SMC University - Swiss Management Center

[Trude]

Hi

My first post here.

I am thinking about applying for the MBA programme at SMC. Does anybody know whether or not the diploma and programme is generally accepted by European companies/countries. I know that there are some issues with the Swiss accreditation of SMC, I don't quite understand it though and don't worry too much about it since I am not going to work in Switzerland. But maybe I should worry about it??

The SMC programme seems very appealing to me because of the flexibility ( I am already in a management position).

Before I invest my money I just want to make sure that I get a Diploma that will in general be accepted by employers?

ACBSP is american, will European companies also accept this accreditation as sufficient or is there a standard they always refer to when hiring MBA's

Hope somebody can enlighten me a bit

Thanks in advance

Jesper

[Eric]

This one is interesting.

They don't have Institutional Accreditation. They don't have degree granting authority from the local government.
The Ph.D is unaccredited. Only Business programs are specialty accredited.

[SteveFoerster]

They don't have degree granting authority from the local government.

Yes, they do. That's done at the canton (province) level in Switzerland, and SMC is authorized by the Canton of Zug. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean much, apparently in many cantons getting that sort of authorization is a formality. But that's not the same as not having it at all.

The Ph.D is unaccredited. Only Business programs are specialty accredited.

Including all of their MBA programs, which is what interests the original poster.

As you say, though, it' s an interesting case. The reason their PhD isn't accredited is not accredited is not that it's not in a business subject, because broadly speaking it is, and SMC's Doctorate in Political Economy is ACBSP accredited. Evidently, the reason is that ACBSP doesn't like the program's design because of its explicit focus on a particular school of economic thought, and SMC has decided to keep the program the way it is rather than change it to accommodate ACBSP.

-=Steve=-

[Michael Dell]

Before I invest my money I just want to make sure that I get a Diploma that will in general be accepted by employers?

An employer is not obligated to accept any degree, accredited or unaccredited, earned or honorary, traditional or non-traditional.

[Rich Douglas]

Before I invest my money I just want to make sure that I get a Diploma that will in general be accepted by employers?

An employer is not obligated to accept any degree, accredited or unaccredited, earned or honorary, traditional or non-traditional.

This fails to address the poster's question. Degree acceptability is an extremely important issue, and accreditation (or equivalent) is a vital factor in predicting that.

While you're statement is factually correct, it is misleading. No, employers are not "obligated," but they usually have policies and practices in this area, and prospective students are correct in trying to determine whether or not the degree they intend to seek will be acceptable. One may not be able to predict whether or not a degree will be accepted in a particular situation--but can in most--but one should ensure acceptability in order to maximize one's prospects. It is not a level playing field--the odds are highly stacked in favor of degrees from properly accredited schools.

[caddy]

This one is interesting.

They don't have Institutional Accreditation. They don't have degree granting authority from the local government.
The Ph.D is unaccredited. Only Business programs are specialty accredited.

What do you know about their institutional accreditation? I did talk to them and they said the Canton of Zug allows them to grant forgien degress

[johann]

What do you know about their institutional accreditation? I did talk to them and they said the Canton of Zug allows them to grant forgien degress

As others have noted, the school has NO institutional accreditation. That doesn't mean it's a "bad" school - it isn't. It does mean that you might have trouble getting the degrees "accepted," by those unwilling to accept them based on the programs' (all but two) ACBSP-accreditation.

Yes, the school does have Cantonal permission (Zug) to award degrees to foreigners - but this is NOT accreditation and does not make them equivalent to degrees from Federally-approved Swiss Universities - or to any other type of degree. Cantonally-permitted degrees are indeed "legal" - i.e. a school commits no offence by awarding them - but no value whatsoever is ascribed to the degrees by this Cantonal "blessing." (Kind of like an old-style Alabama State license.)

The U.S. situation is "iffy." The school is not on the Maine, Oregon or Michigan lists - but those States say that their "proscribed" lists are not complete and not being listed (yet) is no guarantee of acceptability. Texas Higher Ed. has outright nixed degrees from this school.

My take? I'd accept degrees in a second from programs that are good enough to get the ACBSP seal of approval. But then I'm nobody... so it doesn't count.

Johann

P.S. I've read that the degrees of this school are recognized (and listed) as "deficient" in Germany - but this isn't the kind of recognition we want to hear, is it?

[johann]

Hi again -

It's easy to wonder how a school with no institutional accreditation managed to gain ACBSP accreditation for most of its programs.

The answer lies in ACBSP requirements. ACBSP requires either accreditation OR "degree-granting authority." SMC successfully convinced ACBSP that their Cantonal permission was sufficient "degree granting authority." Well...it is that, I guess. No reflection on the school, which obviously offers good instruction and programs, but this kind of "degree-granting authority" is 'way closer to a State License than it is to RA, in U.S. terms. However, it was good enough for the ACBSP to evaluate the programs and grant accreditation to seven out of nine...

Johann

PS. I'm also told there are good reasons why SMC is not likely ever to achieve standing as a mainstream Federally-approved Swiss University. One of the requirements is at least 100 full-time professors and there are other non-academic standards that would be all but impossible for a distance school of this nature to fulfil. Again - no reflection on SMC's instruction or programs.