The ever-changing landscape of business education: Tale of two rankings

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Amidst this evolving landscape, the importance of business school rankings is being somewhat diluted. As schools become more diverse in their offerings, focusing on unique courses, tailored studies, and targeted specializations, they’re beginning to appeal to different types of students with varying career goals. This diversity brings about a refreshing change. Gone are the days when rankings featured the same cluster of schools at the top, reflecting a homogeneous outlook on business education. Today, the scenario is dramatically different. Rankings still hold value, but they are no longer the definitive guide to choosing a business school. Instead, they serve as one of many considerations for students seeking an education that aligns with their individual needs, aspirations, and values.

Recently, two major publications, U.S. News and the Financial Times (FT), released their respective rankings, offering contested insights into the current state of business education from their perspective.

U.S. News Rankings: Spotlight on Full-Time MBA Programs

U.S. News ranking for business schools 2023, spotlighting full-time MBA programs focus on American institutions. Its methodology focus on eight distinct ranking factors, including placement success, student excellence, and qualitative assessments by experts.

Notably, Chicago Booth clinched the top spot, followed by Northwestern University (Kellogg), with the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School ranking third, which already does not represent the usual picture. Here’s the full list of the top 10:

1. University of Chicago (Booth)
2. Northwestern University (Kellogg)
3. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)
5. Harvard University
6. Dartmouth College (Tuck)
7. Stanford University
8. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor (Ross)
9. Yale University
10. New York University (Stern)

Financial Times Rankings: A Global Perspective on MBA

Meanwhile, Financial Times, released its rankings of business schools on Global MBA programs 2023. This ranking showcases a broader array of institutions from around the world and not only from the United States.

Here are the U.S. schools included in FT’s rankings:

1. Columbia Business School
2. Harvard Business School
3. Stanford Graduate School of Business
4. University of California at Berkeley (Haas)
5. Cornell University (Johnson)
6. Northwestern University (Kellogg)
7. Yale School of Management
8. Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business
9. MIT Sloan
10. University of Chicago (Booth)

It is interesting how the sample of the top U.S. business schools differ across rankings. In the FT’s list, the highest-ranked U.S. school is the Columbia Business School, which is placed at number 11 in the U.S. News list. At the same time, U.S. News list puts University of Chicago (Booth) as the top school, why it is the 10th in the list of Financial Times ranking.

Why is that so? A year ago, Columbia University opened its new campus in Manhattanvile, New York. At that time, Columbia expected to get a “green building certification”, as it contributes to the sustainable development, if you have not heard about it, you may be interested to look at our blog post (with photos) covering this topic.

The second schools in FT’s ranking is INSEAD business school. It has become one of the first elite business schools to integrate sustainability into its core MBA curriculum extensively. Recognizing the growing demand for leaders who can make informed business decisions regarding sustainability-related risks and opportunities, INSEAD aims to develop responsible leaders who prioritize both financial performance and sustainable solutions to tackle global challenges. Now, the school offers over 75 elective courses on different aspects of sustainability and a new sustainability-focused capstone, where students act as executives facing a sustainability challenge.

Thus, probably the fact that the business education landscape becomes more and more diverse, and various institutions turn to such topics, as DEI and sustainability contributes to the discrepancies between various rankings. The diversity of courses, specialization options, teaching methodologies, and school cultures now available makes it challenging to capture all the opportunities in a single ranking. The traditional rankings by publications like U.S. News and Financial Times, while valuable in offering broad overviews, seems to no longer encompass the breadth of business education’s evolving face.

The decline in public trust towards traditional rankings, due to issues like data manipulation, further complicates the picture. Some rankings have ceased their operations altogether, while others, like the Positive Impact Rating, have emerged with unique approaches, emphasizing sustainable development goals and eschewing the traditional numbered order in favor of tiered levels. This dynamic era of business education demands a more nuanced approach to choosing a business school.