Ranking & Accreditations
BSL’s Accreditations
How do we see accreditations?
Accreditations are not only logos for websites, transcripts or diplomas. Accreditations provide institutions with standards that help them design their activities (strategy, management, teaching and learning) by assessing them against a benchmark based on the worldwide experience of the best organization and academic institutions.
ATHEA Accreditation
Business School Lausanne BSL is proud to announce its achievement of first-time institutional accreditation by the Association for Transnational Higher Education Accreditation (ATHEA), a respected international organization dedicated to ensuring quality and continuous improvement in education through institutional accreditation. This prestigious recognition underscores BSL’s unwavering commitment to academic excellence, sustainability, and student-centered learning.
Following a comprehensive evaluation process that included a thorough review of its programs, faculty, facilities, and resources, BSL welcomed a team of ATHEA representatives to campus for a rigorous peer review. Throughout the rigorous assessment, BSL demonstrated its commitment towards student -centered learning and adaptive education tailored to meet societal needs.
“ATHEA’s institutional accreditation process was an opportunity to verify that Business School Lausanne is up to the European standards and guidelines for higher education”, said Dr. David Claivaz, BSL Acting Dean. Dominique Bourqui, Chief Academic Officer, further explained “The ATHEA’s accreditation process acknowledged BSL’s performance in leveraging information and data to design, redesign and maintain academic programs that equip our graduates with the most up-to-date business knowledge and the most relevant business skills”.
With this accreditation, BSL joins an elite group of institutions recognized for their dedication to providing students and participants with a high-quality education that successfully prepares them to be leaders in a fast-changing landscape. Moreover, this milestone constitutes a significant step towards achieving national and international recognition, which elevates and brings more value to the degrees of our current students and alumni.
ACBSP Accreditation
BSL programs have been ACBSP accredited since 1996.
The accreditation of the BSL programs by ACBSP is there to help students validate their studies towards employers and academic institution.
ACBSP accreditation has a special focus on employability.
“ACBSP’s accreditation process follows the Baldrige model. The accreditation focuses on recognizing teaching excellence, determining student learning outcomes, and a continuous improvement model. ACBSP’s student-centered teaching and learning approach, which is measured and analyzed for quality, ensures that students gain the right skills from their educational investment. Institutions with programs accredited by ACBSP are committed to continuous improvement that ensures their business program will give students the skills employers want.“
Source: ACBSP (https://acbsp.org/page/accreditation-overview)
ACBSP accreditation also regularly helps BSL graduates continue their studies in the best academic institutions worldwide:
- Oxford University
- Stockholm School of Economics
- Dublin Business School
- Columbia University
- University of Colorado Boulder
- Washington State University
- London School of Economics and Political Science
- Regent’s University London
- Université Paris Descartes
- Graduate School of Management St. Petersburg State University
… to name but a few.
Download Measurement and Analysis of Students Learning and Performance
ISO 9001 certification
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a standard-setting body that defines processes for quality management systems. Business School Lausanne is granted an ISO 9001 Certification recognized by businesses worldwide as a guarantee of quality. The certification assures that BSL fulfills high quality standards when meeting the needs of its customers (students) and stakeholders.
World Higher Education Database
BSL is listed under WHED ID IAU-024014 in the World Higher Education Database (WHED).
The World Higher Education Database (WHED) is the IAU (International Association of Universities) unique online reference portal that provides authoritative information on some 19,800 accredited higher education institutions as well as on higher education systems and credentials in 196 countries and territories. It is globally recognized as an official source of information.
IAU has been collecting this data since its foundation in 1950. The WHED has evolved constantly to meet the needs of the global higher education community. The WHED team collects, processes, validates and publishes comprehensive and detailed higher education data on the portal on a continuous basis. It is a collaborative project with UNESCO.
ISO 9001 Certification
BSL’s management system has been ISO 9001 Certified since (2004). BSL has been through 5 cycles of recertification, (with an annual audit to ensure that standards are being maintained), which has led BSL to develop genuine approach to quality management in the education sector.
The ISO 9001 Accreditation looks at the management system that supports us to keep the BSL promise:
“ISO 9001 sets out the criteria for a quality management system […] It can be used by any organization, large or small, regardless of its field of activity. In fact, there are over one million companies and organizations in over 170 countries certified to ISO 9001.
This standard is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement. […] Using ISO 9001 helps ensure that customers get consistent, good-quality products and services, which in turn brings many business benefits.“
Source: ISO https://www.iso.org/iso-9001-quality-management.html
The ISO 9001 Accreditation constantly reminds us that BSL, as a private company, has a special responsibility in applying the best management practices we teach to our students.
BSL ISO 9001 Management System helps BSL to spread the latest managerial and academic best practices with agility.
Memberships
BSL is member of three organizations that provide high-level accreditations: AACSB, AMBA-BGA and EFMD. BSL is currently building on the knowledge gained by these memberships to widen its accreditation basis.
Further direct benefits for the students and staff of these memberships include access to international conferences, publications, networking opportunities, and career counselling.
Other accreditations, including IACBE and AAQ are also envisioned.
BSL’s Rankings
Ranked # 2 in Switzerland – Master Programs
Ranked # 4 in Switzerland – MBA Program
In Switzerland, Business School Lausanne ranked #2 for its Master in International and Sustainable Finance and #2 for its Master in International Business in the QS Business Masters Rankings 2019 and #4 for its MBA program in the QS Global MBA Rankings 2019.
The Masters ranking includes over 150 schools from around the world and ranks them across five indicators, employability, alumni outcomes, value for money, thought leadership, and class and faculty diversity.
The MBA ranking takes into consideration various criteria such as entrepreneurship and alumni outcomes, return on investment, thought leadership, and class and faculty diversity, however, it emphasizes the importance of employability as a key element (40% of the total ranking weight for the MBA Programs).
BSL did not seek to appear in the Q&S rankings after 2019 when this ranking became a paying ranking. As a general rule, BSL does not seek to appear in paying rankings.
Degree Recognition
The business programs at Business School Lausanne are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), an accreditation organization for business education officially recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The ACBSP accreditation covers business programs from approximately 2’400 higher education institutions internationally. In the United States, CHEA is officially entitled to list accredited programs, including those at Business School Lausanne.
In Europe, each country has set up its own national academic information center (NARIC), which lists officially recognized institutions within a particular country. In Switzerland, the Higher Education Council grants recognition to AAQ-accredited institutions. Business School Lausanne has no obligation to have this accreditation to operate. For now, BSL has chosen other international accreditations, for they match BSL’s innovative approach to learning better.
The programs listed here-below have been re-affirmed as of March 2018, as reported by the accrediting organization:
- Bachelor of Business Administration
- Master of International Business
- Master of Business Administration
- Executive Master of Business Administration
- Doctorate of Business Administration
Reference: https://www.chea.org/accreditation-council-business-schools-and-programs (PDF of webpage)
In Switzerland, the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation – SERI, is responsible for detailed information about the recognition of Swiss titles.
The current state of the art regarding the titles delivered by private institutions can be found in a leaflet by the Swiss State Secretariate of Research and Innovation, here. BSL does not need any specific authorization to operate as a private higher education institution in Switzerland, as stated in the leaflet of the Swiss State Secretariate of Research and Innovation: “As a general rule, in Switzerland no prior authorization is required to offer higher education courses, organize examinations or issue private degrees.”
Business School Lausanne is a proud member of the Swiss Association of Private Institutions of Higher Education – and SAPIHE represents the Swiss Private Higher Education Institutes and its members stand out as ambassadors of the Swiss private education sector.
