IIM Calcutta becomes first IIM to earn AACSB Accreditation

Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) has earned the prestigious accreditation by AACSB International, the premier global accreditation body. IIM C is the first amongst IIMs, and third Indian institution to get this accreditation. ISB Hyderabad and TAPMI Manipal are the only two Indian institutions to get AACSB accreditation in India. AACSB made this announcement on August 18.

AACSB congratulates Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and Director Prof. Saibal Chattopadhyay on earning accreditation, and we welcome them into the family of AACSB-accredited business schools, said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International.

AACSB Accreditation has been earned by less than five percent of the worlds business programs. There are 716 business schools in 48 countries that maintain AACSB Accreditation. Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal review, evaluation, and improvement, and can take multiple years to complete. During these years, the school develops and implements a plan to meet AACSBs Accreditation Standards, which require a high quality teaching environment, innovative programming, and active engagement with industry.
This development assumes significance as India has been lagging behind its Asian peers in the Accreditations push. While India has 3900 MBA programs, only two B-schools were accredited by AACSB. According to MBAUniverse.com analysis, 16 B-schools in China have earned the AACSB accreditation. Smaller MBA education markets like South Korea, Singapore and even UAE have more AACSB accredited B schools compared to India.

Similarly, while 15 B-schools have won the EFMDs EQUIS Accreditation in China, only two Indian B-Schools (IIM A and IIM B) have earned this accreditation.

Accreditation of IIM C signals that while Indian B-schools are lagging behind their Asian peers, India is now catching up. A lot more B-schools are AACSB members in India today, compared to 5 years back. Currently, there are 43 AACSB members in India, second only to China at 46. There were 15 B schools with AACSB membership in India five years ago, with no accreditation.

AACSB International also announced that ESPAE-Graduate School of Management (Ecuador), National Central University (Chinese Taipei), Newcastle University (United Kingdom) and the University of Canterbury (New Zealand) have earned accreditation in business, and Northumbria University (United Kingdom) has earned accreditation in accounting.

Founded in 1916, AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) is an association of more than 1,450 educational institutions, businesses, and other organizations in 89 countries and territories. AACSBs mission is to advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation, thought leadership, and value-added services.

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