MBA – Master of Business Administration – is a business management training at the graduate level. Training available at a business school or a University abroad often referred to as a business school. The training aims primarily at providing experienced or potential leaders with the opportunity to expand their leadership skills, particularly focusing on strategic management.

The study usually lasts 1-2 years full time or can be carried out over a number of years as part-time or distance study. Executive MBA (abbreviated EMBA or E * MBA) refers often to more targeted and shorter MBA courses for more experienced leaders. The Studio is often structured in different modules, for example. human resource management, finance, and marketing, but all together with a focus on strategic management. Frequently used case studies as the basis for the preparation of reports, as the students will be judged on the basis of.

Education was first introduced in the United States in the post-war period and has since reached spread to special United Kingdom and other European countries, including Denmark. On the other hand, training virtually unknown in Japan, which, among other things. due to different perceptions of what a leader is. An underlying performance for MBA program is that leadership is something you can learn or get better at using a number of methods and techniques. This idea has been criticized because leadership is a social activity that also requires experience, maturity and dedication. For the same reason a sufficient age often an entry requirements on European MBA studies. In the United States have persons with a bachelor’s degree and no professional experience, however, also possible to search in to most MBA studies, but the emphasis is on students with no professional experience has achieved a particular level of analytical and practical competence in their bachelor’s study.

MBA courses will be closely monitored and the rank listed by media and accreditation organizations. It offers prospective students a better opportunity to choose the right MBA education, since there can be a big difference in prestige and quality. The price level of an MBA are also usually much higher than regular Masters courses (in the case of user fees), since employers often are involved in paying the costs.

More abbreviations that appear most frequently around the MBA

If you are thinking of completing an MBA or a master’s degree, you will inevitably come into contact with a wide variety of abbreviations. In the following, we list in alphabetical order those of which you are most likely to hear or read – and we explain what the short form means.

AACSB
AACSB means “American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business” or “Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.” Its members include the majority of the leading US universities and many top companies. The AACSB is a US accreditation body for MBA training programs. The accreditation by the AACSB determines whether you can hold an MBA earned in Germany in Germany, whether you are granted a scholarship or whether the university is included in one of the major US university rankings. The AACSB accredits worldwide; accreditation by the AACSB is the internationally recognized proof of quality for an MBA program.

ACQUIN
The Accreditation, Certification and Quality Assurance Institute (ACQUIN) is known as the largest of a total of 6 accreditation agencies which, on behalf of the German Foundation for the Accreditation of Study Programs, provide the technical and content-related assessment of courses with the degrees Bachelor / Bachelor and Master / Magister carried out nationally and internationally.

ACQUIN is a registered non-profit organization and is supported by its members, which meanwhile include over 100 universities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, the Middle East, Kazakhstan, China and the USA, as well as scientific professional and professional associations. The head office is located in Bayreuth, the founding president was Klaus Dieter Wolff.

AMBA
The AMBA is the UK’s most prestigious accreditation body. It primarily accredits UK MBA programs. Students and graduates of British MBA programs and selected foreign MBA programs are eligible. Anyone booking a British MBA program should make sure that it has been accredited by the AACSB, by the EFMD (according to EQUIS) or by the AMBA.

AHPGS
The Accreditation Agency in the field of health and social affairs (AHPGS) distinguishes itself as an interdisciplinary and multi-professional organization, whose main task is to offer Bachelor and Master degree programs in the field of health and social affairs as well as in related and related fields of activity (program accreditation) and the internal control and accreditation of quality assurance systems (system accreditation) at universities, technical colleges, universities of teacher education and art and music colleges.

The AHPGS works as a registered non-profit association, which is supported by the departmental days or dean conferences of curative education, nursing, health and social work, representatives of scientific societies as well as relevant professional, specialist and supporting associations from the relevant fields of action and by private individuals. The declared aim of the AHPGS is to support quality assurance, academization and professionalization of the health and social professions in Germany.

AKAST
The Bonn public law foundation for the accreditation of study programs in Germany is legally responsible for organizing the system of quality assurance in study and teaching through the accreditation of study programs. For this purpose, rules for the accreditation of degree programs and for system accreditation are adopted, for example. AKAST also carries out the approval of accreditation agencies. The foundation is also known as the Accreditation Council.

