Indiana Business Schools Rank Among Elite

You can view the full rankings by clicking here.

March 21, 2012

News Release

The University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business ranked No. 1 in the country for the third consecutive year in Bloomberg Businessweek’s seventh annual survey of “The Best Undergraduate Business Schools.” The ranking was announced today (March 20).

“We consider this a tremendous achievement,” said Roger Huang, Kenneth R. Meyer Professor of Global Investment Management and interim dean of the Mendoza College. “To us, it speaks to the collective effort and spirit of our faculty, staff and students. We also are deeply appreciative of our alumni, the Notre Dame Career Center, the University, and friends of the College for their constant, enthusiastic support.”

In comments accompanying the ranking, the editors wrote, “Notre Dame once again is firing on all cylinders … very strong academic numbers.”

The Mendoza College was rated No. 1 in student satisfaction, and No. 2 in the recruiter ranking for 2012. The survey also gave the College marks of “A+” in teaching quality, facilities and services, and job placement.

Rounding out the top five spots are University of Virginia (McIntire), Cornell University (Dyson), University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), and Emory (Goizueta).

Bloomberg Businessweek noted that students at Mendoza are quick to laud the school’s focus on ethics and its assistance when it comes to job hunting, as well as its strong alumni support. The article discussed the improved recruiting landscape and the positive attitude toward job hunting on the part of business students. Bloomberg quoted Huang as saying, “Students seem to be more focused on being able to get a job when they graduate. They want the broader experience, and many do have the desire to include some type of volunteer or service work. But they also want assurance that if I study ‘X,’ I will be able to get a job doing ‘X.’"

“The College of Business puts an emphasis not only on outstanding academic growth, but also on finding your vocational calling and on doing business the right way and for the right reasons,” said a Mendoza College graduating senior in the comments section of the survey. “This summer was my first experience at comparing my business skills against those from other top universities. I felt throughout the summer that my finance knowledge, problem-solving abilities, and clarity of communication were at the top of my intern class.”

Another survey respondent noted, “The most unique aspect about ND in general is the alumni network, and this shows a lot in Mendoza. Recruiters come to campus from all over the country, and they are all alumni. This makes the interview process easier, and increases your chances of getting recommended for the next round of interviews or for the job.”

To rank the programs, Bloomberg Businessweek used nine measures, including surveys of both senior business majors and employers, median starting salaries for graduates, and the number of alumni each program sends to top MBA programs. A calculation of academic quality is also included in the methodology, combining average SAT scores, student-faculty ratios, class size in core business courses, the percentage of students with internships, and the number of hours devoted to class work.

One hundred forty-two undergraduate business programs participated in this year’s ranking. Eighteen were eliminated from consideration because of insufficient response rates in the student survey, employer survey, or both. In total, 33 percent of students responded to the survey.

A complete list is available here.

The Mendoza College of Business currently enrolls 1,888 undergraduate students in six majors: accountancy, finance, marketing, management consulting, management entrepreneurship and IT management. After completing the University’s innovative First Year of Studies program, Notre Dame business majors enter the Mendoza College in their sophomore year.

The Mendoza College also offers graduate degree programs – including a Master of Business Administration, Executive Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Accountancy, and Master of Nonprofit Administration – as well as non-degree executive education and nonprofit professional development programs.

Source: University of Notre Dame

News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — Butler University’s College of Business (COB) has secured the 48th position in the Bloomberg BusinessWeek ranking of the best U.S. undergraduate business programs for 2012.
Since their debut on the list two years ago, the College has climbed 15 spots (63rd in 2010 and 58th in 2011). And, as has been the case for the past two years, the COB remains the only Indianapolis school out of the 124 schools ranked.

In addition to moving up in the overall ranking, the COB’s academic quality number jumped – moving up seven spaces from last year’s 19th position to the 12th position this year. In comparison to other business programs in Indiana, Butler’s impressive number is second only to Notre Dame’s Mendoza School (7th ) and is ahead of Indiana University’s Kelly School and Purdue University’s Krannert School. The COB also received an “A+” grade for teaching quality and an “A” for job placement.
“Breaking the top 50 is incredible,” said COB Dean Chuck Williams. “We (in the College) know we offer an impressive undergraduate business program at Butler and this news validates that outsiders have taken notice.”

The undergraduate program is focused around a experiential learning model called Real Life, Real Business (RLRB). Unlike other business programs where a student may take one or two classes that are experiential in nature, the RLRB curriculum starts from day one and continues through graduation. Some highlights of the program include:
• An extensive four-year career development program where students are guided by their own career mentors. (These former executives worked for companies such as Cummins, IBM, Smith Barney and Eli Lilly.)

• The Freshman Business Experience course, in which students are not only introduced to business concepts; they see those concepts played out in real companies. At the end of the semester, students participate in the Top Dawg Business Plan Competition, where they develop a business idea, write a business plan and then present their work to a panel of business executives.

