer our students exchange studies at internationally reputable universities.
The work of achieving an AACSB accreditation has been extensive and all staff at the Business School have contributed.
- Our employees have done a very good job together and the result is gratifying for all of us at the Business School. We are now part of a network that includes five percent of the world's business schools that meet high standards. It's big, concludes Martin Grimberg Löfgren.
Opinions on AACSB accreditation from staff at the Business School
Kristina Palm, senior lecturer in work science
- Being part of AACSB creates a connection between the School's degree programmes and the business community. The accreditation will hopefully also mean a higher application demand from students who want to study at a quality-assured institution as it functions as a kind of ranking.
Niklas Jakobsson, Professor of Economics
- The most important thing about AACSB accreditation is the work the Business School has put into ensuring the quality of both education and research. That our employees have realized that it is important to do the business as well as possible and that we can show what we do well is important for our future work.
Sara Davoudi, PhD in Business Administration
- AACSB is a fantastic stamp of quality that puts the Business School on the map and makes us more attractive to students and researchers. Not least internationally. I believe that accreditation will affect how we in the future relate to issues that have been central to the accreditation process - that is positive. I also see AACSB as a network and a community where we can develop together to meet the future.
John Johansson, university lecturer in business administration
- I teach project management and leadership. We have distance courses with participants from all over Europe and I would like to see that we reach more international students via AACSB. The students who have taken our international courses appreciate the diversity of opinions and experiences that exist in the distance courses. I hope we can get good ideas from other business schools and that we can share what we do well.
Hilda Ivarsson, student at the Business School
- An AACSB accreditation is proof that our Business School maintains a high quality in education, research and collaboration. For the students, it means that the Business School is competitive and also strengthens the brand. The accreditation puts KAU and Karlstad on the map, which is valuable for both the university, the city and our collaboration partners. This bodes well for the future.
Bo Edvardsson, Professor of Business Administration
- AACSB is a seal of quality that will facilitate the School's international collaborations with other researchers. My hope is that the accreditation lays the foundation for the continued development of the Business School and promotes international cooperation and student exchange.
Charlotte Hemmingson, university lecturer in business administration
- An AACSB accreditation is a seal of quality for our Business School - we have ensured that students know what we say they should know. We have had a rewarding collaboration where we discussed quality assurance for our education and that we should be able to respond to the set goals. The work has strengthened the community within the Business School. A memory from an AACSB conference in 2015 is "keep it simple" - I think we have all managed to stick to the goals.
Lars Witell, Professor of Business Administration
- That we have a good education of high international quality is important for our international partners. In the work of creating new collaborations around research and education, AACSB is an excellent platform that also strengthens the School's brand.
About AACSB
AACSB was founded in 1916 and is the world's largest business education alliance that connects teachers, students and companies and has a presence in more than 100 countries.
