University of Alberta, Alberta School of Business
Loading the current phase, the actions taken and what is next.
If the school raises recognition, use the reply titled 'If they ask for recognition criteria'.
From: Baptiste Ceresa · Subject: A fifth-Palme review for consideration
Attach: nothing. Offer the criteria; do not invent current deadlines, selection or committee decisions.
Answer any specific question first, then use the matching reply below. These are replies to engagement, not additional unsolicited opening emails. Use the name of the person who actually replied and retain the existing contact route.
Owner: Baptiste Ceresa. Free examples: approved, with no conditions.
Upgrade outlook: 80-100%, corporate estimate for this school. He wrote: "regarding the preselection, it is more a % of chance to be upgraded".
Does payment determine the level? The level of Palmes is determined independently by the International Scientific Committee based on academic and international recognition criteria; the membership fee is simply calculated afterwards according to the level of Palmes awarded.
Eduniversal's licensing price list, sent by Cyrille on October 5, 2026: For a school holding 4 Palmes, Silver is EUR 5,990 per year and Gold is EUR 9,990 per year, excluding taxes, over a three-year license. Platinum is EUR 9,990 per year plus a program promotion pack. All three tiers include the certification widget. Platinum promotion packs: up to 5 programs EUR 13,345; up to 10 EUR 23,290; unlimited EUR 59,800. The pack billing period is not specified; use the formal quotation for that detail.
NYMM's guidance to sellers, membership plan: share only exceptionally, when really required. Do not attach it to routine first messages or free-example notes.
NYMM's guidance to sellers, recognition conversation: If the school raises recognition, use the reply titled 'If they ask for recognition criteria', with the fee and independent decision stated clearly. Keep the recognition text in reserve. Do not describe the school as formally preselected on the basis of this estimate. Keep the estimate in seller guidance; do not present it as an awarded or guaranteed level. The prepared recognition text states a one-time EUR 2,990 priority evaluation fee, separately from membership. That fee is not listed in the licensing price list supplied here.
Alberta is a first contact. No earlier exchange with this school is on file. The dean on your list, Prof. Vikas Mehrotra, is the dean in post: appointed April 11, 2023, after the school had an acting dean from 2021, and still signing the school's messages in March 2026. We found no term length in the pages collected on September 17, 2026.
The school describes itself by its standing. It was the first business school in Canada to receive AACSB accreditation, in 1968, and its latest renewal runs for another five years. It lists itself as sixth in Canada in the 2025 Times Higher Education subject ranking for Business & Economics. Its strategic vision sets this goal: “ASB ranked top 50 in the world among business schools”. We found no mention of Eduniversal or Palmes in the school pages or the dean's messages collected on September 17, 2026. The pages collected do not show whether the dean values Eduniversal recognition; absence of a mention is not a refusal. The first email with the free AI examples starts from the school's own published goal and shows what AI assistants tell applicants about the school.
Two practical points. We found no named head of accreditation and no named school-wide head of recruitment in the pages collected on September 17, 2026, so the first message goes to the dean himself. Ask about the school’s actual approval timetable if it wishes to pursue a paid evaluation. Reading Week runs November 9 to 13 on the school's dates page, which marks its term dates as tentative. The university's budget schedule sets faculty milestones on November 13, November 26 and December 2 to 4, and the Board of Governors decides the university's 2027-28 budget on March 25, 2027. That schedule is the university's, not the school's own. Nothing in the pages we collected says the dean is unavailable in those weeks or that a purchase cannot be decided earlier. The timing is our judgment.
Write to the dean himself, and copy no one on the first message. We found no named head of accreditation or of school-wide recruitment to go through. Look up his address in the university's directory on the day of sending. The pages we collected do not give one. Do not guess an address.
No contact on file. Who inside the school approves a purchase is not published. Our working assumption is the dean's office, and it is not confirmed. He built the school's strategic vision through a consultation. His March 2026 message names the Vice-Dean, Trish Reay, as attending the Rocky Mountain Business Seminar with him.
A supplier is either invited to quote by a university department or wins a competitive bid. If a department requests a quote and selects the supplier, the university sends a request to complete its New Supplier Request Form. Which department would request a quote for the school is not published.
