The reputation of the MBA as the leading international business qualification continues to grow. Since 1994 the number of MBAs graduating worldwide has increased by over 25 percent a year.  The supply of MBA courses is huge, with thousands of programmes on offer, mainly in Europe and the US, but emerging markets in China, India and South America are increasingly important.

In this highly competitive market, business schools are striving for differentiation, focusing on their strengths and seeking accreditation from the Association of MBAs to attract high quality students to their programmes.

Today’s MBA students are in a position to demand value for money, greater variety, more flexibility, and a quality education which is recognised and valued by employers.  Faced with so much choice,  individuals considering their professional development and employers recruiting senior executives want to have confidence in the quality of the MBA and need guidance on how to go about selecting the right business school.  The investment is significant considering tuition fees, opportunity costs and the personal sacrifices involved – so choosing the right programme at a reputable business school is crucial.  Of course in this climate, the pressure on business schools to achieve standards of excellence in programme content and delivery is intense.  There is little doubt that the survival of business schools and their MBA programmes will depend ultimately on the quality of their offerings and their outputs – and this is what accreditation by the Association of MBAs aims to ensure.   Accreditation is the independent and rigorous validation of MBA programmes which allows students and employers to distinguish the best MBAs from the thousands on offer.

While rankings give an indication of the relative positioning of business schools,  it is accreditation that provides assurances about the quality the content and delivery of an MBA programme.    The Association of MBAs is widely recognised as the independent global standard for the qualification and accredits 121 business schools worldwide.  Accreditation involves the in-depth review and inspection of MBA programmes against standards of excellence developed by leading academics and employers.  It is a rigorous and challenging process for business schools and includes the assessment of faculty, student support, curriculum, career services and processes for strategic review and continual improvement.  A range of MBA programmes is accredited to accommodate students in different circumstances.  The one or two year full-time MBA is still popular, but there are a growing number of part-time and distance learning programmes which, if accredited by the Association, will deliver the same benefits and allow students to work while studying.

All the evidence shows that investment in an MBA can bring significant returns to individuals and to organisations.   But the selection of a high quality programme at the right business school will impact on the value of this investment.  Students and their employers need to identify the best from the rest and accreditation by the Association of MBAs is the fundamental starting point in the search for a quality MBA.

Jeanette Purcell is Chief Executive of the Association of MBAs – the international accreditation agency for postgraduate general management education.