RICS Americas Establishes Partnership with the University of Wisconsin's Real Estate Programs

08/05/2010 17:13

NEW YORK – August 5, 2010 – RICS Americas, the New York-based regional branch of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the world’s leading membership organization for professionals in property, land, construction and related environmental issues, has announced its new partnership with the University of Wisconsin’s James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate and the UW School of Business. RICS offers university partnership and accreditation to an elite group representing the forefront of the property profession. These University Partners can play a prominent role in RICS at the local, national and international level. Accreditation for the University of Wisconsin means all students matriculating from 2006 onward and graduating with a Masters of Business Administration in Real Estate or a Bachelors of Business Administration in Real Estate are immediately eligible for a route to RICS qualified membership. “I am a long standing admirer of the high caliber and international outlook of Wisconsin and its students. As the world’s largest professional standards and qualifications body, RICS is proud to establish this partnership with such a centre of excellence,” said Louis Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer, RICS. “Our mission is to ensure the highest standards in real property valuation, construction and management across the world and welcome University of Wisconsin’s important contribution to this.” The UW is proud to produce today’s and tomorrow’s leaders in real estate economics, and finance, and to establish in them a life-long commitment to supporting the highest standards in business ethics,” said Francois Ortalo-Magne, CRE, FRICS, Chairman, Department of Real Estate, University of Wisconsin. “This partnership with RICS provides a pathway to our alumni, who will influence land and property use in this country and around the world, and will shape that world, for decades to come. We look forward to working with RICS Americas and the global organization.” “This accreditation comes after a thorough vetting process by both RICS Americas and our global RICS Education and Standards Boards,” said Matt Bruck, Managing Director, RICS Americas. “In the coming months we will work closely with UW’s leaders to encourage participation in the RICS Americas Councils, which were created to bring together RICS members and partners to debate the most important policy and business issues facing the profession, and to make recommendations for government and the public.” RICS accreditation through threshold standards and partnership was first introduced by RICS in the United Kingdom in 2000. Threshold standards based on international objectives and principles have since been agreed in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, New Zealand and the United States. Maintaining RICS partnership accreditation is subject to annual collection and review of those threshold standards related to entry (enrollment) and exit (alumni employment) as well as existing external quality assurance processes utilized by each school and university. RICS Americas will next work with UW stakeholders to produce a ‘Statement of Arrangements’ that will set out the aims and responsibilities of both RICS and UW. ### About RICS & RICS Americas RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), with headquarters in London, is the leading organization of its kind in the world for more than 100,000 professionals in property, land, construction and related environmental issues. RICS Americas, based in New York and covering North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, has more than 2,300 members in commercial and residential development, construction and project management, brokerage, planning and finance, and valuation. For further information visit www.ricsamericas.org or e-mail ricsamericas@rics.org.