Top B-Schools Rankled over Rankings
Filed in archive MBA programs by Mark on April 09, 2004
On the heels of the recent U.S. News and World Report annual ranking of graduate programs, two top business schools say they've had enough. Both Harvard and Penn's Wharton School no longer will enable publications to survey students and alumni
for data relevant to devising the rankings.
Ostensibly, the two B-schools say they're trying to protect the privacy of their alums and students, but they're also quite vocal about their opposition to rankings, which have been described as academic beauty pageants. Of course, both Harvard and Penn have fared well: this year's U.S. News evaluation ranks Harvard number one and Wharton third; in 2002, BusinessWeek put Harvard third and Wharton fifth, though Wharton had ranked first in 2000.
This move will not affect U.S. News, which doesn't rely on student survey data, but it will hamper BusinessWeek. And they're not happy about it. The magazine issued a statement on its Web site condemning these actions and assuring readers that the rankings will go on. Here's a snippet:
"Rest assured, the BusinessWeek B-schools team will conduct our survey---including the student survey---and produce our biennial ranking, using reporting where necessary. Already, virtually all the other schools---more than 100---are cooperating."
And now for the bashing:
"Just as investors today are clamoring for more transparency on the part of companies, so should students expect a similar degree of openness and cooperation from the very schools that nurture new business leaders. It's particularly troubling that the information filter comes from institutions whose key precepts include the free flow of information and ideas."
But BusinessWeek might be fighting a losing battle. Every year, it seems, more higher education leaders decry the rankings and threaten to withhold necessary information. It might be only a matter of time before enough of them join forces and end widespread participation once and for all. Ranking could continue, but without objective data they would become even less credible.
Still, if you're even more curious than ever about MBA programs and rankings, check out this handy site.
for data relevant to devising the rankings. Ostensibly, the two B-schools say they're trying to protect the privacy of their alums and students, but they're also quite vocal about their opposition to rankings, which have been described as academic beauty pageants. Of course, both Harvard and Penn have fared well: this year's U.S. News evaluation ranks Harvard number one and Wharton third; in 2002, BusinessWeek put Harvard third and Wharton fifth, though Wharton had ranked first in 2000.
This move will not affect U.S. News, which doesn't rely on student survey data, but it will hamper BusinessWeek. And they're not happy about it. The magazine issued a statement on its Web site condemning these actions and assuring readers that the rankings will go on. Here's a snippet:
"Rest assured, the BusinessWeek B-schools team will conduct our survey---including the student survey---and produce our biennial ranking, using reporting where necessary. Already, virtually all the other schools---more than 100---are cooperating."
And now for the bashing:
"Just as investors today are clamoring for more transparency on the part of companies, so should students expect a similar degree of openness and cooperation from the very schools that nurture new business leaders. It's particularly troubling that the information filter comes from institutions whose key precepts include the free flow of information and ideas."
But BusinessWeek might be fighting a losing battle. Every year, it seems, more higher education leaders decry the rankings and threaten to withhold necessary information. It might be only a matter of time before enough of them join forces and end widespread participation once and for all. Ranking could continue, but without objective data they would become even less credible.
Still, if you're even more curious than ever about MBA programs and rankings, check out this handy site.
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