In the 2012 “Best Undergraduate Business Schools” rankings by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Bentley University ranks among the top 30 in the country, #29 overall.
In overall student satisfaction, Bentley ranked #21. The publication also assigns grades in key areas based on student surveys. Bentley received:
- A in teaching quality
- A+ in facilities and services
- A in job placement
Bloomberg BusinessWeek uses nine measures of student satisfaction, post graduation outcomes and an academic quality rating to rank the 124 eligible undergraduate business programs. This year four new schools entered the rankings.
The business magazine calculates its 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.
This year more than 86,000 graduating seniors at participating schools were asked to complete a 50-question survey covering a range of areas from quality of teaching to recreational facilities. Overall, 28,060 students completed the survey; a response rate of 32%.
In addition to surveying students, Bloomberg BusinessWeek polled 749 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 which have the most effective career services. This year 257 recruiters replied; a response rate of about 34%.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek combined the results of the 2012 employer survey with the results of two previous employer surveys from 2010 and 2011 to calculate an employer survey score for each school. The 2012 survey supplies 50 percent of the score; the two previous surveys supply 25 percent each.
New this year, the publication reduced scores for schools that did not have a minimum number of employers who reported they are familiar with the program. According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, this change means that the employer survey results are no longer skewed in favor of programs with limited, but highly enthusiastic, recruiters.
The student survey score counts for 30 percent of the final ranking, with the recruiter survey score contributing 20 percent. Starting salaries and the MBA feeder school measure contribute 10 percent each. The academic quality measure supplies the remaining 30 percent.
Bloomberg Businessweek’s ranking of “The Best Undergraduate Business Schools” is featured on businessweek.com and includes expanded content, the full ranking and methodology.