BA School of Business and Finance

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BA School of Business and Finance
Motto in English	Professionalism.Creativity.Responsibility
Established	1992
Type	Public, self-financing
Students	2,200
Location	Riga, Latvia 56°58′32.17″N 24°8′5.87″E / 56.9756028°N 24.1349639°E / 56.9756028; 24.1349639Coordinates: 56°58′32.17″N 24°8′5.87″E / 56.9756028°N 24.1349639°E / 56.9756028; 24.1349639
Website	www.ba.lv

BA School of Business and Finance (BA SBF) (Latvian: Banku Augstskola) is located in Riga, Latvia. It is one of the leading accredited business schools in Latvia which was founded in 1992 as Banking College under the Bank of Latvia and in 1997 accredited as Higher Educational Institution.

The BA School of Business and Finance has become a prominent institution in the higher education system in Latvia in the 15 years since its founding, establishing a strong reputation in both the local and international arena. It prepares specialists with a broad knowledge of economic theory and general economic subjects, offering in-depth studies and professional skills in entrepreneurship with a focus on banking and finance.

The BA School of Business and Finance has developed extensive relations with universities in Europe and worldwide. In 2008 the Scientific Committee of EDUNIVERSAL ranked the BA School of Business and Finance among the 1000 best business schools in the world.

Today it offers undergraduate, graduate and post - graduate programmes in Economics and Entrepreneurship, Business Administration and Finance. The study processes have gained an explicit international dimension. Graduates are nationally and internationally recognized entrepreneurs, managers, consultants, experts, professionals and politicians.^[1]

BA School of Business and Finance is located in Riga which is a very exciting and interesting place to pursue studies and gain an insight into the whole Baltic region.

Contents 1 Education 1.1 Overview 1.2 Special Master Degree programmes 1.2.1 International Finance and Banking 1.2.2 Wealth Management 1.2.3 Creative Industries Management 1.3 Foreign students 1.4 Exchange students 1.4.1 International studies under Erasmus 1.5 System or credit points and grading 2 Research 3 The name 4 Structure 5 Historic background 6 Higher education in Latvia 6.1 General description 6.2 Detailed description 7 See also 8 External links 9 References

[edit] Education

[edit] Overview

The following table summarises academic degrees and study programmes provided by BA School of Business and Finance:^[2]

Level	Study programmes	Description
Undegraduate	Finance Business Administration Risk Management and Insurance Innovation and Product Development in Business	Undegraduate education leads to a Bachelor's degree. Study programmes are usually four years long and are held mainly in Latvian language.
Graduate	Finance Business Administration International Finance and Banking Wealth Management Creative Industries Management	Graduate education leads to a Master's degree. Study programmes are about one or two years long and require a completed bachelor's degree for enrollment. Alongside with programmes in Latvian language, three specially developed Master degree programmes are offered in English language.
Postgraduate	A joint Doctoral programme in Business Administration	Postgraduate education leads to a Ph.D. degree.

[edit] Special Master Degree programmes

These are specially designed programmes with broad participation of international lecturers (including majour European countries and United States) and students. All three programmes are held in English language and are available for both local and foreign students.

[edit] International Finance and Banking

This dual degree study program in international finance and banking is unique in the Baltic states. Graduates of this professional Master Study program are awarded two diplomas by two leading European higher education institutions (Swiss Business School MBA and BA School of Business and Finance Professional Master Degree in Finance).

The study program prepares highly qualified professionals in investment, finance and banking, who can continue their careers on a national and international level. The program is content-oriented and comprehensively covers fundamental areas of financial management brought by selected highly experienced multilingual professors and professionals. This is a full-time program accredited on both the national and international level. The program is based on a convenient flexible schedule according to the module principle to meet the needs of those who wish to combine their studies with their job in the professional field.

