In the 2010 “Best Undergraduate Business Schools” rankings by Bloomberg/BusinessWeek, Bentley University ranks among the top 25 in the country.

To rank the undergraduate business programs, the magazine uses nine measures including surveys of senior business majors and corporate recruiters, median starting salaries for graduates, and the number of alumni each program sends to top MBA programs.

The magazine also calculates an academic quality rating for each program by combining average SAT scores, student-faculty ratios, class size, the percentage of students with internships, and the number of hours students devote to class work.

In the 2010 rankings, Bentley moved up to # 21 from # 33 last year. Bloomberg BusinessWeek also assigns grades in key areas based on student surveys.

Bentley received:

•    A in teaching quality
•    A in job placement
•    A in facilities and services

For Bentley University, the 2010 rankings recognize a higher academic quality rating including an increase in the percentage of student internships and hours spent on school work, as well as rising nine spots in the recruiter survey.

This year 88,000 graduating seniors at participating schools completed a 50-question survey covering a range of areas from quality of teaching to recreational facilities. Overall, 27,317 students responded to the survey, a response rate of 31%.

In addition to surveying students, Bloomberg BusinessWeek polled 718 corporate recruiters for companies that hire thousands of business majors each year. They were asked which programs turn out the best graduates, which schools have the most innovative curricula and most effective career services. In the end, 236 recruiters responded, a response rate of about 33%.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s ranking of “The Best Undergraduate B-Schools” is available in the March 15, 2009 issue of BusinessWeek, on newsstands March 5th. Expanded content, including the full ranking and methodology, interactive tables, and a discussion forum are available on BusinessWeek.com.