14510: Shift in Accreditation Standards: Societal Impact and Holistic Skills

Each year the issues of our planet become more pressing. There has become a need for a change in higher education based on the rapid and dynamic changes of the world. Accreditation institutions are starting to notice this change leading to a shift of focus in their standards. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Association of MBAs (AMBA), and the European Foundation for Management Development’s (EFMD) are the three leading international accreditation bodies for many business and management schools. Since the global pandemic in 2020 the need for a stronger and more positive societal impact has been evident in our world, and is now being reflected in accreditation standards. Each of these institutions highlight the importance of societal impact or social responsibility, and the holistic skills needed to achieve them as a requirement for accreditation. The Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) is an initiative of the UN Global Compact. PRME’s mission is to transform management education and develop the responsible decision-makers of tomorrow to advance sustainable development. In this PDW, PRME will share a unique lens on how to achieve societal impact through the usage of the SDGs as a framework in reporting while also emphasizing the importance of holistic skillset development in students. Furthermore, participants will be engaging and discussing how PRME resources can be used as a tool to aid business schools with reporting as well as acquiring and maintaining accreditation.