Recruiters complained about the Marriott School's lack of diversity — only 15 percent of the 3,000 students are women and only 5 percent are minorities. The Journal pointed out that BYU has developed an "extended reach" program in an attempt to attract more female and minority students and faculty members.

BYU's other low scores were for amount of work experience graduates have, faculty expertise and students' original and visionary thinking. The school is working on those areas as well.

"Two categories where we compared less favorably — work experience and diversity — are areas where we've already begun focusing attention," said Maurice Stocks, assistant dean of corporate development and career management. "Post-bachelors full-time work experience for this fall's entering MBA class was 3.2 years — excluding mission experience. And the school launched a major diversity initiative last year to recruit more underrepresented students, enhance the school's internal climate and hire minority faculty members."

The rankings were welcome news to students, said Jessica Johnson, president of the MBA student association.

"We work hard and know we're quality students, but it's encouraging when recruiters validate that thinking with a high ranking," Johnson said. "It's exciting to see BYU's reputation growing. Good rankings not only help current students as they search for jobs but also increase the value of a BYU degree for those out shaping their careers."

In January, BYU also moved up 12 spots, to 51st, in The Financial Times of London's rankings of the world's top 100 business programs.

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com