Page - 1

With Wharton again coming top of the latest FT rankings, and Chicago coming top of the latest Business Week rankings, their Deans should be popping champagne. Dipak Jain, Dean of Kellogg, which was deposed from the top perch of Business Week, should be suffering anxiety attacks.
The reality, however, is that Business School officials have become more sanguine about rankings in recent years, as the proliferation of rankings reinforces their skepticism and as they realize that rankings seem to be steadily losing their impact with MBA applicants around the world.

According to the largest international survey of potential business school applicants, business school rankings are no longer the major factor behind a student's choice of MBA programme.

The most important factor was a school's reputation, followed by the success record of its career placement office, return on financial investment, the availability of scholarships and other financial aid and the range of subjects that the school specialises in. The survey, conducted by TopMBA.com, asked over 6,000 aspiring MBAs, who attended last year's World MBA Tour, what would be the key factor behind their choice of school. The ranking of the school was only the sixth most important factor, having slipped in each of the last three years.

For the last decade, the management education sector has been obsessed with the ranking of business schools. Publishers such as the Financial Times, Business Week and the Wall Street Journal sponsor regular surveys that stoke interest to the point that their coverage produces some of their top selling editions. There is now a growing controversy about whether these rankings provide useful information for MBA applicants, or are misleading and creating a 'herd instinct' towards a few schools, which is of no benefit to anyone.

Business school officials differ in their views of rankings. Although The Wharton School frequently tops rankings, Dean Pat Harker feels, "There is a very strong consensus among parties (alumni, faculty and staff of other institutions), that the ranking methodologies are severely flawed... Some people believe that if the rankings help us, who cares if they are flawed or give a limited view of the school? But we can't have it both ways. We either endorse a defective, inconsistent practice, or we speak out, offer better alternatives for information, and work with the media to enable them to report with more useful, objective data."

Next

Source: -
Nunzio Quacquarelli
Website: www.topmba.com