Business program ranks high nationally in US News

The Washington State University College of Business and Economics’ undergraduate business program is among the 10 best in western U.S. public universities, according to newly-released rankings in U.S. News and World Report: America’s Best Colleges 2006 publication.

In overall national rankings, the College’s international business program received an exceptional ranking of 22^nd; it has been in the top 25 for the past three years.

In overall rankings including private schools, the WSU business program placed 87th, and 56^th among public schools. The number of ranked schools increased to 166 this year, from 131 last year.

“We are very honored that our programs are held in such high esteem and that we are recognized for offering a truly world-class education to our students,” said CBE Dean Eric R. Spangenberg. “It has been our mission to provide exceptional undergraduate business education, and this ranking validates that we are on course.”

The U.S. News and World Report annual rankings appeared online August 19, three days before the start of WSU’s 2005-6 academic year. The ratings are the result of averaged peer evaluations by more than 450 business schools with undergraduate programs accredited by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Administrators assess programs’ overall quality, taking into account factors such as curriculum, record of scholarship, and quality of faculty, students, and graduates.

In an effort to increase external recognition of the excellence of its programs, the CBE set a goal in 2004 to increase its peer assessment score by .1 each year—an ambitious goal that only 4.5% of ranked schools were able to accomplish in 2004.

“We are pleased to have raised our assessment score from 2.7 last year to 2.8 this year,” Spangenberg says. “Our 2.8 designation puts us in company with institutions such as Texas Tech University, the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and the University of Colorado.”

Among public schools in the western states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Alaska, and Hawaii, the WSU business school’s assessment rating put it into top 10 category. It is in company with the undergraduate business programs at the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Arizona, the University of Washington, Arizona State University, the University of Colorado-Boulder, the University of Utah, the University of Oregon, San Diego State University, the University of California-Riverside, and Colorado State University.

Other recent rankings highlight CBE excellence. In 2005, Entrepreneur magazine rated the CBE entrepreneurship major as the top entrepreneurship emphasis program in Washington. Management and Operations faculty ranked 18th in research productivity in a 2003 study. The MIS program has been benchmarked as the largest and most comprehensive in the Northwest and its faculty ranked among the top 20 in the nation for research published in premier MIS journals. The School of Hospitality Business Management ranked as the top provider of career services to its students.