Wake Forest University’s reputation for quality graduate students has earned its business school its highest ranking in an annual survey of corporate recruiters released yesterday.
The Babcock Graduate School of Management was ranked second among 51 regional business schools in the seventh annual survey by The Wall Street Journal and Harris Interactive. It was ranked seventh in the 2006 survey. Babcock was listed in the regional category because it attracts corporate recruiters primarily from the Southeast and Northeast. Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC Chapel Hill was ranked sixth among the 19 business schools in the national category, and Fuqua School of Business at Duke University was 13th. The rankings also featured the top 25 international business schools.
“We’re pretty pleased with the No. 2 ranking considering we compete more with the business schools in the regional category than those in the national category,” said Andy Dreyfus, the director of the career- management center at Babcock.
Harris Interactive officials said that the goal of the survey is to help business schools better understanding recruiters’ needs. The rankings were based on interviews with 4,430 recruiters conducted online between Dec. 19 and March 23.
Recruiters rated the schools primarily on the quality of instruction and students, and their plans to recruit and hire students. The number of companies actively recruiting at the schools was also a factor. Only schools with traditional full-time MBA programs that graduated at least 50 students in 2006 were eligible.
“In addition to the technical and quantitative business skills that are standard at most business schools, recruiters consistently tell us that our students deliver intangibles,” Dreyfus said.
“Such as strong communication skills, personal integrity, an eagerness to tackle new challenges, and a teamwork mentality that enables them to roll up their sleeves to solve business challenges,” he said.
Dreyfus said he hopes that the ranking will persuade more recruiters to put Babcock on their radar screen and interest more students in the school.
“The ultimate goal of any business school is to graduate students with the skills necessary to compete in the marketplace,” Dreyfus said.
“This ranking is another confirmation that corporate recruiters are satisfied with the students they are finding at Wake Forest.”
■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at [email protected].
Regional rankings
Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University was ranked second among 51 regional business schools in the country:
1. Brigham Young University (Marriott)
2. Wake Forest University (Babcock)
3. Ohio State University (Fisher)
4. University of Rochester (Simon)
5. Indiana University (Kelley)
6. University of Florida (Warrington)
7. Louisiana State University (Ourso)
8. Emory University (Goizueta)
9. University of Buffalo/SUNY
10. University of Maryland (Smith)
SOURCE: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL/HARRIS INTERACTIVE
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