I was thinking of applying to the SBS Swiss Business School for the full-time MBA program. If anybody knows anything about the reputation of this school, the quality of the program and how recruiters view the school, please do not hesitate to contact me. Any information would be appreciated.

MBA Fair Zurich Wednesday 28 October 2009, 18:00-21:00

http://www.topmba.com/mba-tour-detail/Zurich-43-665

The truth of the matter is the school does not really have a "real" reputation as such. I had a look at the open day for the Executive MBA a year ago.
I was impressed by the Dean, who when he spoke seemed to possess a good academic background, but also had "smarts", however in the end I decided for me it was still a better decision to pay considerably more (CHF100k vs CHF20k) and go with a "named" school rather than a new brand. I ended up applying to the Kellogg School of Management partner program at WHU in Germany.
I think it depends what you are shooting at and what you want from your MBA, and in fairness an executive MBA is a different proposition to a full-time course.
Be aware all MBAs are not of the same worth and it is a very name aware qualification. SBS will not hold up in that environment. That being said if the cost structure is comparable to the Executive MBA it may compare in terms of value for money (which I would define as how long until I can pay the investment back), but I believe you could end up finding the ceiling is lower when it comes to how far it can take you compared to an established American program.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

Twice in recent years I emailed SBS for details of courses and I never got a reply. Great way to run a business. If this is what they teach then avoid them.

Do you have a possibility to visit SBS , IMD and MBA of Uni. St. Gallen?
This is the best way to answer to yourself on this question. You can easely compare the programs in internet.
Actually I've made it and decided to apply to SBS. Some other students in the grupp chosen also SBS vs. IMD.
I can say - it is really interesting and quite hard like all MBA programm. In Zurich headhunters know SBS, don't know how it is with others swiss cities. And I cannot remember, that they don't answer to me via e-mail or post.
Best regards! =)

The MBA program at SBS looks interesting. However, my main concern is the lack of accreditation from the 3 top accreditation agencies: AACSB (US), AMBA (UK), and EQUIS. As mentioned in the SBS website, the Swiss Business School holds accreditation from IACBE, is certified by EDUQUA and is a member of AACSB.
Is there a significant difference (from the eyes of potential employers) between AACSB and IACBE accredited MBA programs?

I believe the AACSB accreditation is very important. Many employers view MBAs as an American degree and while they may not recognise (in the sense of "know") the various accrediting bodies, they are likely to know the more prestigious schools. Prestige is strongly correlated with accreditation.

I did my MBA at a non-US school with AACSB accreditation -- very deliberate choice. AACSB advertises its schools as "the best business schools in the world" and whether it's great marketing on their part or successful recruitment of top-tier schools, that's what the marketplace believes. In particular, multinationals are going to want to employ AACSB-accredited MBA graduates.

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completely agree.

I'm pretty sure, that the potential employers don't know the differences between this accreditations. Do you want to return back to Cyprus after graduating? Or stay in Switzerland or move forward?

If I go ahead and apply to SBS and complete the MBA program, then my intention is to stay in Zurich and work there. From my understanding and the rankings, the business school doesn't have the reputation, quality and accreditation of other business schools in Switzerland such as IMD, university of St. Gallen etc. However, a positive factor could be considered the fact that SBS is located in Zurich and that provides great networking opportunities with big financial firms. As long as the SBS provides a legitimate recognized degree (which I haven't been able to verify yet), and employers in the area hire from SBS then this MBA program seems like a good alternative.

ONNOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL! This is not a serious institution.

Please, do yourself a favor and go anywhere else. Their programs are not even recognized by other universities. Students are openly allowed to cheat as teachers pretend not to see cheating during exams, the assignment standards are extremely poor with students often plagiarizing, most students are from Russia and the Ukrane and can't speak English properly, making spelling and speech mistakes on every presentation, the administration absolutely sucks. I am talking about last minute "mandatory" events being announced, terrible academic calendar with 5 month long summer breaks and no classes on most days of the week. The management is awful. I witnessed the female director shouting at students and intimidating them with authority ("I own 51% of this school, you think anybody else will do anything for you, this is my school." Not to mention teachers manipulating test grades to pass students that failed.

This school is a school that accepts students who can't get in anywhere else. If you really want to learn and are not there to bullshit your way through life,this is not the place for you. This school has absolutely no business being in education and should be shut down. It is absolutely terrible. The "campus" is a few classrooms inside a business building. There is no student lounge area for students to socialize, the people that work there are constantly changing every few months, the school director is always absent and the quality of the teaching is very poor. On paper, this school looks perfect. The course syllabus is very well rounded, the student handbook is very clear on grades, the brochures explain each program perfectly and them seem very attractive. But go study there to see how much of the course syllabus you actually study. The teachers do the absolute minimum. And everything is an extra fee. Their library is a joke. They don't invest in buying books, they simply tell students to bring their own old books that they want to dispose of and leave them there, so you find all these middle and high school math books that nobody wants. This school is a scheme and should be shut. Its is cheap and you get ever cheaper education. And the worst thing of all is that if you actually do your work and commit to the program, there is absolutely no recompense, there is 0 recognition. Because the Russian next to you from Rosenberg is whispering answers in Russian to her neighbor and the ones that actually work hard have no chance at competing with cheaters.

You will be highly disappointed if you go to this school. Stay away from it and tell everybody you know. This school is very proper on the surface, but underneath the surface it is everything that an academic institution should not be: unethical, unfair with the lowest teaching standards you will ever find.

I was on their MBA and we never had any such issues with teachers or staff. Nice colleagues and professors knowledgeable and expreienced. I had the chance to talk to other students from other MBA groups and everyone seemed to be happy with professional teachers. Program management, staff was helpful. The school is small but they met my expectations. Accredited and ranked. You get the value for money. Employers know about it too. Though going to classes Monday-Friday, I could ovserve some of their Bachelor students, and some few seemed to have issues with discipline and arrogance. I hope teachers and staff use practices to put these young people on the right path by the time they complete their program.

Always good to see a fair argument. I'm with Ed on this one, they never even replied to my emails so I never bothered applying to them in the end.