To further advance the AACSB international accreditation work of our School and learn from the advanced experience of peer institutions, a research team from the School of Management, led by Shao Jing, Director of the International Accreditation Office, and Ma Xiaoke, International Accreditation Specialist, conducted research and exchange visits to the School of Business Administration of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law and the School of Management of Huazhong University of Science and Technology successively from November 3 to 4.

At the School of Business Administration of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, the research team held in-depth exchanges with Wu Yingna, Director of the Office of International Affairs and International Accreditation, and accreditation specialists Chen Ke and Zhu Yanzhen on key links in the AACSB accreditation process, including the construction of the Assurance of Learning (AOL) system, preparation for on-site visits, and report writing procedures. The participants from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law highlighted their practices such as the preparation of the on-site visit meeting room for AACSB accreditation, the addition of an assessment mechanism including a pre-proposal qualifying exam and graduate forums, and the use of specific cases in demonstrating AOL effectiveness. They emphasized the importance of "supporting effectiveness with practical examples" during the accreditation process. In addition, the university’s refined management practices in expert reception, on-site process rehearsals, task decomposition and time node control provided valuable practical references for our School’s preparation work for the on-site visit phase of the accreditation.

At the School of Management of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the research team focused on learning about its accreditation work organization mechanism, the establishment of the Self-Evaluation Report (SER) writing team, and the incentive methods for faculty participation. Hu Peng, Assistant to the Dean, Li Antai, Director of the Office of International Affairs, and Shu Xin, International Accreditation Specialist, respectively introduced their dedicated SER writing team composed of core faculty from various departments and administrative staff, as well as effective practices to boost faculty participation through performance incentives. The two sides also discussed topics such as how the School of Management can enhance social influence and promote the development of international exchange programs, which provided ideas for our School to further refine its characteristic development directions.

This research tour strengthened mutual learning and exchange between our School and the management schools of the two universities in accreditation work, and also provided practical experience and organizational insights for our School’s next stage of AACSB accreditation preparation. The School will integrate the research results to further improve the accreditation work mechanism, steadily advance all preparation work, and comprehensively enhance the quality and effectiveness of international accreditation.

(Written by / Ma Xiaoke | Reviewed by / Shao Jing & Zhang Shuang)