U.S. News and World Report

U.S. News and World Report (USN) began ranking undergraduate business programs around 1995 and also began publishing some specialty rankings at that time. Currently there are 12 specialties published (rarely exceeding 25 ranks per specialty): accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, insurance / risk management, international business, management, management of information systems, marketing, productions / operations management, quantitative analysis, real estate and supply chain management. These rankings rely entirely on the opinions of deans and senior faculty nationwide. The ranking is published annually in late August or early September along with the USN undergraduate rankings.

100% Peer assessment
Business school deans and senior faculty are asked to list (unranked) up to ten top programs for each specialty. Each mentioned school gets one point and the points are tallied.

Pros:

• Straightforward and easy to grasp
• Allows for ties in rank

Cons:

• Lacks index scores; clusters and gaps largely hidden
• Deans and senior faculty likely to know institutions more than actual programs; may reflect historical reputation more than current condition

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Bloomberg Businessweek

Bloomberg Businessweek (BBW, formerly BusinessWeek) started undergraduate program and specialty rankings in 2006. There are 12 specialty rankings (listing over 100 schools in each), most of which differ from those of U.S. News: accounting, business law, calculus, strategy, ethics, financial management, macro-economics, micro-economics, marketing management, operations management, quantitative methods and sustainability. These rankings rely entirely on the opinions of graduating seniors. The ranking is published annually between March and May, usually a couple of months after BBW’s ranking of undergraduate programs.

100% Student assessment
On the 50-question survey, which graduating seniors are asked to complete for the main BBW rankings, one of the questions asks students to assign a letter grade for the program’s efforts to teach the list of 12 subject areas.

Pros:

• Captures opinions of actual students

Cons:

• Lacks index scores; ties not allowed; clusters and gaps hidden; large numbers of schools possibly in statistical tie
• Student opinion easily swayed by popular or unpopular changes that may have little to do with program quality or academic rigor
• Notoriously volatile: rises and falls of 40 ranks in one year are common
• Oddly chosen specialties: calculus, quantitative methods, macro and micro are classes, more than business specialties. Students unlikely to choose an undergraduate program based on strengths in these.

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Public Accounting Report

Public Accounting Report (PAR), billing itself as the “independent newsletter of the accounting profession since 1978,” has been ranking undergraduate accounting programs since 1981. For programs to be ranked they must offer degrees in accounting, not just concentrations; or they may offer programs with curricula comparable to schools that offer accounting degrees. In 2009 PAR divided the ranked schools into three groups based on faculty size, with 25 schools in each. The ranking, based entirely on peer assessment, is published annually between October and December.

100% Peer assessment
Accounting chairs, department heads and professors name the undergraduate programs that they feel most consistently turn out students capable of some day attaining partner status.

Pros:

• Straightforward and easy to grasp
• Allows for ties in rank

Cons:

• Lacks index scores; clusters and gaps largely hidden
• Accounting chairs, department heads and professors may be familiar with institutions more than their program specifics; ranking may reflect historical reputation more than current condition