WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management began its journey to accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in 2010. After successful re-accreditation in 2015/2016, WHU is proud of having once again been re-accredited for a further five years in 2021 as AACSB is one of the most renowned business school accreditations in the world. Only approximately five percent of all schools worldwide offering business degrees are AACSB accredited.
To qualify for AACSB accreditation, business schools must possess a well-defined and clearly established mission, high-caliber educational methods, current curricula, and effective exchanges between students and staff resulting in high employment levels after graduation. AACSB’s Business Standards are regularly updated to ensure relevance. WHU has now been re-accredited under the newly adopted 2020 Business Standards, one of the first schools to do so as part of AACSB’s pilot program. Schools given AACSB accreditation continuously demonstrate their outstanding quality of education and constant strides towards improvement. The accreditation process is completed through a comprehensive peer review model. Given the current pandemic, WHU’s most recent peer review visit was conducted virtually.
Prof. Dr. Markus Rudolf, Dean of WHU, believes "This is clear proof of the sustainable quality of our education.” The certification being based in part on the international orientation of any given school also speaks to the development of WHU since its inception as a diverse and international establishment which celebrates intercultural exchange and entrepreneurial spirit.
Alongside its AACSB accreditation, WHU holds national certifications from the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA) and a further international accreditation, the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) from the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD), the latter of which it received in 1998 as the first-ever German business school. These certifications consider the school in its entirety, from faculty to programs to content to student body. All three accreditations do well to reaffirm the extraordinary quality of WHU and its academic and professional prowess.