QUALITY ASSURANCE

We welcome external controls relating to our academic activities and internal organisation. Our sustainability status has also been assessed.

Accreditations

We belong to a select group of business schools that are accredited by all three major international management school quality assessors. This “triple crown” accreditation recognises our commitment to setting the highest management education and research standards. Each of these accreditations prioritises sustainability – and we have retained each of them since they were first awarded to us.

The European Quality Improvement System – EQUIS

Assesses, improves and accredits business schools worldwide. We first gained EQUIS quality certification in 2001. A key focus for EQUIS is ethics, responsibility and sustainability.

First accredited: 2001

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business – AACSB

Engages with business schools globally to accelerate innovation that creates positive social impact. AACSB assesses factors including diversity and inclusion, global mindset, ethics and integrity, social impact, social responsibility and community.

First accredited: 2004

The Association of MBAs – AMBA

Is the international quality certification authority on postgraduate management education. AMBA expects business schools to develop holistic, innovative, and responsible leaders who will have a positive impact on organisations and society. They recognise schools that nurture the knowledge, skills, diversity and values needed to succeed in complex, ambiguous environments.

First accredited: 2001 for our MBA and Masters in General Management programmes

The Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders – NVAO

Has accredited all of our MBA and Masters programmes. The organisation safeguards the quality of higher education in the region.

Rankings

Ever since we first appeared in the leading management education rankings, we have been recognised as one of Europe’s best schools.

Each year, the Financial Times (FT) publishes rankings for institutions and specific programmes, including ESG content and student and faculty profiles.

Sustainability accreditation

We link research and theory directly to implementation and action. So it’s no surprise that we’re taking exactly the same approach with sustainability.

In 2023, for the first time, we invited EcoVadis to audit the school. We have been awarded a bronze EcoVadis medal – and the assessment has also given us the tangible feedback we need to further improve our performance.

Our EcoVadis accreditation in detail

The bronze EcoVadis medal is awarded to organisations that score more than 50 out of 100 overall. Our score is 54/100 – which places us in the 59th percentile. The average score in the category of “other education” is 45/100.

EcoVadis evaluates sustainability impact across four areas: environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. These are our scores in each:

Ethical business conduct

Transparency, accountability and integrity are fundamental to the ways we work, at all levels of our organisation.

We have formal policies and a code of conduct that set clear expectations for ethical behaviour. All colleagues must agree to these when they join the school. Policies cover areas including:

  • IP
  • Information security and data processing
  • Anti-bribery and corruption

Our whistleblowing procedure is provided through a confidential counselling service.

We expect all research colleagues and faculty to read and sign our charter of good academic practice. This framework helps colleagues to avoid academic misconduct. It also provides clear guidelines about authorship and whistleblowing – and describes the role of the Scientific Ombudsperson and the Committee for Research Ethics and Integrity. Our researchers learn the principles of academic practice in dedicated workshops and sessions.

Each year, in our Great Place to Work® survey, we ask colleagues to what extent they agree with the statement “Management is honest and ethical in its business practices”. In 2023, 84% of our colleagues “strongly agreed” with this statement. We’re working to push this figure higher.

Information security

Vlerick handles large volumes of personal data. We also provide open and collaborative learning environments.

This means we have strict measures in place to deter and prevent cybercrime, including:

  • Security awareness training
  • Regular phishing tests
  • Our ICT code of conduct

Our researchers learn research data management, including processing, storage and data sharing.

In addition, we have an extensive privacy policy that provides guidance on personal data processing, storage and protection. Our Data Protection Officer oversees implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

We have measures in place to protect third-party data. These include independent information security risk assessments – and having a responsible disclosure policy. We also welcome external feedback and audits.

“

As part of the safe implementation of our IT roadmap, we have recently appointed PwC to carry out an IT security audit. The aim of this is to discover vulnerabilities and blind spots – as well as highlighting strengths. The scope of the audit includes IT security on campus, as well as student and colleague laptops.”

— Wim Wauterickx, IT Manager, Vlerick Business School

Sustainable procurement policy

We take environmental and social factors into account when we’re ordering products and services. Examples include:

  • Our partnership with Sodexo – whose catering services leverage local, organic, fairtrade suppliers, operate a zero-waste kitchen, and whose offer includes vegetarian and vegan options
  • Cotton library tote bags
  • Using eco-friendly paper
  • Offering locally produced organic honey as gifts

We aim to create a formal sustainable procurement policy. This policy will span environmental and social factors – including labour practices and human rights. We will also ask our suppliers to take action to increase diversity in our supply chain.