Free AI examples first. These instructions apply to message 1 under What to send, its note and its timing. Send that first email only. If the school raises recognition, use the reply titled 'If they ask for recognition criteria'.
Free AI examples first. These instructions apply to message 1 under What to send, its note and its timing. Send that first email only. If the school raises recognition, use the reply titled 'If they ask for recognition criteria'.
Free AI examples first. These instructions apply to message 1 under What to send, its note and its timing. Send that first email only. If the school raises recognition, use the reply titled 'If they ask for recognition criteria'.
Subject: What AI assistants say about the Alberta School of Business
Attach: the short note with the three examples (open it from item 3, then print it or save it as a PDF) · When: once the sender checks are complete, and only with the note attached. Preferred: by October 23. If the sender checks are not complete by October 23, send from January 7, 2027. A free-example message sent after October 18, 2026 needs the questions asked again first. Never send without the note.
When: ten working days after the free-example message, and not on the dates marked Avoid in the dates table: November 9, 2026 to January 6, 2027, February 15 to 19, 2027, and April 12 to 24, 2027. If the tenth working day falls on one of those dates, send on the first working day after them.
After this: If there is no reply to the follow-up, stop. Do not write to anyone else at the school.
4. One page for the dean. Only after the first conversation, and only if the contact agrees. Never with the free-example message or the follow-up.Prepared · sender checksOpen
| Person | Part in the decision | What to know | Contact so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vikas MehrotraDean, Alberta School of Business, since April 11, 2023 | The person you write to. Our working assumption is that his office decides. Who approves a purchase is not published. | He writes that he joined the University of Alberta in 1992 after a doctorate in finance at the University of Oregon, and that he has served as associate dean of MBA programs and as chair of the department of finance. A question to be ready for from him, in our judgment: what does this cost, and what are you selling? | No contact on file |
| Trish ReayVice-Dean | Not yet involved. Nothing in the pages we collected says her office handles outside rating bodies. | A 2023 school article calls her the school's newly appointed vice dean, committed to putting people first and to supporting the school's teaching and learning, research and community outreach. Her start date is not in the pages we collected. The dean's March 2026 message names her as attending the Rocky Mountain Business Seminar with him. A question to be ready for from her office, in our judgment: who inside the school owns this, and how much staff time does it take? | No contact on file |
| Edy WongAssociate Dean, International | Not yet involved. Whether outside rating bodies go through the International Office is not published. | The university directory lists the title with the office: Associate Dean, International, Alberta School of Business, International Office. Nothing more about the post appears in the pages we collected. Do not assume. | No contact on file |
| Brea ElfordPartner, Communications & Marketing, VER Strategic Communications | Not copied on the free-example message or the follow-up. Continue with her if the dean introduces her. | The university's External Relations contact page lists her under a heading that joins Business with the College of Social Sciences + Humanities. A 2021 university announcement gave her title as Partner, Communications and Marketing, Alberta School of Business. Nothing in the pages we collected shows that this post handles rankings or outside rating bodies. Copy Brea Elford only if the dean's office asks for it, and only after checking on the External Relations contact page who covers Business on that day. | No contact on file |
| Michael MaierAssociate Dean MBA | Program level: his title places him in the MBA Office. His part in a school-wide decision is not published. | The university directory lists recruitment roles in the MBA Office, among them Taylor Doucette, Recruitment and Admissions Strategist, and Rosetta Moore, whose recruitment and admissions title the directory shows cut short. | No contact on file |
| No name foundHead of accreditation. School-wide head of recruitment. | Not identified. | We found no named holder of either post in the pages collected on September 17, 2026. That does not mean no office holds the responsibility. An older search listing pointed to Chris Lynch in a senior recruitment title, but his directory page did not show that profile on September 17, 2026. Do not use it. |
- EduniversalBaptiste
- Write to · decides · no contact yetVikas MehrotraDean, Alberta School of Business
- Not copied · no contact yetBrea ElfordPartner, Communications & Marketing
- Pays · a yes still needs thisUniversity of Alberta purchasingAn invitation to quote from a university department, or a competitive bid. After a requested quote is accepted, the New Supplier Request Form.
