Great deeds arise from great dreams... In October 2004, WSB-NLU received an award in the competition for ‘The student-friendly University) from JUPieS, awarded by the Polish Student Council to universities exhibiting a pro-student approach. The criteria used focused on pro-student approach understood broadly e.g., infrastructure, students involvement and relations between students and administrators. On November 1, 2004, a first issue of a new, independent WSB-NLU student magazine called ‘InBlanco’ appeared. It is published by members of the Media Group at WSB-NLU student society. WSB-NLU won a contest for the best projects under the EU Initiative EQUAL. The project, prepared by the Institute for Advanced Management at WSB-NLU, is called „partnership for the development of IT competences in Poland” and is addressed to employees of SMEs from all over Poland. The goal of the project is to undertake appropriate activities aiming at eliminating IT competence gaps among SMEs employees (in particular those over 40 years of age). In November 2004, WSB-NLU together with Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki i Zarządzania (Higher School of Computer science and Management) from Rzeszów launched a research project called „The Economic Barometer “. The project constitutes an integral part of the studies on economic situation of individual regions in Poland and is being implemented in cooperation with the European Committee - Directore Generale for Economic and Financial Affair and OECD. The research scope covers industry sectors, trade, construction industry, services and households and its results will enable to assess the economic situation in the Małopolska region. WSB-NLU prepared 30 tuition-free admissions to the first year of the full-time program in Polish. Candidates were eligible for the scholarship if they passed the international A-level examination or Polish A-level on the advanced level in subjects required by the school and obtained a minimum of 60%. Candidates who started studying in the tuition-free studies were selected based on the results of the examination. In January 2005, the first issue of the annual academic periodical called “Nowy Sącz Academic Review” appeared. The periodical, which is published entirely in English, containe dpapers in management and related science. The annual journal is published in the paper form but it is also available online with full-text papers. The first issue contained papers by Prof. Andrzej K. Koźmińki, Prof. Marek Capiński, Prof. Jan W. Wiktor, dr Andrzej Szablewski, dr Piotr Czarnecki and dr Kazimierz Śliwa. WSB-NLU again won the ranking by the weekly WPROST and managed to maintain its position of the best private business school in Poland. One more time, the Nowy Sacz School came first in the category “Where to study business” beating all public and private school of business. In May 2005, ‘Psychodnia’ or an online WSB-NLU psychologist centre was launched. Grzegorz Strojny, a psychologist who runs the WSB-NLU Psychological Consultation Room as well as interpersonal skills workshops tries to tackle students’ problems. Psychodnia is open at all times of night and day for people bothered by something and those who would like to understand themselves and other people better. One can learn there lots of things e.g., how to prevent symptoms of bad mood, how not to succumb to temptations or what Photo-shopping is. If this help is not enough, one can write to the psychologist or meet with him in person. The list of achievements of WSB-NLU was extended by another success: this time a victory in the ASM1 competition ( advanced strategic management) during the spring edition of the Marketplace Global Competition. WSB-NLU students have competed in this contest for several years now and they have won seven times. In June 2005, WSB-NLU launched the project „Language training as an opportunity to improve professional qualifications of Małopolska workforce”. The project, whose budget is an estimated PLN 3 million, was co-financed by the European Social Fund within the Integrated Program of Regional Development. Persons who are willing to improve their professional qualifications will be able to enroll in English, German, French and Russian classes. From 18 to 25 August 2005, WSB-NLU hosted the 17th International Olympics in Informatics, the first IT event on this scale organized in Poland. As many as 300 contestants representing 72 countries of the world, including 6 contestants from Poland, competed for the title of the best IT specialists. On September 23 and 24, 2005 the First Family Business Conference in Poland was held at WSB-NLU. On October 1, 2005, during the convocation ceremony for the 2005/2006 academic year, first graduates of the masters program in Computer Science from DePaul University of Chicago received their diplomas, which are identical with the diplomas received by their American fellow students. The diplomas were presented by the President of DePaul University, Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, who flew over to Nowy Sącz especially for this occasion.
Demostenes
1991/1992
The educational mission of WSB-NLU commenced on October 1, 1991 as a Sadecko-Podhalańska Post-Secondary School of Business was established with the enrollment of 64 students.
