Tianjin University Hosts AACSB Faculty Standards and Classification Seminar

On October 19, the AACSB Faculty Standards and Classification Seminar, a prestigious international certification for business schools, was successfully held at the College of Management and Economics (CoME) at Tianjin University (TJU). About 40 representatives from various domestic universities' business management schools, along with leaders from CoME of TJU, attended the seminar.

Strong faculty resources and a high-level teaching team are key factors for the success of business schools and an important component of AACSB accreditation. Among the nine standards for AACSB accreditation, Standards 3 and 8 explicitly describe the requirements for the adequacy and effectiveness of faculty resources in maintaining high-level business management programs.

During the seminar, professor Geoff Perry, executive vice president, global chief membership officer, and Asia-Pacific CEO of AACSB, provided an in-depth analysis of the implications, application, and typical cases of the standards. Xu Guodong, head of AACSB East Asia, responded positively to specific questions raised by attendees, considering the background of domestic discipline settings and institutional development.

This seminar marks the first specialized discussion held by AACSB in the mainland of China after the pandemic. Despite being a weekend and the persistent autumn rain outside, the enthusiasm for learning among participants remained high. There was frequent interaction between attendees, contributing to a rich exchange of ideas regarding the understanding of accreditation standards and the concrete benchmarking of high-quality development.

Finally, Mao Zhaofang, Party Secretary of CoME, expressed heartfelt gratitude to AACSB for its trust in CoME and shared remarks on the role of international accreditation in promoting the development of the College and its disciplines. He encouraged increased communication among universities to facilitate construction through evaluation, jointly achieving the high-quality and innovative development of business education programs, and further enhancing the international competitiveness of management disciplines.

CoME officially began its application for AACSB membership in 2016, and after various stages including EA, iSER, and SER, it passed expert review in 2022, obtaining AACSB international accreditation.

By College of Management and Economics

Editor: Sun Xiaofang