EQUIS re-accreditation puts SFU’s Beedie among elite class of business schools globally

VANCOUVER– The Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University has been awarded EQUIS re-accreditation for a five-year period, an achievement that puts the school among an elite class of business schools globally.

EQUIS is an international system of quality assessment, improvement and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration. The accreditation body is run by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), and strives to raise the standard of management education worldwide.

This past April, the Beedie School also maintained accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) for a period of five years. Fewer than one per cent of the world’s business schools hold both EQUIS and AACSB accreditation.

The endorsements from the world’s leading business school accreditation bodies caps off an extraordinary 18-month period for Beedie. In February of 2011, the school received a record-setting $22 million gift from alumnus Ryan Beedie and his father Keith.

Since then, it has launched a number of ambitious initiatives, including the Americas MBA for Executives, with partners in Brazil, Mexico and the United States; an Executive MBA for Aboriginal Business and Leadership, the first program of its kind; Canada’s largest undergraduate student-managed investment fund; and a high-technology entrepreneurship incubator.

In addition, the school has vaulted into the world’s upper echelon of research business schools – placing among the top 75 for business research, and the world’s top 25 for management-specific research.

“The EQUIS accreditation establishes our place not only as a leading business school in Canada, but as a true reflection of British Columbia’s unique place in the global knowledge economy,” said Daniel Shapiro, Dean of the Beedie School of Business. “This is a testament to our prolific research culture, our innovative programs, and our sustained engagement with communities and economies both local and international.”

Institutions that are accredited by EQUIS must demonstrate not only high general quality in all dimensions of their activities, but also a high degree of internationalization and engagement with organizations. For students, EQUIS attaches particular importance to the development of managerial and entrepreneurial skills and the fostering of a sense of global responsibility.

For more information about EQUIS, visit: http://www.efmd.org/index.php/accreditation-main/equis