The Goizueta Business School's full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) program is now ranked No. 18 by Bloomberg Businessweek, a four-spot jump from the previous 2012 ranking of No. 22. Goizueta is now one of the few business schools in the country with four top-20 ranked programs.
According to a Nov. 11 University press release, Businessweek ranked 112 full-time MBA programs, 85 of which were domestic programs and 27 of which were international. The rankings were determined by satisfaction from students and business recruiters as well as an evaluation of the academic standards. The full-time program at Goizueta ranked in the top 20 in each category.
"There are several reasons why a school moves in the rankings," Erika James, dean of Goizueta and professor of Organization Management, wrote in an email to the Wheel. "This year, I think we can look at the entire school – faculty, staff, students and our alumni. The rankings are made up of student and recruiter surveys and a measure of faculty research. Our program finished strong in all categories – marked improvements from 2012."
The highest-ranked program Goizueta currently has is its BBA program which ranks ninth on Bloomberg's list while the part time degree ranks 14th on Bloomberg's list.
According to Shikhar Jha, a second-year MBA student, the addition of James this year may have helped contribute to the rise in the rankings. Additionally, he said he believes that the performance of the MBA students in the job recruitment process demonstrated the caliber of students at Goizueta's full-time MBA program.
Jennyfer Goune, a first-year MBA student, was glad to hear about the rise in the rankings. She agreed that the hiring of James played a role in the rankings and said she believed that changes to the curriculum may have played a role.
This is the second time Businessweek has ranked the program in the top 20. The first time was in 2004, and since then, the program has always been in the 20 to 23 range.
Jha said he believes the new rankings will play a role in the school, as people focus on rankings when applying. He sees the school receiving more applications and businesses becoming more eager to hire Goizueta grads.
Goune added that donations to the school would hopefully go up as well.
James, while pleased with the ranking, said she does not put much stock in such things.
"We look at rankings as a snapshot in time for what we've done and how we do it," she wrote. "We get good feedback from the numbers, but we don't let rankings define us or what we do to impact student success."
Nonetheless, she said she certainly would be happy if the ranks continued to rise. For James, her goals are consistent regardless of what the school is ranked.
"We're always looking to improve," she wrote.
– By Nick Wenzel, Staff Writer
