What is Assurance of Learning (AoL)?
Assurance of Learning (AoL) is a quality management system, which improves the students learning success and supports the faculty for Business Administration to comply with the highest standards in education permanently. The AoL process controls and improves the quality of degree programs and evaluates, if the participants reach the defined learning expectations and gain specific key competencies. For all degree programs offered at the faculty of Business Administration as well as the Mannheim Business School clear competency goals have been defined, which are reviewed by the AoL process. AoL is also part of the AACSB standards for the accreditation of business schools and is mandatory for all through AACSB accredited business schools.
Along with the AoL managers of the Dean’s Office at the Business School each functional area provides AoL coordinators, who are responsible for the realization of the AoL process. All Competency Goals as well as their review are decided by the AoL Program Committee, which consists of representatives from teaching staff, student body and industry .
Bachelor in Business Administration
- Subject-Specific Knowledge: Participants will be able to apply subjectspecific knowledge to identify and solve problems in the relevant academic areas.
- Critical Thinking: Participants will have critical thinking skills with respect to business decision making.
- Intercultural Competence and Social Responsibility: Participants will be sensitized to intercultural diversity and embrace social responsibility.
- Resilient Decision Maker: Participants will be capable of making decisions to solve relevant organizational and societal problems based on a rigorous application of research methods and techniques.
Bachelor in Economic and Business Education
- Instructional Theory: Participants will use instructional concepts in Economic and Business Education.
- Instructional Design: Participants will conceptualize learning environments in Economic and Business Education.
- Instructional Practice: Participants will engage theory-driven in vocational schools and business organizations.
- Instructional Research: Participants will conduct instructional research and compose reports on findings in Economic and Business Education.
Mannheim Master in Management
- Profound subject-specific knowledge: Participants are able to differentiate and apply conceptual, theoretical and empirical groundworks in pivotal business domains.
- Professional managerial skills: Participants will be proficient team players, analytical decision-makers, and responsible, self-reliant professionals.
- Social responsibility: Participants will be critical, reflective, and ethical decision-makers.
- Enhanced scientific research capabilities: Participants will be highly skilled researchers and analysts.
Master in Economic and Business Education
- Instructional Theory: Participants will distinguish instructional concepts in the context of Economic and Business Education.
- Instructional Design: Participants will orchestrate learning environments in Economic and Business Education.
- Instructional Practice: Participants will exhibit instructional practice in vocational schools and business organizations.
- Instructional Research: Participants will conduct instructional research and produce scientific outcomes.
Mannheim MBA
- General Management Knowledge: Participants will have general management knowledge.
- Smart Decision Maker: Participants will be innovative and strategic decision makers.
- Global Social Responsibility and Sustainability: Participants will be sensitized to ethical and social implications related to business decisions.
- Collaboration and Leadership: Participants will act up to the importance of teamwork and leadership in order to develop promising solutions to a complex problem.
Executive MBA
- General Management Knowledge: Participants have general management knowledge.
- Smart Decision Maker: Participants will be innovative and strategic decision makers.
- Global Social Responsibility and Sustainability: Participants will be aware of ethical and social implications related to business decisions.
- Team player and effective leader: Participants will be self-aware leaders committed to collaboration.
Mannheim Master in Management Analytics
- General Knowledge: Participants will have knowledge in management and analytical methods.
- Smart Decision Maker: Participants will be innovative and make data-driven strategic decisions.
- Ethics in Data Science: Participants will consider ethical and social implications related to business decisions in management, will be responsible in using data and protect individuals’ privacy.
Mannheim Master of Accounting
- Specific knowledge in accounting: Participants will have specific knowledge in accounting.
- Specific knowledge in German law: Participants will have specific knowledge in German law.
- Application of knowledge across disciplines: Participants will apply interdisciplinary in-depth knowledge in the fields of business and economics.
- Composition of solution strategies: Participants compose solution strategies to tackle an unfamiliar problem.
Mannheim Master of Taxation
- Specific knowledge in taxation: Participants will have specific knowledge in taxation.
- Specific knowledge in German law: Participants will have specific knowledge in German law.
- Application of knowledge across disciplines: Participants will apply interdisciplinary in-depth knowledge in the fields of business and economics.
- Composition of solution strategies: Participants compose solution strategies to tackle an unfamiliar problem.
Mannheim Master in in Sustainability and Impact Management
- General Knowledge: Participants will have comprehensive general knowledge in sustainability and management.
- Impact Management Skills: Participants will develop methodological skills to understand and measure business impacts on people, planet, and profit.
- Smart Change Agents: Participants will develop personal skills to become pro-active change agents in their organizations and beyond.
Doctoral Studies
- Profound background knowledge: Participants have a profound theoretical and methodological knowledge in their research field and in neighboring fields
- Internationally competitive research level: Participants conduct innovative and internationally recognized research in their areas of specialization
- Competent communication of research: Participants competently present their results to the research community
Assurance of Learning provides evidence-based insights in the quality of education and the curriculum, which allows the teaching staff to continuously improve the course – and study options for an optimal study support and guarantees excellent performance of our students.
As an associate lecturer at the University of Mannheim and Chief People Officer & Member of the Managing Board of SAP (Switzerland) AG I know the teaching program as well as the requirements of the working environment first hand. As representative of the companies in the AoL program committee I introduce this perspective, for example during the development of new competency goals in our degree programs, which lead to an optimal preparation of our students’ careers in leadership positions.
At the Mannheim Business School we provide worldwide high standards in management training. To keep our high standards and provide further development corresponding to current requirements from economy and society, a continuous quality assurance in our programs is a must. For that reason we are glad to be part of a structured and international accredited process with Assurance of Learning, which assures that our students gain the competencies they need for their career.
For me Assurance of Learning means assisting in the decision-making process which will enable our students’ endeavors to acquire the necessary skills during their time in Mannheim. AoL is more than a simple checklist, it is a useful instrument which assures that all students work to be their best. The opportunity to work hand in hand with the faculty to make our education in Mannheim future-proof is something that we as the student body value.
If you have any questions concerning our AoL process, please write an email to aol.bwluni-mannheim.de.
Contact Persons at the Faculty of Business Administration
