The UW-Madison School of Business' Masters of Business Administration program dropped in ranking from 42 to 50 since last year in the Wall Street Journal Guide to the Top Business Schools 2003 released Monday.
Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business ranked number one in the study conducted by Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive.
The survey is based on responses from approximately 2,200 corporate recruiters nationwide. Each school was rated by at least 20 recruiters, with direct experience at the school, on 26 factors, according to a statement from Harris Interactive.
Mike Knetter, dean of the School of Business at UW-Madison, said he is hesitant to put too much weight on rankings.
\I really don't think it's fair to boil down a school's value to one ranking number,"" he said.
Knetter, who began his current position July 1, does face disappointment from some graduates of the program.
""I think some of our alumni care about [the rankings],"" he said. ""I care about what our constituents care about.""
The survey focused on corporate talent requirements, as relayed by the recruiters. Each recruiter's like or dislike of a given school and the money invested in a school's recruiting effort also played a role, according to a statement from Harris Interactive. The survey is broken down into three main components-mass appeal, opportunity index and intensity factor. The three combine to show why each school ranked as it did, according to Joy Marie Sever, senior vice president of reputation research at Harris Interactive and the project coordinator for the study, in a statement.
""The survey's results show that schools must provide value and be likeable if they're going to satisfy recruiters and attract them in the future,"" Sever said.
Knetter, however, said that the focus of the study is too narrow.
""There's no student input [in the survey and it is] the opinion of a small number of people about one particular program,"" he said.
Knetter said that while he does not give a lot of weight to studies like this one, he does believe that there is work to be done in the MBA program.
""I worry a lot about the quality of our program,"" he said. ""We are increasing our attention and focus on our full-time masters program.""
Knetter said he intends to focus on increased recruitment to the program, an improved curriculum, stronger courses and better placement for graduates.
Knetter also notes that he is pleased with the status of the School of Business' undergraduate program.
""The undergraduate program is by most accounts ranked around the top 10 in the country,"" he said.