1992/1993
The Sądecko-Podhalańska Post-Secondary School of Business was coverted into a degree-awarding Higher Education Institution in October 1992, following the official signing of a bilateral agreement with the National-Louis University in Chicago, Illinois (May 8th, 1992), and granting of full accreditation by the Polish Ministry of Education to launch an undergraduate program in Management and Marketing awarding a Polish Bachelor's degree (licencjat).
The School was initially located in the buildings of the Stadnicki Palace in Nawojowa set 11 km away from the center of Nowy Sącz.
1993/1994
The School began in the Stadnicki Palace in Nawojowa, about six miles away from Nowy Sącz. In 1993 WSB-NLU moved to a six-story building purchased by the Polish Chamber of Commerce and located in Nowy Sšcz, at 27 Zielona Street. In addition to teaching business, WSB-NLU has been recognised for its intensive English as a Foreign Language programme.
In accordance with the NLU's requirements only candidates with good command of English could be admitted to the School. This condition limited the number of candidates, who could be admitted to the 3-year studies, therefore in 1993, a preparatory year for those who needed extra English instruction was offered.
In that year, extramural (weekend) Marketing and Management studies were also introduced as well as a special business course was offered to Polish Army reserve officers.
1994/1995
WSB-NLU held its first graduation ceremony in 1994 during which the Alumni Association was founded. That same year saw the introduction of a one-year postgraduate Business Management programme.
1995/1996
WSB-NLU and the Maastricht School of Management, Holland signed an agreement on developing a Master of Business Administration programme. In October 1995, a new area of specialisation: Media Management was implemented as a part of Marketing and Management programme.
In 1996, the program delivered by the Craig School of Business and funded by the US Department of State was completed. The program lasted three years (from 1993 to 1996) and was considered the best educational program offered in Central Europe in 1995-96. The program comprised 17 courses taught by professors of the California State University, implementing the model of the University Business Center, study visits of nine WSB-NLU representatives in California and developing course syllabi. The total value of the program reached half a million US dollars.
1996/1997
The School also introduced an intramural programme in International Affairs for its graduates preparing them for work in diplomacy.
The school's expanding programme and enrolment created the demand for additional facilities. A new building located on Zielona Street campus was dedicated at the official inauguration ceremony for the 1996/1997 academic year.
1997/1998
On May 8, 1997, WSB celebrated its 5th anniversary during the MEGA'97 Festival. The Festival comprised a conference on the present situation and the future of the Polish higher education which was attended by students, Rectors and government officials from throughout Poland.
During the conference Klaus Moller (TMI) lead a seminar on The New Ways of Business Management: Employeeship which was attended by over 700 students and representatives of visiting firms. During the evenings there were concerts and parties as a part of the Students' Festival (Juwenalia).
1998/1999
The school has been constantly developing. On July 4, 1998, WSB-NLU was granted a licence by the Polish Ministry of Education to offer the Masters programme in Management and Marketing.
1999/2000
On June 14, 1999, WSB-NLU received the licence to offer its own undergraduate programme in Computer Science.
On April 19, 1999, four non-state colleges: Higher School of Business and Computer Science in Bielsko-Biała, Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu - National-Louis University in Nowy Sšcz, Higher School of Business in Tarnów, and Higher School of Management and Banking in Cracow, signed an agreement that in the future will result in founding a multi-campus university.
Since October 1999, WSB-NLU has offered a new MBA programme in Financial Management, run jointly with Hull University from Great Britain.
Since 1995, WSB-NLU has maintained its leading position in rankings of non-state colleges. In 1999, WSB-NLU again came first in the ranking of private business schools, conducted by the monthly Home & Market. WSB-NLU received 29 points, which is almost 10% more than the school that came second, that is L. Koźmiński School in Warsaw.
In the May issue of a prestigious monthly Businessman Magazine (5/99) WSB-NLU again outdistanced other schools in the ranking of business schools.
On November 4, 1999, Rector Krzysztof Pawłowski signed an agreement with National-Louis University in Chicago thanks to which WSB-NLU graduates, as the only ones in Europe, are going to receive an American degree of Bachelor's of Arts (B.A.) - an American equivalent to the Polish licencjat degree.
A week later, on November 11, 1999, Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek granted Rector Krzysztof Pawłowski with the main award for WSB-NLU in the competition Pro Publico Bono.
2000/2001
18th april 2000 WSB-NLU received acreditation from NCA (North Central Association) for 3 NLU programmes: two undergraduate in Business Management and Informatics and for MBA programme. WSB-NLU is the only school in Europe which in its Undergraduate Programme in majors Computer Science and Management & Marketing offers an American B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) diploma and the Polish licencjat.