[edit] Wealth Management

This unique Master Degree Study Program in Wealth Management is the first of its kind in the Baltic states. The program is designed for those who intend to significantly enhance their knowledge of the financial wealth management process due to their personal or professional needs. The program comprehensively covers fundamental areas of wealth management brought by selected local as well as foreign professionals and academics. Lecturers are from such leading financial and academic institutions as Calyon Bank (UK), Union Investment (Germany), Marsh GmbH (Germany), BHF Oppenheim Bank (Germany), AIG Europe (Baltic), Swiss Business School (Switzerland), BA School of Business and Finance (Latvia).^[3] Further information about the program could be obtained by visiting the program's website: www.ba.lv/wealthmanagement

[edit] Creative Industries Management

This new and exciting program is the first in the Baltic States to offer an opportunity to develop professional leadership skills in the creative industries, specializing in the evolution of design, new media, art, performing arts, advertising and publishing management businesses. The BA School of Business and Finance offers this interdisciplinary program in cooperation with the Latvian Academy of Culture and the Academy of Arts of Latvia. This program unites all aspects of entrepreneurship, management, arts, technology and business environments presented by highly qualified lecturers from Latvia and international partner universities with a highly developed creative industry education system. This is full-time program based on the convenient flexible schedule according to the module principle.

The program has an extensive and growing network of professional contacts in the creative industries and other national and international structures.

[edit] Foreign students

Foreign students are welcome to study at BA School of Business and Finance. Besides international studies under Erasmus, the school has developed special high-quality Master level programmes, which are designed to fully support international environment during the whole study process. Those programmes are being held by international lecturers and are highly valued in both local and foreign labour markets. In Latvia, the admission procedure is not centralised and each higher education institution has its own admissions board and criteria.^[4] In BA School of Business and Finance each programme has its own admission requirements, which should be carefully studies in the corresponding web sites or by directly contacting the staff of the school.

[edit] Exchange students

[edit] International studies under Erasmus

Lifelong Learning Programme / Erasmus offers the possibilities for students and academic staff to study and exchange experience in partner institutions as well as provides opportunities in company training abroad. Erasmus Bilateral agreements within the Lifelong Learning Programme have been signed with 25 countries and 60 higher education institutions. Up till now BA School of Busienss and Finance has been happy to host Erasmus students from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Finland, Lithuania and Portugal who study at the Exchange programme of the school.^[5]

Statistics of exchanges of students and academic staff under Erasmus program is provided in the table below^[5]:

Academic year	BA SBF students	Foreign students	BA SBF academic staff	Foreign academic staff
2008/2009	77	29	n/a	n/a
2007/2008	66	26	n/a	n/a
2006/2007	58	32	29	10
2005/2006	52	16	19	8
2004/2005	45	15	24	4
2003/2004	13	5	10	3
2002/2003	8	1	9	-
2001/2002	7	-	-	-
2000/2001	2	-	-	-

[edit] System or credit points and grading

One creditpoint in Latvia is defined as the amount of the workload of one week full time studies. The scheduled amount of the full-time studies for one academic year, is 40 credits. Recalculating in European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) points, the amount of Latvian creditpoints has to be multiplied by 1.5.^[6] The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) is a system of credit allocation based on the student workload needed to achieve certain learning outcomes. Credits for the courses are only awarded if the course requirements have been fulfilled.

All courses and examinations are graded on the scale from 10 to 1 as follows:^[7]

Grade	Verbal description	Interpretation	Estimated corresponding ECTS grade
10	Outstanding	Knowledge, exceeding curriculum requirements, attests independent research and deep understanding of a problem	A
9	Excellent	Complete acquaintance with curriculum requirements, ability to apply gained knowledge independently	A
8	Very good	Complete acquaintance with curriculum requirements, though at times lacks deeper understanding and ability to affiliate gained knowledge with more complicated issues	B
7	Good	Curriculum requirements mastered, although less important knowledge gaps can be detected	C
6	Adequate	Acquaintance with curriculum requirements, though lack of problem understanding in detail can sometimes be detected	D
5	Fair	General knowledge of curriculum requirements although lacks understanding of several problems in general	E
4	Below average	General knowledge of curriculum requirements, competence corresponds to minimum of curriculum requirements, problematic application of gained knowledge in practice	FX
3-1	Poor, failure	General knowledge of a curriculum gained, though a complete lack of orientation in other relevant issues is detected. Additional studies required to get an assessment	Fail

[edit] Research

BA School of Business and Finance has founded Business and Financial Research Centre which will tackle the complex problems of cooperation between companies and experts both in Latvia and abroad, offer expertise from leading financial institutions, establish partnerships with researchers and practitioners and provide solutions for sustainable business.

