Carricaburu: Utah colleges pass the grade in business

Business school rankings are a little like beauty contests.

No one should care about them nearly as much as they do.

Rest assured, however, that when BusinessWeek magazine later this week releases its biennial rankings of the nation’s top business programs, many Utahns will read down the list with rapt attention.

By Lisa Carricaburu

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_2421300

Rankings published by BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and select others are important enough to business school administrators, donors, recruiters and prospective students that rankings on various lists top Web sites at both Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management and the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business.

"We haven’t forgotten that our core mission is to deliver a quality education, but there’s no denying that gaining recognition for that quality is a goal," says Jack Brittain, dean of the Eccles School. "For all their strengths and weaknesses, rankings are an independent verification that we’re doing a good job."

The U. last year for the first time met all the prerequisites to be considered for the BusinessWeek ranking. The Marriott School’s programs ranked first in terms of students’ return on their investment in business school on the most recent (2002) BusinessWeek list.

Recognizing how important rankings are, both schools dedicate resources to improving their performances.

BYU employs a graduate student in accounting part time to analyze statistics reported in surveys the school must complete to be considered for various rankings, says Joseph Ogden, Marriott School assistant dean.

Once rankings are published, the school examines outcomes, and if it could do better on measures that match BYU’s mission, it explores ways to improve. "If a measure is contrary to our mission, we disregard it," Ogden says.

Brittain says the Eccles School makes sure its marketing efforts include deans of business schools across the country as well as corporate recruiters nationwide whose opinions carry weight in some surveys. "For us, the goal is recognition," he says.

Both schools’ efforts are paying off.

The most recent Wall Street Journal rankings, in particular, speak highly of Utah’s programs.

The rankings, which are based on interviews with recruiters, ranked the Marriott School fifth and the Eccles School 30th among regional schools.

In addition, BYU ranked fifth for accounting and second among schools recruiters look to when they want to hire graduates with high ethical standards.

Although the U. ranked below BYU – as it does in nearly every ranking – Brittain views the Eccles School’s inclusion on this year’s list as a milestone. "It tells us we’re making progress."

He acknowledges the whole process can be frustrating, especially for a public institution with limited financial resources.

"There’s definitely a sport element to it," he says. "But it’s a sport where we never get a game day. We never get to go head to head with our competitors."

Nevertheless, he and Ogden will join other Utahns this week in assessing how BusinessWeek views their schools.

"Ranking are a good thing as long as we don’t manage to them and stay focused on our goals," Brittain says.

Ogden is optimistic BYU will do well, but he’s also rooting for the school’s rival to the north.

"It helps to have other strong programs in the state."

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