- Not yet involvedTrish ReayVice-Dean
- Not yet involvedEdy WongAssociate Dean, International
Introductions. No one in your network has yet been matched to Dean Mehrotra. In your own closed cases, several wins came through a personal introduction. Share the deans of your member schools, and each will be checked against his career, his boards and his co-authors. Two places to start: the University of Oregon, where he completed his doctorate in finance, and the Northern Finance Association, where he writes that he served as the inaugural director on the board and then as its president. Any match appears on this map. Keep members of your committee out of the sales conversation.
Free AI examples first. These instructions apply to message 1 under What to send, its note and its timing. Send that first email only. If the school raises recognition, use the reply titled 'If they ask for recognition criteria'.
A reply, or a forward
The free-example message asks for nothing. If none comes, send the follow-up once, after ten working days. If there is no reply to the follow-up, stop. Answer whoever replies and any specific question first. The one page (item 4) is for after a first conversation, and only if the contact agrees.
One question, if the school replies
After a reply, ask one thing: who at the school would use this. Do not make budget, purchasing or supplier registration a condition of receiving the free examples. Those come up after the school agrees to discuss a separate paid service. Before any copy to Brea Elford, check on the External Relations contact page who covers Business on that day.
A winter contact, with no decision asked
Only if the school has replied. Between January 7 and February 12, 2027. Keep an unsolicited check-in light; an agreed commercial discussion may proceed with confirmed written terms. Do not use another dean as a reference or as a voice for you. This is also the window for the free-example message if the sender checks are not complete by October 23. A free-example message sent after October 18, 2026 needs the questions asked again first. Keep members of your committee out of the sales conversation.
A spring conversation, if the school wants one
Our advice is from April 26, 2027: the Board of Governors decides the university's 2027-28 budget on March 25, and winter exams end April 24. That is the university's schedule. When the school sets its own requests is not published. If the school asks what comes next, ask the dean's office when the school's own requests are set. Bring your published criteria. Any later conversation about a paid service is a separate matter, opened using the confirmed terms below. See 'What we need from you' below.
Purchasing at the University of Alberta
For reference, if the school itself asks what comes next. Do not raise purchasing with the school. A supplier is either invited to quote by a university department or wins a competitive bid. At $75,000 CDN and above, purchases of goods and services must be competitively bid and advertised. For purchases of goods and services between $20,000 and $75,000, a minimum of two supplier quotations is required, unless the purchase is made from Preferred Suppliers or relates to an existing contract renewal or extension. When multiple quotes are not received, the Sole and Single Source Exception Form must be completed and attached. We found no quotation rule for purchases under $20,000 in the pages collected on September 17, 2026. Which rule applies depends on the amount in Canadian dollars and on how the university classifies the service, which is the university's to say. Only part of the purchasing policy is on the public pages we collected.
New Supplier Request Form
If a department requests a quote and selects you, the university sends a request to complete its New Supplier Request Form. What the form asks for is not on the pages we collected. Do not raise supplier registration yourself. If it comes to that, the requesting department is the one to ask about the form.
