On December 13th, 2024, the School of Business Administration (SBA) of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL) received congratulatory letters from The Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the Business Graduates Association (BGA). SBA successfully passed the fourth accreditation of AMBA and the second accreditation of BGA, and was awarded the joint accreditation of AMBA & BGA for a maximum period of five years. The joint accreditation is a reaffirmation of the quality of talent cultivation, scientific research, social service and governance of SBA.
SBA Achieves Premier Five-Year AMBA & BGA Joint Accreditation
The AMBA&BGA Joint Accreditation Site Visit took place from October 28th to 29th. The Accreditation Panel consisted of four experts, including Prof. Bodo Schlegelmilch, former President of AMBA&BGA, Prof. Wang Zhongming, General Counsel of AMBA&BGA China, Prof. Tang Ningyu, Dean of Hainan University’s School of International Business, and Mr. George Iliev, Regional Director of AMBA&BGA China. Prof. Bodo Schlegelmilch is the Chairman of the Accreditation Panel.
AMBA & BGA Joint Accreditation Panel
On October 28th, Zhu Fangwei, President of ZUEL, and Liu Renshan, Vice President of ZUEL, met with the accreditation panel, with Qian Xuefeng, Minister of Academic Affairs, Hu Honghong, Dean of the Graduate School, Wan Li, Minister of the Department of International Exchange, and the main persons in charge of SBA attending the meeting.
Meeting with ZUEL’s President
On October 29th, Wu Haitao, Dean of SBA and Director of MBA Education Center, made a report at the leadership team meeting, introducing to the accreditation panel the School’s “Five Integration” talent cultivation system and Continuous Impact Model (CIM), highlighting the ongoing changes and improvements since 2019, following feedback from prior AMBA and BGA accreditations, along with the outcomes achieved. The accreditation panel, taking into account the Dean’s Report and the AMBA & BGA Self-Assessment Report submitted by the SBA, had a comprehensive, in-depth and detailed discussion with the leadership team on SBA’s development strategy, change initiatives in the past five years, talent cultivation, academic research and internationalization development.
Meeting with SBA’s Leadership Team
Furthermore, the accreditation panel conducted specialized seminars with a range of SBA stakeholders, including faculty representatives, employer partners, heads of the MBA and undergraduate marketing programs, administrative staff, alumni, and current students, to engage in in-depth discussions.
AMBA & BGA Joint Accreditation Meetings
During the visit, the accreditation panel reviewed SBA's strategic planning, committee minutes, and recent three-year data on program operations and outcomes for the MBA and undergraduate marketing programs in the International Accreditation Baseroom.
After the visit, Prof. Bodo Schlegelmilch, on behalf of the accreditation panel, gave a detailed accreditation feedback to SBA, and the feedback was listened to by Prof. Qin Hong, vice president of ZUEL, and all the leaders of SBA. In the feedback meeting, the accreditation panel highly appreciated the strong support provided by the leadership of ZUEL, and also gave positive comments on SBA’s unique training model of integrating economics, law and management, the newly-built Wenhan Building, gender equality and women's participation, and ESG practices, among other aspects. The accreditation panel put forward a number of constructive suggestions for the development of SBA, including promoting internationalization, exploring the application of AI, upgrading the laboratories, optimizing the curriculum structure, strengthening the construction of the alumni network, and building a platform for innovation and entrepreneurship support, etc.
AMBA & BGA Joint Accreditation Feedback
The joint AMBA & BGA accreditation success acknowledges our high educational standards and enhanced international education level. We will leverage this achievement to continuously improve and innovate, committing to elevating talent development and international education quality, and nurturing top-tier management talent with a global perspective and innovative skills.