UC Ranks as a Bloomberg Businessweek s Best Undergraduate B-School

On March 3, 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek released its

annual rankings of the best undergraduate business schools

in the nation. In this latest survey, they expanded the number of schools listed to 113 and placed the University of Cincinnati’s undergraduate business program at 87th.

“We are honored to receive this recognition from Businessweek,” says Dean David M. Szymanski. “Being ranked in the top 20 percent of the 481 accredited US business schools reinforces our efforts in providing a relevant, quality education in today’s challenging business environment.”

According to Businessweek’s special report, the nation’s top b-schools are responding to the ever-changing economy in a global way. And UC is no exception. Earning an “A” in the student services and job placement category, the College of Business’ study abroad and career services offices provide the unique support students need. Sending nearly 300 business students abroad and filling more than 400 jobs and internships annually, it’s no wonder the UC College of Business ranks among the best in the country.

Methodology

To identify the top undergraduate business programs, Bloomberg Businessweek combines measures of student satisfaction, post graduation outcomes and academic quality.

They started with 139 programs that were eligible for ranking, including the schools from their 2010 ranking plus three new schools. In November, they asked more than 86,000 graduating seniors at those schools to complete a 50-question survey on everything from the quality of teaching to recreational facilities. Overall, 28,377 students responded to the survey, a response rate of 33%. The results of the 2011 student survey were then combined with the results of two previous student surveys—from 2010 and 2009—to arrive at a student survey score for each school.

In addition to surveying students, Bloomberg Businessweek polled 775 corporate recruiters for companies that hire thousands of business majors each year. In the end, 246 recruiters responded, giving input on which program turn out the best graduates, for a response rate of 32%.

After surveys were completed, 18 schools were cut for low response rates on either the student or recruiter surveys. Final scores were tallied combining the student survey score (30%), the recruiter survey results (20%), starting salary (10%) and academic quality measures (30%).