ACBSP Signals Expansion With European Office
January 20, 2012
Business school accreditation agency, the Accreditation for Business Schools and Programs, announced Friday the opening a European office in Brussels, Belgium.
The ACBSP has expanded to 2,095 individual business schools and universities in 44 countries since beginning operations 25 years ago as a U.S.-based accrediting body.
“Online learning is new way of collaboration in a global economy,” executive director Doug Viehland told OnlineMBA.com in December. He sees the virtual classroom as a testbed giving students the skills that they will need, first, to decide what kind of learner they are and, second, practice online communication in a global economy.
In a press release Friday, Viehland reiterated this point.
“We selected Brussels as our base for European operations because it is the location of many of the government bodies and organizations with which ACBSP has contact,” said Viehland. “Securing this office is the culmination of a two-year project begun by our board of directors and members of the International Council for Business Schools and Programs to expand our global reach to current and prospective colleges and universities outside the U.S.,” he said.
The Council has appointed Dr. Panos Kostakos of Athens, Greece, as the new director of European operations.
“Our physical presence in Brussels will seek to strengthen and deepen the institutional affiliations and visibility of ACBSP and its members in Europe,” Kostakos said.
Kostakos joined ACBSP in November 2011, based in Brussels, Belgium. He has a BA (Hons.) in International Relations and Politics from the University of the West of England and a Ph.D in International Studies from the University of Bath.
– Alanna Stage, @alannatweets
