Binghamton University’s School of Management jumped from No. 74 to 40 in Businessweek’s annual rankings of the nation’s top undergraduate business programs.
Caitlin Cox/Staff Photographer
“Being among the top 50 business schools in the country was one of the top goals of SOM, set by not only the faculty, but the students and the alumni as well,” said Upinder Dhillon, dean of SOM.
The ranking is based on a student survey, a recruiter survey, median starting salaries for graduates and the number of graduates admitted to the 35 top MBA programs.
Schools are also evaluated through an academic quality measure that consists of SAT/ACT test scores for business majors, full-time faculty to student ratios in the business program, average class size in core business classes, the percentage of business majors with internships and the number of hours students spend preparing for class each week.
When the dean’s office found out about the leap in ranks, they contacted Businessweek to find out why the school had done so well. The response was simple: The recruiters rated BU very highly — No. 11 to be exact.
Attracting the recruiters to Binghamton is one of the responsibilities of Jillian Kroll, who has been SOM’s director of placement for two years.
“I’ve established relations with many companies, and I try to identify the firms with whom we have a good fit,” Kroll said. “I also spend a lot of time helping students prepare for their job searches, and develop interests in certain areas.”
BU has gone up the ranks in front of schools such as Boston University and The George Washington University. The jump is an even greater positive considering that most private schools seem to have advantages over the public schools.
“Privates are much older than we are, with more extensive alumni net, but we have quality attitudes of students,” Dhillon said.
BU’s business school had an 87 percent placement rate after three months in 2007 for the graduating class.
“It’s the attitudes of the students that get the attention of businesses,” Dhillon said. “Our students say ‘What do I have to do to succeed in this firm?’ while Ivy Leaguers say ‘What can the firm do for me?’”
Dhillon also noted that much of SOM’s success has come from its integrated courses and its new Vault.com tool that helps students search for jobs.
“We embrace continuous improvements, our mantra, so to speak, and that will continue to be our goal,” Dhillon said.