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The University of Western Australia Business School has received accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

This makes the UWA Business School the only business school in Western Australia to hold AACSB accreditation.

The UWA Business School is also the only school in Western Australia to hold accreditation from the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), which it has held since 2008.

UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson said the accreditation was significant recognition of the growth and development of high-quality teaching at the UWA Business School in recent years - often with the support of business, industry and government.

Dean of the UWA Business School, Winthrop Professor Tracey Horton, said the accreditation acknowledged the efforts the School had put into continuously improving its education and research programs.

‘In the last five years, we have introduced a new Master of Professional Accounting and re-vamped Master of Commerce, moved into a new $50 million state-of-the art building, and consolidated our relationships with around 30 corporate partners,' Professor Horton said.

‘In 2012, we will transition to our New Course structure to deliver improved, more flexible undergraduate courses. The UWA Business School's achievement of AACSB accreditation underscores our commitment to continually improving our student experience and programs.'

‘It takes a great deal of self-evaluation and determination to earn AACSB Accreditation, and I commend The University of Western Australia for its dedication to management education, as well as its leadership in the community,' said Jerry Trapnell, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International.  ‘Through accreditation, UWA has not only met specific standards of excellence, but has also made a commitment to ongoing improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver high quality education to its students.'

AACSB accreditation recognises the high standards of a school's mission, operations, faculty qualifications and contributions, programs, and other critical areas.

AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business - is a global, non-profit membership organisation of educational institutions, businesses, and other entities devoted to the advancement of management education.

EQUIS accreditation is controlled by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) . It recognises the high international standard of a school's degree programmes, research, executive education, community outreach and internationalisation.

There are currently 633 AACSB-accredited schools across 40 countries, and 131 EQUIS-accredited schools across 38 countries.

The UWA Business School is one of approximately half a dozen schools in Australia to hold both AACSB and EQUIS accreditation.

The University of Western Australia Business School

The University of Western Australia was established in 1911 and has over 23,000 enrolled students across its undergraduate and postgraduate courses.  It is a member of the research-intensive Group of Eight (Go8) network, the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), and a founding member of the Matariki Network of Universities.

With over 5,500 students, The University of Western Australia Business School is one of the largest faculties within the University.  The School received its European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) accreditation in 2008 and Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation in 2011, and is guided by a Business School Board that includes leaders from companies such as Wesfarmers, BHP Billiton, and Woodside.

Media references

Heather Merritt (Director, External Relations, UWA Business School  (+618)  6488 8171  /  (+61 4) 19 950 027
Verity Chia (Communications Officer, UWA Business School)  (+618)  6488 1346
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716