ASIIN
ASII, founded in 1999 as an independent non-profit association, merged in 2002 with the accreditation agency for courses in chemistry, biochemistry and chemical engineering at universities and technical colleges, which gave rise to today’s ASIIN. The Düsseldorf-based ASIIN eV (accreditation agency for courses in engineering, computer science, natural sciences and mathematics) is committed nationally and internationally to the recognition, comparability and quality testing (accreditation) of bachelor’s and master’s programs. ASIIN eV is one of ten accreditation agencies examined by the Accreditation Council.

AStA or StuRa
These are the most important bodies for students. AStA stands for General Student Committee and is the “government” for students. It is elected by the student parliament and carries out tasks such as social and housing advice. He is also responsible for negotiating the price of the semester ticket and issuing the ISIC. The StuRa (Student Council) exists in many East German universities. He has duties both from the AStA and from Parliament.

BAföG
The Federal Education Promotion Act has existed since 1971 and offers state aid to students on a tight budget. The BaFöG office overflows on time in October, because the application must be submitted in autumn. In addition to the student, the parents must also disclose their income and assets. The BAföG is a maximum of 670 euros, of which half must be paid back after graduation.

ECTS
The ECTS, European Credit Transfer (and Accumulation) system, is designed to make student performance comparable so that it can be credited and accumulated when changing from one university to another. Students who have successfully completed a module receive a fixed number of credit points. This type of assessment of performance is typical for Bachelor and Master courses.

The credit points (LP) should represent the average workload of the course (the “Work Load”). The basis for awarding the credit points is the assumption of an average amount of work to be done for the degree, measured in hours. The effort of 1500 – 1800 hours per academic year is expressed in 60 CP. One credit point corresponds to 25 to 30 working hours. With the ECTS system, the average learning, preparation and post-processing of an event can be taken into account over the semester weekly hours. In the case of modules with increased workload, this is not evident due to the presence at the university (semester hours per week); however, by the number of credits acquired, where the credits for the entire module represent the sum of the effort for the individual module parts.

EDEXCEL
This British company was founded in 1996 as an organization that deals with the qualification of academic and professional training in the fields of mathematics, science, languages ​​and history. From an international perspective, EDEXCEL is the largest examination board in private hands. Upon completion of an EDEXCEL exam, you will receive a corresponding internationally recognized certificate as proof of successful completion.

EDUQUA
The term EDUQUA is a Swiss certification procedure for training institutions. It has existed since 2000 and ensures the quality of further training offers. An institution that has this certificate can list it on the market as a quality certificate.

In the sense of a quality label, it offers consumers a guarantee for the overall quality of an educational institute. In many Swiss cantons, this certificate is a prerequisite for public funds to be awarded. The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK) therefore recommends that its members pay attention to this certificate when awarding contributions to private education providers.

EFMD
The European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) was founded in Brussels in 1972 and is an international organization in the legal form of an association that deals with the accreditation of business schools and various management training programs. The EFMD has around 44 members in Germany, which mainly include DAX companies, public and private universities, business schools and technical universities. The organization also deals with the exchange of best practice and benchmarking in the areas of management training and further education.

EQUIS
EQUIS is the abbreviation for “European Quality Improvement System”. It is therefore a business school accreditation system that was introduced in Brussels in 1997 by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). The initiative, supported by the Commission of the European Union, was implemented in close cooperation with the already existing national, European accreditation institutions.

The aim of this initiative, similar to that in the USA, is to introduce a uniform European quality standard for business schools from the local accreditation body AACSB that meets international requirements.

EPAS
EPAS is an international program accreditation system. It evaluates the quality of economic and management programs with an international focus and accredits them accordingly. Each program is reviewed in detail and compared with other international programs. EPAS is based on the same process steps as EQUIS.

Evalag
Evalag (Evaluation Agency Baden-Württemberg), founded in 2000, is a foundation under public law and was created on the basis of agreements between the Ministry of Science, Research and Art of Baden-Württemberg and the state’s universities. Evalag is committed to non-profit purposes and as a competence center for quality assurance and quality development supports German and international universities, other scientific institutions and ministries in their commitment to quality in teaching, research and services. Evalag takes care of the coordination and support of evaluation procedures, conducts institutional quality assurance audits, advises in the area of ​​quality management and also organizes assessment procedures within the framework of science funding.

