Completing MBA Ranking Surveys - Damned if you Do, and Damned if you Don't
Latest press releasesThe number and frequency of Business School ranking surveys and reports has been increasing over the past few years and created a dilemma for those tasked with administering them. Do we take part, however questionable the methodology, consistency and relevance of some of them, thereby giving credulity to some awful work which would certainly not receive a pass mark at Warwick Business School, or do we decline the invitation and risk appearing not to have made the grade.
It was the latter which forced us to the conclusion that we should, for the first time, complete the Business Week Full Time MBA ranking survey.
After providing the requested spreadsheets of graduates and recruiters and other information that they needed, we waited for the results. We were surprised when Business Week was published with no mention of our school. We are one of the largest and most highly regarded European business schools; one of the first to achieve the triple accreditation from the Association of MBAs, AACSB International and Equis, and with the highest five star research rating in the UK.
After further investigation we discovered that we had been excluded from the rankings completely. With my Dean, MBA programme managers and alumni from around the world asking what had happened, I contacted Business Week and asked the question.
They told me that there was 'some information' that we did not supply. In order to get to the bottom of this and to ensure that we get it right next time I have been trying to find out what information they did not have, that resulted in a business school of our status being excluded. We can find no record of a request for information that was not satisfied. I have asked on eight occasions specifically what information they did not receive and they have finally told me the following. "We do not release the criteria for eligibility". It would seem that we were good enough to be the first European school to be accredited by AACSB, but not up to Business Week's criteria. I find this quite extraordinary.
So, where do we go from here? I have been in the media business for long enough to know that it is not good advice to 'have a go' at a large international media organisation. However, there is something wrong and I think that we deserve a more quality response than that which we have received to date. Prospective students and businesses do see these rankings, and are influenced by them, but the majority are neither audited or monitored in any meaningful way. They are a success in as much as they sell newsprint but their quality is frighteningly variable. They all make the assumption that all schools are similar, and many show a North American bias. The time has come for some guidance on these projects. Until then we will remain damned if we take part and damned if we don't.
Vincent Hammersley, Director of Communications, Warwick Business School.
It was the latter which forced us to the conclusion that we should, for the first time, complete the Business Week Full Time MBA ranking survey.
After providing the requested spreadsheets of graduates and recruiters and other information that they needed, we waited for the results. We were surprised when Business Week was published with no mention of our school. We are one of the largest and most highly regarded European business schools; one of the first to achieve the triple accreditation from the Association of MBAs, AACSB International and Equis, and with the highest five star research rating in the UK.
After further investigation we discovered that we had been excluded from the rankings completely. With my Dean, MBA programme managers and alumni from around the world asking what had happened, I contacted Business Week and asked the question.
They told me that there was 'some information' that we did not supply. In order to get to the bottom of this and to ensure that we get it right next time I have been trying to find out what information they did not have, that resulted in a business school of our status being excluded. We can find no record of a request for information that was not satisfied. I have asked on eight occasions specifically what information they did not receive and they have finally told me the following. "We do not release the criteria for eligibility". It would seem that we were good enough to be the first European school to be accredited by AACSB, but not up to Business Week's criteria. I find this quite extraordinary.
So, where do we go from here? I have been in the media business for long enough to know that it is not good advice to 'have a go' at a large international media organisation. However, there is something wrong and I think that we deserve a more quality response than that which we have received to date. Prospective students and businesses do see these rankings, and are influenced by them, but the majority are neither audited or monitored in any meaningful way. They are a success in as much as they sell newsprint but their quality is frighteningly variable. They all make the assumption that all schools are similar, and many show a North American bias. The time has come for some guidance on these projects. Until then we will remain damned if we take part and damned if we don't.
Vincent Hammersley, Director of Communications, Warwick Business School.
One of Europe's largest business schools and the largest department of the highly-rated University of Warwick, WBS is fully accredited.
Our teaching is rated excellent and 75 percent of our research is rated at 3* and above, placing us 3rd in the UK.
Over 8,000 students from 130 countries currently study here.
Their interaction with top faculty creates a multicultural learning environment, enhanced by outstanding teaching and study facilities and a top-quality campus.
Our teaching covers the full range of business education, from undergraduate and masters degrees to the Warwick MBA, doctoral research, and executive education.