The Martin J. Whitman School of Management’s undergraduate business program has moved up one spot in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 Best College rankings.

Whitman’s program was ranked 42nd best in the United States. Last year, the college ranked 43rd in the country. The rankings also listed Whitman’s department of entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises 13th nationwide.

Syracuse University, overall, ranked 61st out of 311 colleges across the U.S., dropping one spot since last year.

In the spring, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business surveyed the deans of business schools and senior faculty at undergraduate business programs to determine the rankings, according to an SU News release.

“I am glad to see that Whitman ranks in the Top 50 business schools, yet this ranking also shows that there are things we can do to improve the future rankings,” said Todd Moss, an assistant professor of entrepreneurship and sustainability, in an email.

When asked if he was satisfied with the college’s overall ranking, Whitman Dean Gene Anderson, in an email, responded with a simple “no.”

“How we fare impacts the perceptions of prospective and current students, recruiters, alumni, corporate sponsors, university administrators and many other important constituents,” Anderson said.

To improve in the rankings, the dean said students have suggested that Whitman create more experiential learning opportunities and ensure “greater consistency in teaching quality.”

Students have also said Whitman should reconsider the grading curve, Anderson added. Whitman’s policy states that for all undergraduate courses in the school with 15 or more students enrolled, the mean grade shall be no higher than 3.3 and the maximum percentage of students with an A or A- grade is 33 percent.

As a future goal, Anderson said he wants Whitman to be placed in the Top 10 of U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings.

“Ultimately, our success — and our ranking — will depend on how well we equip students to be successful business leaders and engaged global citizens,” Anderson said.

One of Whitman’s programs, the entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises department, has recently received multiple awards.

The department was ranked as the U.S.’s 12th best undergraduate entrepreneurship program in one U.S. News & World Report’s ranking list published in 2016. It was also ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/College Factual 2017 Entrepreneurship Program for Vets poll.

Seniors in the department, as a capstone project, create a “high-growth new venture and present it to a panel of external judges,” according to the department’s 2015-16 academic year report.

Moss said finding qualified instructors for the department, to meet student demand, will help further improve the program.

“We’ll continue to work to improve our rankings in our various programs,” Anderson said.  “Not at the expense of changing our philosophy and direction in any fundamental way, or of violating our own policies or integrity, but by doing what we can to maximize our position in each particular poll while staying within our game.”

Published on September 24, 2017 at 9:51 pm

Contact Jessica: jmsopori@syr.edu