FIBAA
The FIBAA (Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation) is an accreditation agency that carries out the technical and content-related assessment of courses on behalf of the Accreditation Council. It is a tri-national foundation. The head office is in Zurich, the main office is in Bonn. The main field of work of the FIBAA is the assessment of economics-oriented courses. It is recognized by the German and the Dutch Accreditation Council.

FIBAA is an international, but primarily active in Europe quality and accreditation agency. It supports universities in the further development of their Bachelor, Master and PhD courses. The goals are on the one hand the quality improvement of the study programs and on the other hand of course the accreditation of the course. FIBAA provides advice on quality management, assesses the degree program and checks the requirements for the awarding of the FIBAA quality seal. The advantage of FIBAA’s activities, like that of accreditation agencies in general, lies in the better comparability of training offers: Economics-based courses, their providers, students, companies and other accreditation agencies experience transparency.

GMAT
The GMAT is a four-hour, standardized test in English designed by the Education Testing Service (ETS) and offered worldwide on behalf of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). It determines the logical and verbal skills of the participants who have to take the test under time pressure. The test result shows the comprehension in view of complex facts, the analytical thinking ability and the problem-solving competence. From this, the efficiency of the working method and subsequently the chances of success can be read in an MBA program.

At renowned business schools, the GMAT is mandatory and the decisive size is the number of points. Although formally only one of many selection criteria, the GMAT has a high priority as part of the application documents. An excellent GMAT result can open the door to a business school, a bad one can destroy all opportunities. This means that preparation for the GMAT is highly recommended. It can mean the difference between “average” and “shortlist”.

A recommended GMAT course should be able to convey the required mathematical and linguistic knowledge, the most efficient solution strategies and the shortest possible solutions. The course itself ensures better understanding and easier memorization of learning content. An additional advantage is the interactivity of the courses, which sharpens the sense for efficient solutions and the time budget. You can also see which area you are behind and where you have a head start. It should not be forgotten that you can compare your own performance with the performance of other participants.

IELTS
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a special language test that determines individual skills in the English language. The test is mainly taken by students who plan to study at a university in an English-speaking country or at a German university. Most universities in Australia, the UK, Ireland, Canada, and New Zealand, as well as more than 3,000 facilities in the United States, accept this test as an admission requirement. In Germany, too, more and more universities and technical colleges are demanding the IELTS for their degree programs if they contain international components. Anyone working in the medical field must take the IELTS test in any case in order to obtain a work permit in the countries mentioned above.

ISIC
The ISIC is the “International Student Identity Card”. In addition to the normal student ID, it can be applied for in order to identify yourself as a student worldwide and to be able to use all the advantages. The advantages of this depend on the country. From shopping percentages to hotel discounts. The ISIC is valid for one year and costs 15 euros.

In its long form, OAQ OAQ means “organ for accreditation and quality assurance of Swiss universities”. In cooperation with the Swiss University Conference, the OAQ carries out the accreditation of public or private university institutions and courses in Switzerland. The OAQ works independently and uses internationally recognized methods. It also draws on the knowledge and experience of renowned experts.

TOEFL
The TOEFL is a standardized test that all applicants whose mother tongue is not English or who do not have a degree from an English university must take. The test is designed in multiple choice format. The TOEFL is stored on the computer in the same test centers as the GMAT. Registration for German test centers in the Netherlands also takes place. Falling through is not possible; the minimum number of points required by the respective business school must be achieved. 0 to 300 points are possible. If you achieve the required number of points, the TOEFL is of little importance for the further application process. The test can be repeated until you have achieved the required number of points. Since this involves time and money, at least a short preparation is recommended. You can concentrate on the rules that are the subject of the TOEFL.

ZEvA
The Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (ZEvA) was founded in 1995 by several universities in Lower Saxony and is now financed by the Lower Saxony state government. Since 1998 it has had its own accreditation department, which acts across disciplines, universities and countries. In 2000, ZEvA was certified by the German Foundation for the Accreditation of Study Programs, making it the first accreditation agency in Germany. It not only provides accreditations, but also has an advisory role, for example with regard to international programs. ZEvA is a member of various international accreditation associations and, due to its early foundation, in many cases even a founding member of these associations.