| Dates | Why | |
|---|---|---|
| Now to October 23 | Good | Classes began September 1 and the registration deadline was September 15. Our recommended moment for the free-example message, once the sender checks are complete. A free-example message sent after October 18, 2026 needs the questions asked again first. October 23 is 17 days before Reading Week starts on November 9 and three weeks before the preliminary budget letters on November 13. A follow-up after ten working days then still falls before November 9. |
| October 26 to November 8 | Not for a free-example message | A follow-up ten working days after any working day in this stretch falls on or after November 9. If the sender checks are not complete by October 23, send from January 7, 2027. A free-example message sent after October 18, 2026 needs the questions asked again first. Never send without the note. |
| November 9 to December 4 | Avoid | Reading Week November 9 to 13. Preliminary budget letters go to faculties November 13. Faculty plans and budgets are due November 26. Tour of Deans meetings December 2 to 4. Our advice is to start nothing new in this stretch. Classes continue to December 8, and nothing in the pages we collected says the dean is unavailable. |
| November 16 to 20 | Avoid | Your convention in Biarritz, on your own calendar. It falls between the preliminary budget letters on November 13 and the faculty plans due November 26. Do not raise it with the school. Any invitation is sent by Eduniversal separately, using the confirmed terms below. |
| December 5 to 8 | Avoid | The last class days of the fall term: classes end December 8 and fall exams begin December 9. This is our judgment, not a rule in the calendar. |
| December 9 to 22 | Avoid | Fall exams. Classes end December 8. |
| December 23 to January 6, 2027 | Avoid | Fall exams end December 22 and winter classes begin January 4. University closure dates are not in the pages we collected. Leaving the first days of the winter term is our judgment. |
| January 7 to February 12, 2027 | Good | Winter term is running, and Reading Week does not start until February 15. A contact to build the relationship, with no decision asked, if the school has replied. Also the window for the free-example message if the sender checks are not complete by October 23. A free-example message sent after October 18, 2026 needs the questions asked again first. |
| February 15 to 19, 2027 | Avoid | Winter Reading Week. |
| February 22 to April 9, 2027 | Winter term is running, and classes end April 9. The pages we collected give no reason for or against these weeks. We make no recommendation here. | |
| April 12 to 24, 2027 | Avoid | Winter exams. Classes end April 9. |
| April 26 to May 28, 2027 | Good | Our recommended moment for a first conversation about anything paid, if the school wants one. It comes after the Board of Governors decision on the university's 2027-28 budget on March 25 and after winter exams. Approved budget letters go to faculties by May 31, so the school may not have its letter yet. The published purchasing rules set no season. This timing is our judgment. Any later conversation about a paid service is a separate matter, opened using the confirmed terms below. |
| April 1 to March 31 | The university's fiscal year. Term dates above are from the school's dates page for incoming exchange students. Its table is labeled for undergraduate and graduate programs, and the page marks the dates tentative until the official university calendar is published. Check the university calendar on the day of sending. Budget dates are from the university's budget schedule, not from a schedule of the school's own. |
Free AI examples first. These instructions apply to message 1 under What to send, its note and its timing. Send that first email only. If the school raises recognition, use the reply titled 'If they ask for recognition criteria'.
| Item | Why it matters here |
|---|---|
| Baptiste Ceresa's title and contact details, and your confirmation that he writes as Eduniversal | The free-example message opens with who is writing and is signed with his name and Eduniversal. The dean must be able to see who he is and how to reply. |
| Your published criteria, and your own short answer on what your scale adds to accreditation and to the rankings the school already cites | A question to be ready for from the dean. This page does not write that answer for you. |
| The staff time an evaluation asks of a school | A question to be ready for from the Vice-Dean's office, in our judgment. |
| Alberta's current level and its history on your scale | This page shows 4 Palmes, taken from your priority list. We found no mention of Palmes in the school pages collected on September 17, 2026. |
| Alberta's standing against the other Canadian schools on your scale | The school calls itself sixth in Canada, and the pages we collected name none of the schools ahead. A question to be ready for from the dean is what your scale adds to that. |
| Confirmation of your 2026 convention dates and place, and any 2027 dates a school would need to know | This page uses November 16 to 20 in Biarritz, from your calendar. Sellers do not mention the convention to the school. |
| Whether a dean may be invited to your convention, who sends the invitation, and whether it costs the school anything | Sellers do not invite. Any invitation is yours to send, separately, using the confirmed terms below. |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Level today | 4 Palmes (from your priority list) |
| Upgrade outlook | 80-100% (corporate estimate; not a formal preselection; no guarantee) |
| Owner at Eduniversal | Baptiste Ceresa |
| Write to | Dean Vikas Mehrotra, no one copied |
| Decides | Vikas Mehrotra, Dean (same as your list: Prof. Vikas Mehrotra; who approves a purchase is not published) |
| Route | The dean first. If the school later wants to buy: an invitation to quote from a university department, or a competitive bid; after a requested quote is accepted, the New Supplier Request Form |
| Quoted so far | Nothing. No fee discussion with this school is on file. |
| Status | Prepared, nothing sent |