How Darden Hit No. 1 in Student Satisfaction

In any case, Carraway believes that student satisfaction is often cyclical. “If one class is unhappy, the next one tends to more more happy,” he says. “The challenge now is how to break that cyclicality.” Carraway also believes that another important factor in overall satisfaction is student leadership. “When student leadership is weak, the class tends to be unhappy, in part because the leadership drives the engagement.” The student leadership in Darden’s Class of 2010 was exceptionally strong. “So now we’re asking ourselves how do we help insure there is strong student leadership? How do we influence that process.”

BUSINESSWEEK’S STUDENT SATISFACTION RANKINGS OVER THE YEARS.