Accreditation
EQUIS accreditation
Award for excellence in research and teaching in combination with a high level of practical orientation
The Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences ("WiSo Faculty") of the University of Cologne was once again re-accredited by the EQUIS Accreditation Board on 3 Mai 2023 and received the world-renowned EQUIS accreditation of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) for the highest possible duration of five years. This confirms the high international quality standard of the faculty in research and teaching. At the moment, only 209 business schools worldwide hold this internationally recognized accreditation with a 5-year duration (retrieved Oktober 2022).
Since 2012 the WiSo Faculty has met the strict requirements of the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) and joins the list of EQUIS accredited business schools. The WiSo Faculty was the second institute of higher education in Germany to be accredited with the prestigious EQUIS seal of quality. The accreditation is issued by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD).
The successful EQUIS accreditation underlines the Faculty’s comprehensive efforts to continuously improve the quality of study and teaching up to an internationally competitive level, and to distinguish itself through the well-established wide range of subjects, top-quality research, practical orientation and international character in Germany and abroad.
Within the framework of the accreditation process, institutions are assessed as a whole, not merely their individual study programmes. Institutions applying for accreditation must prove themselves in ten areas (including, governance and strategy, business relationships, students, research and resources, international partnerships and networks). Simply meeting minimum standards is not sufficient for EQUIS. Rather, eligible institutions must be able to demonstrate that they are among the top institutions in the area of management and economic education in their country; on an international university level, they must distinguish themselves with innovative activities and cultivate excellent relationships with international partners.
For more information please visit: www.efmd.org.
Further accreditations
AQAS Model Accreditation
The accreditation of study programmes was introduced with the Bologna process (introduction of Bachelor / Master programmes in Germany). It represents an external element of the newly introduced abilty to quality assurance of study programmes and optimizing study conditions at universities. Essence of the method is the evaluation of the quality e.g. the courses and/or the university by an accreditation agency.
AQAS e.V. is an agency for quality assurance in higher education, based in Cologne. The non-profit organization, which is supported by universities and scientific societies, processes leading to accreditation of study programmes in all disciplines (programme accreditation) and for accreditation of quality system (system accreditation) and is entitled to award the seal of the German Accreditation Council.
The initial accreditation of all courses of WiSo Faculty took place in 2007 by AQAS e.V. With the successful reaccreditation in May 2015, University of Cologne introduced the model accreditation with new study structures in the existing study programmes and the initial accreditation of M.Sc. International Management (CEMS MIM).
The reaccreditation is valid until 2022.
PRME
The mission of PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education) is to transform management education, research and thought leadership globally by providing the Principles for Responsible Management Education framework, developing learning communities and promoting awareness about the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences involved in the education of current and future managers we are voluntarily committed to engaging in a continuous process of improvement of the following Principles, reporting on progress to all our stakeholders and exchanging effective practices with other academic institutions:
Sharing Information on Progress (2016)
The WiSo Faculty considers the following recent developments as indicative of its commitment to Ethics, responsibility and sustainability activities (ERS):
- Foundation of the Chair for Business Ethics in 2010
- Start of the annual IWP lecture series on global challenges in the fall term of 2010/11
- Endowment to recruit two professors in Business Ethics
- Introduction of a mandatory course in “Business Ethics” for the Faculty’s biggest bachelor programme (the B.Sc. in Business Administration) from the fall term of 2015/16 onwards
(Period Covered: Jan 2013 to Jun 2016)
Achievements Curriculum Integration in the Field of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability
- Mandatory and optional courses in Business Ethics
- ERS contents in other courses
- International service learning (students engage in projects in Africa and South America)
- Lecture series on global challenges (e.g. Institute for Economic Policy)
- Local chapters of international student organisations (e.g. OIKOS, ENACTUS/SIFE)
- German Turkish University
- Studentisches Forum für Integration und Bildung (FIB) (in English:"Student Forum for Integration and Education"): students visit local schools offering coaching and support to pupils with an immigrant or non-academic background
- Voluntary work of scholars of the Cologne Graduate School (informing high school students from a non-academic background about the opportunities and challenges of pursuing higher academic education)
- World Business Dialogue by OFW (largest international student-run business convention)
Achievements Research Development in the Field of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability
More information can be found on the website unprme.org.
