Newsletter No. 145

CUHK Newsletter No. 145 4th May 1999 3 CU's Busines s Administratio n & Accounti g Programme Gai n I ternationa l Recognitio n InternationalRecognition The University's Faculty of Business Admi n i s t r a t i on has recently received accreditation from the American Assembly o f Co l l eg i a te Schools o f Bu s i ne s s- International Association for Management Education (AACSB-IAME), becoming one of the first business schools in Asia to be accredited by the As s o c i a t i on. The announcement was made at the 1999 AACSB - I AME annual meeting held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on 18th April. BA Delegation to Atlanta To receive the certificates of accreditation — o n e for the business administration programme and one for the accountancy programme, a delegation comprising four members of the Faculty o f Business Administration flew to Atlanta last month to attend the AACSB - I AME annual meeting. They were dean of business administration Prof. Lee Kam-hon, associate dean Prof. Japhet Law, director of the School of Accountancy Prof. Simon Ho, and faculty secretary Mrs. Lena Young. Prof. Lee Kam-hon was also invited by the association to deliver a presentation on mechanisms for student development and outcome assessment for faculty research and teaching. What is AACSB- IAME? The AACSB-IAME is internationally renowned as the premier accrediting agency for degree programmes in business administration, accounting, and management. It is a non-profit-making corporation of educational institutions, corporations, and other organizations devoted to the promotion and improvement of higher education in business administration and accounting. The association's founding members include top universities in the US such as Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, New York University, Northwestern University, U.C. Berkeley, the University of Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Texas, and Yale University. Traditionally its accreditation studies serve mainly business schools in North America. In the last couple of years, it extended its scope to cover Asia, Europe, and Latin America. And the Faculty of Business Administration of The Chinese University was the first institution in Asia to have been invited to go through the accreditation process. Accreditation Process The accreditation process is based on the measurement of the quality of educational activities based on a set of standards set by the association. The accreditation review focuses on a school's determination of mission, development of faculty, planning of curriculum, and diversity of instruction, and is generally conducted by a Peer Review Team comprising experienced deans of business schools, as well as representatives f r om the A A C S B - I AME and the corporate community. The accreditation study includes a self-evaluation report, and an on-site review by the Peer Review Team. The University accepted the invitation to go through the accreditation process in 1997, submitted the self- evaluation report in 1998, and underwent an on-site review early this year. The A A C S B - I A ME accreditation announcement last month confirms the high standard of management education achieved by the University's Faculty of Business Administration and is an indication of the Faculty's commi tment to continuous i mp r o v eme nt in the q u a l i ty o f its programmes. Three Decades of Excellent Service The C U HK Facu l ty o f Business Administration was established in 1963. To date it has produced approximately 10,000 graduates who serve in leading positions in the business communities and academic institutions o f Hong Kong and other international cities. Prof. Lee Kam-hon points out that from its inception, the aim of the faculty has been to offer business education of the highest quality, and to provide an education experience that is highly relevant to the local and regional contexts. Its mission is to 'become the leading business school in East Asia and one of the top 30 business schools in the world' through the attainment of excellence in teaching and research. It also serves the business community and government by providing executive development and consulting services. Looking into the Future The accreditation by the AACSB-IAME is no doubt recognition for the faculty's accomplishments towards fulfilling its mission. Prof. Lee says that after becoming an accredited member of the AACSB-IAME, the faculty will play an even more active role in global management education. At the Atlanta meeting, for example, discussions were he ld w i t h the association's representatives on the possibility of The Chinese University hosting the AACSB- I AME annual meeting in 2002 and organizing a concurrent global management forum. The presentation of accreditation certificates to CUHK representatives. From left: Prof. Japhet Law, Mrs. Lena Young, Prof. Lee Kam-hon, Dr. M.R. Blood (Managing Director of AACSB-IAME), and Prof. Simon S.M. Ho Sequence of Events • 1916 Founding of AACSB • July 1997 AACSB became 'internationalized' and changed its name to AACSB-IAME. • Aug 1997 CUHK received informal invitation to go through the accreditation process. • Sept 1997 Formal invitation was extended to CUHK Faculty of Business Administration. • Sept 1998 Faculty of Business Administration submitted a self-evaluation report. • Jan 1999 The Peer Review Team conducted an on-site review of CUHK programmes. • Apr 1999 AACSB-IAME announced the accreditation of CU's business administration and accounting programmes. Dr. Rex Adams (middle), dean of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and chairman of the Peer Review Team to study CUHK's business administration programme, posing with Prof. Lee Kam- hon (left) and Prof. Japhet Law (right). Dr. Robert G. May (left), dean of the College and Graduate School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin and chairman of the Peer Review Team to study CUHK's accounting programme, posing with Prof. Simon S.M. Ho. Prof. Lee Kam-hon making a presentation at the AACSB-IAME annual meeting Prof. Lee Kam-hon exchanging views with Janice Bellace (left), deputy dean of The Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania, and Bernadette Conraths (right), director general of the European Foundation for Management Development, who came to congratulate CUHK at the cocktail reception CUHK hosted at the AACSB-IAME annual meeting 1999.