International Business University receives QAA accreditation

International Business University in Canada has successfully completed its International Quality Accreditation (IQA) and has been awarded global accreditation by QAA.

IQA provides institutions with an independent peer review which tests whether an institution meets the ten standards of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG).

The review visit was conducted on 22-24 June 2026 by a team of three independent reviewers (including a student reviewer) appointed by QAA. The team concluded that International Business University meets the standards for International Quality Accreditation and may therefore be granted QAA accreditation. 

International Business University is the first not-for-profit private university in Canada. It was awarded consent to operate by the Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities in December 2020, and accepted its first students in 2021. Its main campus is located in downtown Toronto, with a small campus in Ottawa. It offers three bachelor's degree programmes, seven MBA programmes and two MSc programmes. As of June 2026, 2,778 students were studying at the university.

The IQA report identifies four areas of good practice, and makes five recommendations for enhancement.

The report notes the following features of good practice:

• Highly engaged and collaborative partnerships with industry stakeholders, whose contributions are embedded across governance, curriculum design and assessment, which significantly enhances the relevance of programmes and supports graduate employability and career readiness.
• The implementation of IBU Signal, in particular the way in which external stakeholder feedback has been drawn upon to design a report card indicating the applied cognitive skills that students gain through their studies, which provides a comprehensive skills record for students and employers.
• The wide range of data and information collected, analysed and used to inform operational practice and decision-making.
• Highly effective engagement with industry stakeholders to positively inform programme monitoring and enhancement processes.

The report recommends that International Business University:

• ensure the Institutional Quality Assurance Policy is made more widely available by placing it alongside other policies on the IBU website.
• establish a more robust and structured approach to supporting staff specifically in the development of inclusive assessment practices, to ensure consistency across programmes and continue promoting an appropriate balance between theoretical and practical forms of assessment.
• establish a clear formal mechanism to identify the individual training and development needs of faculty and staff and use the outcomes to develop and periodically monitor targeted individual professional development plans to ensure continuous improvement and alignment with institutional priorities. 
• establish a formalised and transparent process for the allocation of budget to learning resources and student support to continuously ensure resource planning is applied consistently and informed by student need, service demand and institutional priorities.
• strengthen feedback management processes by establishing a systematic mechanism for closing the feedback loop and communicating resulting actions and improvements to stakeholders, particularly students.

Dr Asima Vezina, President and Vice Chancellor of International Business University, said: 'Receiving QAA international institutional accreditation is a proud milestone for International Business University. It validates our commitment to academic excellence, robust quality assurance, and continuous improvement, while reinforcing our standing as a globally connected, industry-aligned university dedicated to student success and meaningful impact.'

Jennifer Taylor, QAA's Director of Contract Services, added: 'QAA is pleased to congratulate International Business University on its successful accreditation. We have very much enjoyed working with the team in Canada, and we look forward to collaborating with them in the future.'

By securing accreditation from QAA, institutions can clearly highlight their quality and standards internationally, and more easily start dialogues with institutions beyond their own regions. You can read International Business University' full IQA report on our website, where you can also find out more about International Quality Accreditation and QAA membership. If you are interested in your institution seeking accreditation or international membership, and wish to discuss this further, please contact the QAA Global team at accreditation@qaa.ac.uk