UPDATE: After rating Villanova over Wharton, Bloomberg stops undergrad B-school rankings: email
That's what Bloomberg says, citing employer survey
UPDATE 3 pm: After publishing a list that rated Villanova University the No. 1 undergraduate business school in the U.S., far ahead of Penn's Wharton, and excluded such established B-schools as Temple's Fox and Delaware's Lerner, Bloomberg Businessweek has told colleges it won't do undergrad B-school ratings again, according to a note Bloomberg sent colleges last Friday, April 15. Highlights:
Dear Schools, After careful consideration, Bloomberg has decided that, after our 2016 undergraduate rankings publish on Tuesday, April 19, we will no longer publish undergraduate and part-time business program rankings. We will continue to publish our full-time MBA rankings annually.
To reflect the popularity of programs targeted to undergrads and mid-career professionals, we will transition our coverage from rankings to regular editorial content on Bloomberg's Game Plan site...I am very thankful for the participation and support you've shown us over the years, and look forward to being in touch with you for editorial content moving forward.... Best, Francesca Levy, Game Plan Editor, Bloomberg Business
EARLIER: Three Catholic colleges -- Villanova, Notre Dame and Boston College -- rank #1, #2 and #3 as the 'Best Undergraduate Business Schools' in the U.S., among 114 B-schools rated by Bloomberg Businessweek magazine, based mostly on employer and student surveys. Read the survey here. (Link fixed)
"Not just basketball," Chester County banker, attorney and double-Villanova-grad Jim McErlane told me, crowing a bit about the Wildcats' recent NCAA victory. He forwarded a note from VU President Father Peter Donohue, who pointed out the school also won high marks for its internships. Villanova statement here.
Penn's Wharton undergraduate business college, which claims to be the original "collegiate school of business" (it's Republican Presidential front-runner Donald Trump's alma mater, among many others'), ranks #1 in one category -- undergraduate starting salaries -- but came in #16 on Bloomberg's overall list, dragged down by a low employer-satisfaction score. (There's also a European claimant for "first business school.")
Penn State ranked #19 overall; Lehigh and the College of New Jersey were in the #30s; Drexel is #78. Temple, West Chester, Delaware, St. Joseph's, LaSalle and other area undergraduate business programs were Not rated in the survey. The survey only reviewed undergrad programs, not MBAs.
In an earlier version of this item, I speculated that accounting-focused business schools might show better placement rates, thus higher employer and student satisfaction and Bloomberg scores, given the high corporate demand for CPAs these days.
Kent Holland responds for Villanova: Nearly half its students major in Finance, one-fifth in Accounting, nearly one-fifth in Marketing, the rest spread among Management Information Systems, Management, Economics and all other fields.