 Most French Business Schools are accredited by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles, which is an association of higher educational establishments outside the mainstream framework of the public education system.Germany was one of the last Western countries to adopt the MBA degree.In 1998, the "Hochschulrahmengesetz" (Higher Education Framework Act), a German federal law regulating higher education including the types of degrees offered, was modified to permit German universities to offer master's degrees.