Since February 2000 WSB-NLU conducts an MBA program in General Management in cooperation with National-Louis University. At the moment managing staff of Optimus S.A. takes part in the program.
In September 2000, the construction of the first dormitory was completed. The dorm, located on Barbackiego Street, is within 10 minutes walking distance to WSB-NLU. 100 students and 60 faculty members are accommodated there.
2001/2002
WSB-NLU again was placed among top business schools in Poland. In the ranking of Wprost magazine school ranked 1st place, and according to Perspektywy magazine and Rzeczpospolita daily WSB-NLU is second best business school in the country.
In may WSB-NLU with Wyższa Szkoła Humanistyczna from Pułtusk and Wyższa Szkoła Przedsiębiorczoœci i Zarzšdzania from Warsaw established a Consortium of non-state schools. One of the goals of the Consortium is to intensify efforts aiming at improving quality of higher education in Poland.
This year WSB-NLU joined the elite group of schools giving its students ability to receive Microsoft Certified Proffesional certificate. Thanks to an agreement with Microsoft corporation, students of WSB-NLU will receive MCP certificates in one of three categories: Systems Engeneer, Programmer and Data Base Administrator. MCP certificate is widely recognised in IT companies, and makes it easier to find satisfying job in IT.
Since October 2001, WSB-NLU offers its students 3 dormitories for total 291 people. All dorms are located within 10 minutes walking distance to WSB-NLU. The buildings provide high standards of living; each room has its own telephone line, television and Internet access via WSB-NLU computer network. In addition, each appartment in the dorm on Grunwaldzka str. has its own washing-machine.
2002/2003
Similarly to the previous years, WSB-NLU still holds the first position in the ranking of non-state universities carried out by WPROST and the second position in the ranking of a monthly Perspektywy and Rzeczpospolita. WSB-NLU also came first in the ranking of Home&Market, which proves the school's strong position among private univesrities.
On March 4, 2002, an official ceremony took place to open a part of the new campus building housing a new library and a reading room complex as well as the Computer Center with ten computer labs equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The opening ceremony was accompanied by a seminar attended by university librarians from all over Poland.
In May, WSB-NLU celebrated its tenth anniversary. On May 8, during an official session of the Town Council of Nowy Sacz, the local self-government handed the school a special banner.
On this day, two galleries were opened at WSB-NLU: one gallery of Andrzej Szarek, a well-known artist from Nowy Sacz, the other- the Okocim Gallery, founded by Carlsberg Okocim S.A.
From May 16 to 18, during the student festival Juvenalia, a series of events called GIGA 2002, prepared by WSB-NLU students, took place. These events included: an exhibition of works by Andrzej Mleczko, a musical called Marvellous Dreams prepared and performed by WSB-NLU students, numerous concerts, a comedy show by PAKA comedians as well as a great 'family' picnic, bowing competition and bungee jumping.
Meanwhile, the following, more serious events, took place at WSB-NLU campus: the Third Conference on Quality in Education in Non-state Universities associated in STARS as well as the conferences organised by WSB-NLU students such as The Interesting to the interested and Generation XXL focusing on educating and creating leaders of 21st century.
On September 28, during an inauguration ceremony of the Academic Year 2002/2003, the second part of the new building was officially opened. This part houses: a huge auditorium, seating 364 students, that has the best AV equipment available, two auditoriums seating 220 and six seminar rooms seating in total 300 students.
On October 12, for the first time in the history of the school, WSB-NLU graduates received American diplomas of Bachelor of Arts granted by National-Louis University from Chicago. The diplomas, identical with the ones received by NLU graduates in the U.S., were granted to all alumni of the full-time program who graduated from WSB-NLU since its beginning in 1991.
On November 9, the Chapter of the Kisiel\'s Prize awarded by the WPROST weekly announced that the Rector of Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu- NLU became this year's winner of the Prize.
As it was stated in the justification, Rector K. Pawlowski managed to turn knowledge into capital.
2003/2004
On 25 January an official opening of a new Sports Hall took place. It is the third building opened to students’ use during the last 18 months.
The hall is 1000 m2 in size, it has a professional floor surface with very good parameters that make it ideal for practicing various kinds of indoor sports. Thanks to a remote-controlled system of installation of basketball baskets, the hall can house games of volley ball, hand ball as well as basketball.
