For the first time, the Ithaca College School of Business has been recognized as one of the top 100 undergraduate business schools in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek. The school debuted at #87 nationally and at #6 in New York State.
According to Bloomberg, it surveyed nearly 30,000 students and recruiters at almost 600 companies in compiling its ranking, intended to help guide prospective college students and their families in choosing the right business program for the career they want.
Sean Reid, dean of the Ithaca College School of Business, says this is the first year the school has participated in the surveys. Given the hundreds of business schools nationwide that were considered for the ranking, he is pleased with the results. He notes that it is another data point for high school students to consider as they are making a final decision on where they will attend college.
“These rankings reflect what our students and faculty already know,” says Reid. “Employers feel our graduates are well prepared with the skills they need to succeed; our graduating seniors value the quality of their educational experience and feel prepared for the job market; the starting salaries of our graduates are among the highest in the Northeast; and our programs have the appropriate focus on professional development and internships.”
Bloomberg used four metrics in compiling its ranking:
- Feedback from recruiters who hire recent business graduates on how well schools prepared students for jobs at their companies.
- Students’ ratings of their own campus, career services department, and faculty and administrators.
- The base compensation of students who had jobs lined up, adjusted for salary variation across industries and regions.
- The percentage of the school’s graduates who had at least one internship at any time during college.
Among the qualities that make the IC School of Business exceptional, according to Reid, are an alumni base committed to connecting students to a wealth of job and internship opportunities; faculty who are engaged in high-level research while maintaining a primary commitment to teaching and the student experience; an emphasis on experiential and hands-on learning; professional development geared toward helping students prepare for career success; and business education paired with a dynamic liberal arts curriculum, providing students with a diverse and well-rounded skill set.
He also notes the world-class facilities such as the Center for Trading and Analysis of Financial Instruments, known as the Trading Room, where students have real–time access to the same market information and news found at the New York Stock Exchange, giving them the opportunity to acquire investment decision-making skills in an academic setting.
The school is housed in the Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise, the first facility for a college or university business school in the world to earn LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Since 2005, the school has been accredited by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Considered the hallmark of excellence in business education, AACSB accreditation has been earned by less than five percent of the world’s business programs.
The school offers bachelor of science degrees in accounting and business administration (with concentrations in corporate accounting, finance, international business, management and marketing), and a bachelor of arts degree in legal studies. At the graduate level, it offers M.B.A. degrees in business administration and professional accountancy.
Kudos for the school have also come from Princeton Review, which has included it among “The Best 295 Business Schools” for 10 straight years.
For more information on the School of Business, visit www.ithaca.edu/business. For more information on the Bloomberg Businessweek ranking, visit www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-best-undergrad-business-schools.