AUC awards its own world-class MBA and EMBA accredited by AACSB, the most respected international accreditation body. Heriot-Watt does not have AACSB accreditation. Indeed, the HW MBA doesn't even requite a undergraduate degree of students recruited through its own staff (AUC does ask for a good undergraduate degree). The AUC's own degrees are not similar to HW's, and I think HW gains more from the association with AUC than its partner does.

PS The executive education centre at AUC partners with Heriot Watt to provide examination rooms and some face-to-face support for students taking the distance learning HW MBA. The emphasis is on individual study with , and at http://www.aucegypt.edu/Business/execed/Pages/EdinburghMBA.aspx the opening sentence is that "The Edinburgh Business School (EBS) MBA is a British text-based MBA program provided by Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom. " This does not lead to a degree from AUC, just a certificate to record attendance at face-to-face session.

Dear Reham

Edinburgh Business School works with two Approved Learning Partners in Egypt, namely American University Cairo and Ain Shams University. The Edinburgh Business School MBA is taught at both Partners. However, Ain Shams offers tuition in Arabic if you are interested in studying the courses in Arabic. Regardless of the language of study or whether you choose to study with one of our Partners, by distance learning or on campus, the programme structure is exactly the same for the MBA. Nine courses are required for the MBA, seven core courses and two electives. Edinburgh Business School is a truly international school. We take particular care to comply with registration and quality requirements set by different authorities across the world and we do this independently and through our network of Approved Learning Partners. If you would like to correspond with me directly to discuss your intentions further, I can be contacted via email at [email protected] or by phone on +44(0)131 451 3090. You can also speak with one of our student advisors at our Arabworld office. Contact details for them can be found here http://www.ebsglobal.net/contact/arab-world.

Regards,

David Kelly
Prospect Manager
Edinburgh Business School

Well from experience generally I found the the quality of material to be excellent (books are written by qualified experts as evident in their biographies) .. I did not find the need to attend all the classes at AUC.. HW professors were always available to answer any questions I had..
The program is hard requiring lots of commitment and perseverance.. but the knowledge I gained definitely added to my competences and performance at the workplace compared to my peers

about the credibility of the program attached is my reply to a similar post
"Heriott Watt is an internationaly accredited British University, Through the Royal charter.. (which is the official accreditation and recognition by the British government that all Universities in the UK need to have to be recognised as legitimate degree granting universities.. as far as I know no one ever disregarded a degree from one of the oldest Universities in the UK) 40%of the fortune 500 companies sponsor their employees to study at EBS http://www.ebsglobal.net/programmes/accr...
and organisations such as Amba are private clubs not government institutions.. so in my opinion official recognition by the gov. is more credible
and the fact that in exceptional cases you do not need a degree to enter is symptomatic of the British education system which gives the opportunity to anyone who has the ability to suceed in the program.. but exam as you read are very hard and you communicate as much as you want with the professor through email, forums, phone, live seminars and you can travel to meet them in the UK if you so desire"

I think you're mistaken to say that a UK Royal Charter is a better guide to the relative quality of an MBA than accreditation by a body like AMBA. Every university in the UK has a Royal Charter, so all MBAs by British universities are legal and meet minimum criteria, both the best and the worst. AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB accreditation requires a higher level of quality, and that is why all the best business schools in Europe, without exception has international accreditation for their MBAs.

I have looked at the faculty listed on the EBS MBA website (http://www.ebsglobal.net/programmes/faculty-and-authors) and it is certainly not the case that these people will be available to students on the MBA. A minority of them work for EBS, and one cannot be assured that the others will be available. These people wrote the course materials for the MBA, and some of those materials were written a long time ago: some have retired, others have died... I think it would be good to know which of the 'faculty' actually are part of the active team for the distance learning MBA.

It is not "symptomatic of the British education system" that people without university qualifications can enter post-graduate degrees. That is very rare, and I am surprised to see it described as if it is a good thing.

It is very logical and appropriate. . It does not make sense for someone with 20 years of management experience to learn basic accounting skills for example.. and you do not matriculate into the MBA program unless you successfully complete 3 courses thus proving your abilities as a graduate student.. besides AUC or Ain Shams Univ. do not allow you to register through them without a bachelor degree whith good standing.. As a general rule if you are smart enough to succeed in the Harvard MBA for example, you shoud be given the chance regardless of your background..
In regard to the availability of professors most them who wrote the books were readily available for the students to contact and in case of replacements.. the Biographies and credentials are always posted on HW website.
Finally there are lots of schools that have AMBA etc.. accreditations and are not recognized by their own governments.. The British Standard
is recognized internationaly as being more than adequate and is accepted by all employers that I ever heard of (and considered superior in many countries) .. I never saw a CV mentioning AMBA etc.. or heard of an employer requiring a private accreditation for an MBA.. no one I know was EVER asked about private accreditation for his MBA.. or given preferential treatment for that.. What only matters is if you graduated from a reputable institution.. thats a fact of life.. It is a way for businesses schools to make huge margins out of your pockets
did i mention thar 99% of hiring manager in this part of the world did not graduate from schools privately accredited..
It will not hurt if you can afford it but my point is that it is not necessary

I think you are mistaken. I have posted a comment here - http://board.find-mba.com/general-forum/edinburgh-business-school-38116?_ga=1.12920823.1982599738.1410115952#post-id-39292 - to reply.