On 27 February 2003 WSB-NLU signed an agreement with the Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO), one of the best universities in Russia. The agreement stipulates student exchange between the two institutions.
In April 2003, WSB-NLU students again won an international competition ‘Global Marketplace Competition.’ This year WSB-NLU team gained record results: 80% market share and over 500 million dollars in revenue. It is the best result in the competition’s few years of history.
WSB-NLU won the ranking by WPROST for the eight time and maintained its position of the best non-state business school. The Nowy Sącz school came first in the category: ‘Where to study business administration’ beating all state and non-state institutions of higher education.
On April 18, 2003, a WSB-NLU team consisting of Marta Stefańczyk, Tomasz Ciąpałą and Maksymilian Imiałek won the Polish round of an international competition L’Oreal Marketing Award 2003. The competition was organized world-wide for the tenth time this year; however, it was held in Poland for the first time. More...
In September, Rector Krzysztof Pawłowski was granted a title ‘Entrepreneur of the Year 2003’ in a competition organized for the first time in Poland by Ernst & Young. There were more than fifty individuals and forty-eight firms taking part in the competition. Fourteen people representing nine organizations managed to reach the final round.
Since September, WSB-NLU has launched a part-time undergraduate program preparing would-be managers in the field of tourism and health care management. The program is addressed to graduates of secondary nursing schools and persons working in the nursing profession as well as to employees working in health care administration. The Management in Tourism and Hotel Industry program is addressed especially to residents of Nowy Sącz.
On October 16, 2003, there was an official opening ceremony of the Oratory at WSB-NLU which was opened to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the papacy of John Paul II.
The main wall is decorated with a hundred year old, folk-style crucifix, a sole religious symbol in the chapel where students of all denominations can pray. There is a huge boulder from the Klęczany quarry placed at its foot. ‘ It is both a table, a kind of ancient mensa and it reflects the mountainous landscape of the region.’ Such interior decoration was an idea of Rector Krzysztof Pawlowski and Rev. Waldemar Durda.
On November 25 and 26, WSB-NLU signed a cooperation agreement with DePaul University. Prof. Helmut Epp- Dean of the School of Computer Science of DePaul University and Olivier Perinaux- a computer specialist in charge of the Distance Learning System, signed an agreement under which WSB-NLU is going to offer a two-year program in computer science. Graduates of the program will receive a Master of Science degree conferred by the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Sciences of DePaul University.
In February 2004, WSB-NLU purchased a new anti-plagiarism computer system which will make it impossible for students to copy form other works.
Paweł Chlipała was the first WSB-NLU alumnus who submitted a thesis on Intellectual Capital in Shaping Marketing Competitive Advantage of Companies and was granted a degree of a Doctor of Philisophy.
Similarly to the previous years, WSB-NLU students won top prizes in numerous competitions e.g., in the 8th edition of the competition Entrepreneurism, Finance and Management , The Internet Stock Exchange Game, Annual Student Award 2004 - GBASA'04 and Skandia Poland Opportunity.
2004/2005
On October 25, 2004, the Board of the Foundation for Polish Science granted its award in the category of Humanities and Social Sciences to Professor Jadwiga Staniszkis, a lecturer at WSB-NLU Political Science Department. This prestigious recognition, also known as ‘the Polish Nobel Prize’, is considered the most important scientific award granted in Poland.
Four contestants became the winners of the 17th IOI: two Chinese, an American and a Ukrainian. Filip Wolski, a Pole who qualified to the top ten, received the golden medal. Other Polish representatives won two silver and a bronze medal.
The conference guests included: Prof. Joseph Tapies of IESE Business School from Barcelona, a founder of one of the first family business centers in Europe, Prof. Greg McCann from Statson (USA), who authored the curriculum for family business programs offered at American universities, and Olivier de Richoufftz, director of the Family Business Network, the biggest international organization associating family-owned businesses. The conference was attended by representatives of family-owned firms from all over Poland. The result of the conference was signing an agreement with Mr Marek Roleski, a founder of the Roleski Foundation, to open the Family Business Center at WSB-NLU, whose main aim is research on family business.
16 years ago the WSB-NLU campus was an old - post industrial plant. But it was both the vision of creating one of the best schools in Poland and a strong faith in success which transformed cinderella into a queen. 
