B-School No. 1 in the nation
Michael Gurovitsch
Daily Staff ReporterSeptember 21st, 2004
Less than two weeks after receiving the largest donation in
University history, the business school had another reason to
celebrate yesterday: a No. 1 ranking.
The University’s recently renamed Stephen M. Ross School
of Business beat out the traditional Ivy League powerhouse programs
to earn the top spot in the latest Wall Street Journal ranking of
full-time Masters of Business Administration programs, published
today.
“It’s a September I’ll remember,” Ross
School of Business Dean Robert Dolan said, “and the work
that’s gone into it.”
The rankings were compiled based on a Harris Interactive Survey
of about 2,800 recruiters. The criteria included leadership
potential, ability to work in teams and analytical and problem
solving skills. The rankings also take into consideration faculty
quality, core curriculum and career services.
The Journal’s ranking system is different from others
because it relies on the actual recruiters’ opinions. While
other rankings focus on the “inputs,” like
students’ test scores, the Journal focuses on the
“outputs,” Dolan said.
Trailing the University in this year’s rankings are
Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business,
Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and the Wharton School at
the University of Pennsylvania. Last year, the Journal ranked the
University third, behind Wharton and Tuck.
“In the business school business, the two (rankings) that
are most looked at are Business Week and The Wall Street
Journal,” Dolan said.
Michigan placed eighth in Business Week’s 2002 rankings,
which are released every other year. The 2004 rankings are expected
to be presented in early October.
Dolan — in addition to recruiters, the Journal and CNBC
— credit the “Action Based Learning” system as a
key factor in the school’s prestige. The system is based upon
students working in real-world scenarios with real stakes.
When Dolan, a former professor of marketing at Harvard
University, took over as dean in the summer of 2001, he decided to
expand the out of the classroom opportunities that were piloted in
1992.
“(I) saw it as a comparative advantage over other
schools,” Dolan said. “It’s a phenomenal
investment in time and money. (The ranking) is a validation of the
basic strategy.”
The Ross School currently has more than 260 field-based
programs. Projects range from managing a portion of the endowment
fund to working with groups such as the “Landmine Survivors
Network” in Vietnam and Bosnia.
The announcement was broadcast live yesterday around 8:15 a.m.
on CNBC, with a camera crew providing live feeds of students
celebrating and singing “The Victors” in the Business
School’s courtyard.
Dolan said although he expected the top spot after camera crews
from CNBC were on campus last week interviewing faculty and
students, he was not officially told the news until yesterday
morning.
MBA student Amy Monroe said she was thrilled to hear the
news.
“I was excited because there was a lot of hype about CNBC
being here. If we weren’t number one it would’ve been
disappointing,” she said.
Monroe decided to attend the Ross School to study brand
management after spending four years in the Navy as a surface
warfare officer and three years as a defense consultant working for
the firm Booz Allen.
“Obviously Michigan already had a good reputation.
“This gives more publicity to the school,” he said,
adding that, “Any good press is always good for recruiting
and for students.”
The announcement comes one day after representatives from the
Ross School kicked off a 10-city capital campaign in Boston.
The goal of the campaign is to raise $350 million. So far, the
school has accumulated more than $200 million, including
Ross’s donation, Dolan said.
How they fared
The Wall Street Journal’s business school
rankings:
#1. The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University
of Michigan.
#2. Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business.
#3. Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.
Printed from www.michigandaily.com on Sat, 26 May 2012 21:48:15 -0400