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The University of Stellenbosch Business School

USB gets top three rating in Africa

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:17

Prof John Powell

The University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) has been ranked one of the top three business schools in the Africa and Middle East region in a Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Global 200 Business Schools Report - a report measuring the employability outcome of graduate programmes of the top business schools around the world.

According to Professor John Powell, Director of the USB, the university has shown year-on-year improvements climbing from fifth to third place in just two years. “We are very proud to have been selected in a report that rates business schools worldwide focusing solely on MBA employers’ and recruiters’ views of MBA graduates, as it benchmarks us against the best in the world.”

The objective of the QS Global 200 Business Schools Report is to provide an indication of the employability of an MBA student upon graduation. Compiled from an annual survey of human resources managers and line managers, with recruiting responsibilities at companies around the world, the report is derived from employers’ votes as to which business schools produce the most employable MBA graduates.

Selection criteria of the report includes, among others, overall academic strength of the business school, the relevance of the MBA course to the employee and the employers, academic peer review, citations per faculty, faculty-student ratio and feedback from international students.

According to Powell, the USB has increased its efforts to position the business school on the global map and in the minds of corporate leaders worldwide, recognised this year by a string of awards such as an A-rating as well as a Five Palms award by EDUNIVERSAL. The USB has been ranked in the top 100 leading business schools in the world at number 65, according to the Aspen Institute’s 2010-11 edition of its annual Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey – the only African representation in the exclusive list.

“One such way that we have achieved this increased awareness is through our participation in the annual QS World MBA Tour to five cities around the world. The international dimension is important and this is why all our MBA students have to undertake a compulsory international study module to different regions in the world, such as Asia, Europe and the Americas – all included in the class fees. During these modules our students visit the head offices of leading global companies and organisations such as Toyota, Nokia, Skype, the European Bank and many more.”

While ratings and rankings based on the opinions of business leaders employing MBA graduates such as the QS Global 200 Business Schools Report are important a further measure of the quality of a schools ability to deliver a world class education is international accreditations that independently audits schools on a host of stringent criteria. The USB has been accredited by two of the three major accreditation bodies in the world – EQUIS (from the European Foundation for Management Development) and AMBA (from the Association of MBAs). The USB is the only business school of a South African university to have achieved this.