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Blast from the Past:

MBAs and Business Schools: A Love-Hate Relationship

This week, Stanford is celebrating. And who wouldn’t? The school finally separated itself from Harvard and Wharton as the top MBA program in U.S. News’ 2016 business school rankings. Now, they can bask in a wave of positive press, new applications, and recruiting events.

Administrators at Southern Methodist’s Cox School of Business are also glowing this week. They climbed from 55th to 48th in the last U.S. News rankings. But they also know how tenuous that spot is. Seven years ago, Cox ranked 12th on Bloomberg Businessweek’s rankings…where Kenan-Flagler sits now. Now, they rank 32nd, down three spots from the previous ranking in 2012. So what happened? Well, the program didn’t lose faculty or overhaul its curriculum, if that’s what you expected. Instead, Bloomberg Businessweek simply altered their formula, giving greater weight to the volume of recruiter responses. And Cox, which maintained a small yet enthusiastic recruiter base, tumbled as a result.

When you talk to b-school administrators, you might sense a practiced apathy towards rankings. Make no mistake: They matter. That’s why staffers spend months gathering and double-checking ranking data. They understand that rankings provide a sense of order, if not a measuring stick for progress, quality, and influence. And they tend to jazz up the alumni too. Last year, Poets&Quants spent some time with Cox, to learn what it takes to compile a ranking, along with the impact that a methodology shift can have. Want to know how rankings can change school fortunes? Click on the link below to learn more.

MBA RANKINGS: A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP