Thammasat Business School (TBS) is the second accounting and business education institution in South East Asia to Singapore which has received the Triple-Crown certification from 3 world accredited institutions (EQUIS, AACSB, AMBA). With less than 1% of commercial and business administration accounting institutions from educational institutions around the world that have been certified for all 3 accredited institutions.
Associate Professor Dr. Pipop Udorn, Dean of the Thammasat Business School, Thammasat University said that “People is an important force for the country. Developing people is our resolution and we have always adhered to it.” Since Thailand stepped into the era of the trade, investment and driving industries in those days, besides accelerating the development and reform of the economic structure, we cannot deny the importance of the preparation for national personnel in business administration. Laying the foundation for education for the youth is like the structure of the house that is piling firmly.
Eighty years ago at the Thammasat Business School, Thammasat University has built graduates and masters in the field of business administration as an important force in administration in both government and private organizations with many famous alumni who have created benefits for our society.
With the vision of becoming “The model for Thailand’s best Business School and elevating the standard of education to match with other international business management institutions, applying for certification of educational standards is to guarantee the quality of TBS.
The First Accreditation : Year 2012
EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS)
In 2012, TBS applied for the certification of the curriculum and passed the assessment of the certification of international education standards for the first EQUIS (EFMD Quality Improvement System).
EQUIS is a prestigious organization in the field of business administration from the European Union that is recognized worldwide. There are strict rules for the certification of standards such as institutions must established network with organizations and business companies (Corporate Connection), teaching based on social consciousness and responsive to the world and the environment, being internationalized in all dimensions for the curriculum, faculty and students.
However, such educational standards are not only for one time and will last forever, but it will be re-evaluated every 3 years. TBS has passed the evaluation and has been certified continuously since 2015.
The Second Accreditation : Year 2017
AACSB (The Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business)
Later in 2017, TBS has passed the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), USA, in terms of being an institution high-level academic management. The AACSB’s criteria focus on academic programs, faculty members with published works, strict selection process for professors and students, etc.
Accreditation from AACSB is another great achievement of TBS because there are less than 5% of the Faculty of Business Administration in 53 countries around the world to receive this accreditation. This certification, when combined with EQUIS, TBS is the only institution in Thailand which has been certified by two major institutions in the world, AACSB from the United States of America and EQUIS from the European Union, for all levels which are bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.
The Third Accreditation : Year 2018
AMBA (Association of MBAs)
Latest in November 2018, TBS has passed the international education standard for the MBA program from the AMBA (Association of MBAs) in the UK. By passing this standard, TBS has earned the status of being a Business School with “Triple Crown Accreditation” for being considered international education standards from the three leading institutions in the world which are EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), The Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business (AACSB) and Association of MBAs (AMBA).
From statistics, there are less than 1% of universities in the world that are accredited. There are 13,670 Business Administration institutions around the world, but only 90 institutions of which have passed all three standards.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pipop, said “The differences between the three certifications are AACSB will evaluate by emphasize on the curriculums, deepens into the details of all courses while EQUIS evaluates the overall picture and emphasizes in networking. Lastly, AMBA will evaluate the MBA program with criteria which are completely different from the bachelor’s degree program. The bachelor’s degree program is aimed to prepare the students to be ready to step out into the world while the MBA focuses on people with work experiences and aims to enhance their skills and capabilities needed to uplift the status of their professions. The evaluation criteria of the AMBA, then, emphasizes on the Host Graduated Experience. All three institutions will continue to evaluate and seek for further improvements. If the progress is seized to exist, the certifications may be reclaimed. Therefore, the critical criteria in the evaluation is to be excellent and to continuously improve every year.”
Lastly, being certified by all three institutions results in entering into the world-class business administration network in business management such as PIM (Partnership in International Management) which normally only one or two universities can become members.
“We are the first institution in Thailand who entered into the PIM network as one of 65 universities from only 32 countries worldwide. We have been entrusted to host the PIM meeting, first held in Thailand, on 23-25 October 2019.” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pipop concluded.