Business and Financial Research Centre focuses on training and research on business competitiveness, financial services, company management, including financial, personnel and quality control, financial community education, creative industries and creative economy, and organizes seminars and conferences.^[8]

[edit] The name

The official name in Latvian language for the business school is “Banku Augstskola”, which could be translated to English as “banking school”. The name reflects historical association of the school with the banking sector of Latvia, as the leading provider of highly qualified specialist for the banking sector of the country. For more detals on this issue, please see the "Historic background" section of this article.

Today the official English version of the name of the school is “BA School of Business and Finance”, where “BA” stands for “Banku Augstskola” and the following words represent the areas of focus of this educational institution.

[edit] Structure

[edit] Historic background

In 1992 the school was founded as Latvian Banking College to provide specialised advanced level secondary education in the area of banking and finance. In 1996 the school obtained a license, issued by the Ministry of Science and Education, for launching higher professional study programmes as Latvian Banking Academy. In 1997 the school obtained accreditation of the study programme "Economics" and was accredited as an educational institution. Afterwards Latvia Banking Academy is renamed to Banking Institution of Higher Education and became a state-run educational establishment of higher education in Latvia, providing undergraduate level education. In 2001 Ministry of Science and Education of Latvia provided a license for launching the professional master programme in Banking Institution of Higher Education, which was done with a great success. In 2007 BA School of Business and Finance celebrated its 15^th Anniversary and at that time was already actively holding various study programs, lectures, courses, seminars, practical activities, research work and other pedagogical and scientific activities.^[9] In 2008 EDUNIVERSAL recognised BA School of Business and Finance as one of the 1000 world’s best Business Schools.^[10]

Today BA School of Business and Finance is one of the leading accredited business schools in Latvia with its diplomas recognised all over the world. It holds membership status in a number of leading international associations, namely, Network of International Business Schools, PRIME-Networking, EURASHE, CEEMAN, BMDA, SPACE, BUSINET, EIASM, LEO-NET.^[11]

[edit] Higher education in Latvia

[edit] General description

The right to enter a higher education institution is held by all those who have completed the general secondary education program and graduates from the four-year vocational program and from all the specialized secondary education programs. If a certificate of secondary education has been obtained abroad, it must first be submitted for analysis to the Academic Information Centre, where it is evaluated, passing a conclusion on the validity of the foreign certificate in Latvia.

In Latvia, there is both state-financed and fee-paying higher education. In order to single out the most able students, whose studies are publicly financed, higher education institutions carry out a procedure of student selection. This usually depends on the number of candidates for study places at the particular institution (both state-financed and fee-paying). In certain cases, such as art, music or sports studies, the procedure must also guarantee that the students possess particular abilities or skills that are not directly reflected in the general secondary education documents. The selection procedure usually involves one or more entry examinations or assessment of secondary school certificates, which may attribute particular significance to grades obtained in particular subjects. In certain cases, an interview with members of the admissions committee is also part of the selection procedure. Entry examinations are only a means of selecting entrants from among candidates who all hold a secondary education certificate entitling them to enter higher education. For this reason, the selection procedure need not always include an entry examination.

In 2007, there were 60 higher education institutions in Latvia (26 colleges – 18 are state and 8 private, and 34 other higher education institutions – 19 are state and 15 private), most of which belong to the state, the rest having been founded by other legal entities or private individuals. A positive tendency is the rapid rise in student numbers seen in recent years. The number of registered students in the 2007/2008 teaching year was over 127 thousand, most of whom (almost 90 thousand) attended public institutions. About a third of them study at state expense, while the rest pay fees. Under discussion is the regulation of tuition fees. In Latvia there are 552 students per 10,000 people, which is the second highest indicator in the world. The highest indicator has Canada with 580 students per 10 000 people.

Latvia has two sorts of higher education programs – academic and professional (for example translators, bank staff, business lawyers, pilots etc.). University-type higher education institutions offer both academic and professional education, while the "non-university type" institutions provide only professional education. Such a division in higher education allows the student to choose either research or professional activity in the future.

Academic higher education programs include bachelor's and master's degree programs. A bachelor's degree is awarded after three or four years of study, while a master's degree is obtained on successful completion of a second phase of academic higher education, lasting one or two years. Bachelor's or master's degrees are not awarded in medicine or dentistry, but a degree in medicine or dentistry is equated to a master's degree. At the end of each academic study program, the student usually has to defend a diploma thesis (a bachelor's or master's thesis).

