JMU business school moves up in Bloomberg Businessweek rankings

Senior finance major Kelly Maguire knows how important the “Bloomberg Businessweek” rankings are to undergraduate students. Looking back on her decision to come to James Madison University, she said, “I actually used ‘Businessweek’ in my decision process when I was deciding between other schools I had applied to in Virginia.”

As a graduating senior she is thrilled, but not surprised, to learn that JMU jumped significantly in the 2011 rankings.

JMU’s business school ranked 28th in the country among public and private undergraduate business schools according to “Bloomberg Businessweek’s” sixth annual rankings (formerly “BusinessWeek”). In 2010 the business school ranked 41st and in 2008, 54th. This year among public institutions JMU’s College of Business ranks 11th.

“Businessweek” develops their rankings based on student and recruiter survey results and institutional data such as median starting salary and SAT scores. JMU received straight “As” in teaching quality, facilities and services and job placement.

Dr. Robert Reid, dean of the College of Business, said, “JMU’s rise to 28th overall and 11th among public universities in the ‘Businessweek’ rankings reflects the dedication and exceptional effectiveness of our faculty and staff, and the positive results of engagement with students in the learning process.”

Maguire couldn’t agree more. She credits the Integrated Functional Systems class (COB 300), the small class sizes in her major and Recruit-a-Duke program for helping her secure a summer internship that led to a job offer from Deloitte Consulting. “My first assignment this past summer in my internship was to create a flow chart for a manager,” said Maguire. “This task was simple for me as I had taken a course in operations during COB 300 that had given me exposure to flow charts.”

The “Businessweek” survey results from recruiters helped boost JMU’s overall ranking this year. “Corporate recruiters that hire our graduates have provided very positive feedback that they highly value the quality of our graduates and the positive impact that the graduates have in the professional work environment,” said Reid.

“JMU has unparalleled recruitment services,” said Maguire. “Using Recruit-A-Duke was a huge part of what enabled me to obtain an internship in the financial arena this past summer and eventually receive multiple full-time job offers in the first semester of my senior year.”