I. Rationale
Business schools and business are a force for good in society. Through their activities,
schools have the opportunity to make a difference to society and to address significant
issues at a local, national, or international scale. This standard builds on Standard 8,
where the impact on society made by business schools’ intellectual contributions and
thought leadership is covered, by requiring schools to outline the societal impact that
their other school activities is having, and their aspirations and plans in this area for the
future.
II. Clarifying Guidance
Aspiration
As in Standard 8, it is recognized that because schools have different missions and
contexts, their aspirations in the area of societal impact and their progress to date will
differ enormously. This variance is considered for this standard, as the school analyzes
and evaluates how it is progressing against its aspiration through internal and external
activities and initiatives, as well as describes its plans for the next five years. For this
reason, AACSB does not prescribe normative benchmarks for societal impact but
allows the school to develop aspirational metrics in areas consistent with Standard 1.
Emphasis
The emphasis in this standard is on engagement by schools with external stakeholders
that lead to societal impact. This engagement does not include intellectual
contributions, as that is covered in Standard 8.
Scale
Business schools operate in different contexts and at different scales. Taking this into
account, societal impact can be achieved at a local, regional, national, or international
scale. Impacts at each of these scales is recognized by AACSB as having value.
Coverage
It is necessary to determine what kinds of activities would be included in this standard
and what would not—in other words what is “in scope.” The underlying principle is that if
the activity is facilitated or sponsored by the business school, the activity is one that can
be considered in scope for the school.
Thus, what is in scope would cover a wide range of activities and initiatives by the
school, separated into internal and external. Internal activities are inside the school.
Examples include operational aspects that have a societal impact, such as having green
certified buildings, setting high standards for energy efficiency in buildings, reducing
face-to-face meetings in multi-campus universities, using solar panels for energy, or
providing financial assistance for learners who are facing financial hardships, etc.
Business schools undertake a wide range of activities that engage and connect with
external stakeholders. These include student projects with business, nonprofit, and
government organizations; service-learning requirements for students that incorporate
external stakeholders; student clubs in the business school that undertake social or
environmental service roles; experiential learning opportunities for students that involve
engaging with external stakeholders; the establishment of small business development
and advice centers in schools; business consortiums brought together by the school to
work on real-world issues; the delivery of executive education programs, etc. All of
these instances, and others, have the potential to have societal impact. It is possible
that some service-learning or experiential learning activities may be relevant to both
Standard 4 on curriculum and this standard. The difference is that the curriculum
element is captured in Standard 4, while the impact of the activity is captured in this
standard.
Exemplars of Engagement with External Stakeholders
The school should provide exemplars linking an internal or external activity to a societal
impact. This involves identifying the activity, the extent to which the activity was
promoted or supported by the school, faculty involvement (if any) with the activity, the
number of students involved, and the impact the activity had or continues to have on
society.
Possible societal impacts include but are not limited to the following:
- Contributions to major world issues, such as those identified by the U.N.
Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”);
- Effects on business development;
- Provide access to high-quality education leading to graduates who positively
contribute to the economic vitality of society;
- Improved financial performance of organizations;
- Contributing to business creation;
- Improved health and safety outcomes;
- Effect on human rights;
- Examples of impacting community outcomes;
- Examples of changes to business practice arising from engagement;
- Examples of where business performance has been improved as a result of
engagement with the school;
- Examples of public-sector policy changed or impacted by engagement with the
school;
- Outline of positive effects on identified societal issues arising from the school’s
research contributions, for example, on the social, economic, or physical
environment; and/or
- Impact of the school on the local, regional or national economy.
Examples of School Activities That Have Societal Impact
Some examples of business school activities having societal impact are below. These
examples are not intended to be the “correct” ones. Rather, they illustrate the societal
impact activities of some schools in different regions of the world. Additionally, the
examples below provide an overview only. Fuller details will be provided by schools.
1. Societal Impact: Climate Change (EMEA)
Face-to-face executive committee meetings between heads of departments on
different campuses have been cut from 11 to four per year, with conference calls
reducing travel costs by up to 40 percent.
2. Societal Impact: Affordable and Clean Energy (Americas)
The school’s newest building is LEED gold certified by the U.S. Green Building Council
and partly powered by solar panels.
3. Societal Impact: Business Innovation and Employment (AP)
The school provides executive education and short courses for local startups and
small businesses to innovate and improve the sustainability of their businesses.
4. Societal Impact: Well-Being and Social Inclusion (AP)
The school provides community-wide training to improve financial literacy, adoption of
technology, and access to banking and credit for low-income families.
5. Societal Impact: Reduce Inequality (Americas)
Significant hardship grants and scholarships are made available to students from high
deprivation index backgrounds.
6. Societal Impact: Life Cycle of Water (EMEA)
Students in the Sustainability and Social Innovation master’s degree were involved in a
wide range of projects that, through partnerships with external stakeholders, have had
a societal impact. Notable here was a plastics-free project.
Although the examples above are in a narrative format, schools are welcome to provide
quantitative measures of their societal impact if they have measured it that way.
Progress Over Time
It is expected that over time the degree of impact by the school will increase; a wider range
of the school’s activities will have an impact; the impact will come from a range of
departments, centers, programs, and disciplines; and a growing proportion of students will
be involved in initiatives and activities that have a societal impact. Thus, in the report the
school is required to address these points and in subsequent reports demonstrate how
advances are being made.
Further, the school should explicitly identify how it measures, or intends to measure, its
progress toward achieving its aspiration for societal impact. This will make it possible for the
peer review teams to assess performance, provide feedback, and track progress over time.