Only graduates holding a master's degree or equivalent higher education diploma may take up doctoral studies. These last three to four years, involving advanced studies, examinations and the preparation and defense of a doctoral thesis. Before defending the doctoral dissertation, the student must publish articles on the chosen subject in internationally reviewed publications. Up to the end of 1999, habilitated doctor's degrees were also awarded, at a higher level than the doctoral degree. Such a degree was required by candidates to professorships, but now the doctoral degree is the highest scientific degree in Latvia. The rights to award the doctoral degree are delegated by decision of the Cabinet of Ministers to Promotion councils established at the universities. The procedure for awarding the doctoral degree is controlled by the Commission of the Scientific Qualification.^[12]

[edit] Detailed description

All holders of general secondary education certificates and diplomas on vocational secondary education meet the general admission requirements. However, the universities are free to set specific requirements, e.g. to choose which subjects have to been taken at school level to qualify for admission to a particular programme. Academic higher education follows academic education standard and is aimed at preparing graduates for research and providing theoretical background for professional activities. Bakalaurs (bachelor) degree in a branch of science is awarded after the first cycle of academic studies.

Bachelor programmes comprise 120–160 credit points (180–240 ECTS) or 4–6 semesters of full-time studies. They include: compulsory part ≥50 CP (75 ECTS), optional part ≥20 CP (30 ECTS), thesis ≥10 CP (15 ECTS) and some subjects of free choice to earn the rest of necessary CP.

Maģistrs (master) degree in a branch of science is awarded after the second cycle of academic studies comprising 80 CP (120 ECTS), out of those thesis results in ≥20 CP, compulsory part includes theoretical aspects of the field (≥ 30 CP) and their practical application in solving actual problems (≥15 CP).

According to Standards of first and second level professional higher education, its aim is to provide in-depth knowledge in a field, enabling graduates to design and improve systems, products and technologies as well as to prepare graduates for creative, research and teaching activities in this field.

Professional bakalaurs (bachelor) programmes are designed to ensure professional competence, they comprise at least 160 CP (240 ECTS), out of those: general courses (≥15 CP), theoretical courses of the field (≥36 CP), specialization courses (≥60 CP), optional courses (≥6 CP), practical placement (≥26 CP), and state examinations including thesis (≥12 CP).

Professional programmes leading to maģistrs (master) degree comprise no less than 40 CP (60 ECTS), out of those: up-to-date achievements in the field — in theory and in practice (≥7 CP), practical placements (≥6 CP), state examinations including thesis (≥20 CP) as well as research training, courses of design, management, psychology etc.

Apart from the programmes leading to bakalaurs (bachelor) and maģistrs (master) degrees, there are other types of professional higher education programmes. First-level professional HE (university college) programmes comprise 80–120 CP (120–180 ECTS) and lead to a CEDUC 4th level professional qualification. These programmes are targeted mainly at labour market. Yet, the graduates of the first-level programmes can continue their studies in second-level professional programmes. Second-level professional HE programmes lead to a CEDUC 5th level professional qualification. Such programmes can comprise either at least 40 CP (60 ECTS) for holders of bakalaurs (bachelor) degrees or at least 160 CP (240 ECTS) for secondary school leavers. In both cases programmes should include a practical placement of at least 26 CP (39 ECTS) and graduation examinations including thesis (≥10 CP). Graduates of programmes including the 70 CP (105 ECTS) compulsory part of the bakalaurs (bachelor) programme, have access to master studies.

Doctoral studies. From January 1, 2000 onwards a single type of doctoral degree Doktors (Dr.) is being awarded in Latvia. Maģistrs (master) degree (or the equivalent) is required for admission to doctoral studies. Doktors (Dr.) degree can be achieved at public defence of a doctoral thesis which may be a result of three to four years of full-time doctoral studies at a university or an equivalent amount of independent research while working at a university, research institution etc. Latvian Council of Science appoints promotion councils and sets the procedures for awarding doctoral degrees.^[13]

[edit] See also

Riga

[edit] External links

• BA School of Business and Finance - Official site
• Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia
• Latvian Academic Programme Agency
• Latvian Higher Education Quality Evaluation Centre
• Latvian Academic Information Centre
• Latvian Institute
• Riga tourism
• The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs
• Information on foreign embassies in Latvia

[edit] References