• The Real Business Experience course in which sophomores develop a business plan, present the plan to a board of local bankers and entrepreneurs to apply for up to $5,000 of start-up capital, and then if desired, start and run the business. The COB currently has nine operating student-run businesses.

• The Student-Managed Investment Fund in which students invest real money from Butler’s endowment.

• The Butler Business Accelerator, an in-house consulting firm that involves COB students on client projects and as interns.
Bloomberg Businessweek used nine measures to rank the 124 programs, including surveys of senior business majors and corporate recruiters, median starting salaries for graduates, and the number of alumni each program sends to top MBA programs. They calculated an academic quality rating for each program by combining average SAT scores, student-faculty ratios, class size, the percentage of students with internships, and the number of hours students devote to classwork.

About Butler University

Challenging and enabling students to meet their personal and professional goals has guided Butler University since 1855. Today, Butler is a nationally recognized comprehensive university that blends the liberal arts with first-rate pre-professional programs. It seeks to prepare each graduate not simply to make a living but to make a life of purpose, in which personal flourishing is intertwined with the welfare of others. Butler is known for its vibrant campus, superior academics and dedicated faculty. The University enrolls more than 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students in six academic colleges: Business, Communication, Education, Fine Arts, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Located just six miles from downtown Indianapolis, Butler’s urban setting affords students internship opportunities that provide excellent graduate school and career preparation

Source: Butler University

News Release

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University's Kelley School of Business continued its upward movement in new rankings of undergraduate programs done by Bloomberg Businessweek, moving up two positions to 16th overall.

Kelley remains second among all Big Ten schools and was fifth among such programs at public universities, in rankings that the magazine announced through a webcast late Tuesday, March 20. Kelley's undergraduate program has always been ranked in the Top 20 throughout the six-year history of the survey.

The school also moved up in surveys done with corporate recruiters, who this year ranked Kelley as their fourth most favorite program nationally (up from eighth a year ago). They gave Kelley an "A-plus" grade.

In terms of starting salaries, the median salary for Kelley graduates increased by 10 percent over last year to $55,000, well above the median for all schools, which rose only by 2.5 percent to $48,558. Ninety-one percent of students reported full-time job or graduate school acceptance within three months.

"I'm not sure if it came through in the rankings themselves, but I've read through a lot of student comments over the past few weeks, and the student sentiment is much more positive and optimistic than it has been the past few years," Bloomberg Businessweek editor Geoff Gloeckler said during the live chat. "That helps with student satisfaction, no doubt. Also the number of students who had received a job offer is up."

Top industries at Kelley were financial services, consumer products and accounting.

"We track a wide range of internal performance metrics," said Dan Smith, dean of the Kelley School. "Given our improvements in student quality, faculty-to-student-ratio, and the quality of the career opportunities that our students earn, the positive move in the Bloomberg Businessweek rankings comes as no surprise.

"There are over 3,000 business schools in the U.S., and to be among the top 20 places us among the nation's elite programs," Smith added. "We are particularly proud of the high level of satisfaction of the recruiters who hire our students, as this reflects the commitment to excellence by our students, faculty, career services team and program staff.

"The school has a strong positive momentum that we expect to continue as we launch a new curriculum and complete the plans for new facilities that will transform the school."

Munirpallam Venkataramanan, associate dean for academic programs, noted that Bloomberg Businessweek also gave Kelley "A" grades for teaching quality and for resources offered students.

"The rankings are testament to the efforts of our faculty and staff in attracting outstanding students to the Kelley School of Business and providing them with a world-class education and experience," Venkataramanan said. "Year after year, our students rise up to the challenge and excel, as evidenced by employers' continued high regard for the talent they get from Kelley. It is gratifying to see the ranking is consistent with our internal assessment of continuous improvement in multiple facets of students learning, development and accomplishments."

Student interest is up 20 percent from last year's all-time high in terms of applications, from both standard and direct admit students. The average SAT score for all undergraduate students at Kelley is now 1,304.

With an enrollment of nearly 4,700, the Kelley School has the largest undergraduate enrollment in Bloomberg Businessweek's Top 20. However, the student-to-faculty ratio continued to improve, from 21.8-to-1 to 19.6-to-1.

Overall, 28,060 college seniors at 124 schools participated in the survey.

In its most recent ranking of MBA programs, in 2010, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked Kelley's MBA program 19th.

To rank the programs, Bloomberg Businessweek used nine measures, including surveys of both senior business majors and employers, median starting salaries for graduates and the number of alumni each program sends to top MBA programs. A calculation of academic quality is also included in the methodology, combining average SAT scores, student-faculty ratios, class size in core business courses, the percentage of students with internships, and the number of hours devoted to class work.

Source: Indiana University