BYU's business jumps to No. 3

PROVO — Brigham Young University's business school jumped to No. 3 in the annual Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive Regional rankings released Wednesday.

The Marriott School of Management ranked No. 6 last year and was No. 5 in 2004.

The regional ranking is based on ratings by corporate recruiters who seek potential employees at the schools. The recruiters rate each school on 21 attributes. Schools in the regional rankings draw many of their recruiters from the local region.

"We are elated that recruiters think so highly of our students and MBA program," said Ned C. Hill, Marriott School dean. "There are hundreds of excellent business schools in the country, which makes this ranking particularly rewarding. We're also very pleased that our graduates continue to be known for their high ethical standards."

Recruiters ranked BYU second among places to find master's of business administration graduates with high ethical standards. Dartmouth University ranked first. BYU has ranked second in the category for six straight years, every year since the Wall Street Journal launched the rankings in 2001.

BYU also remained fourth in the nation in accounting, the Marriott School's specialty, and debuted at No. 7 in corporate responsibility, a new ranking.

The rankings were published in a special section in Wednesday's issue of the Wall Street Journal, which included a 380-word profile of BYU.

"Many of its students are members of (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and have done missionary work abroad, an appealing feature to companies seeking bilingual managers with international experience," the profile said.

"Recruiters also say they find Brigham Young graduates unusually mature and hard working, noting that many already are married with children and some have started their own businesses."

BYU scored high for the teamwork skills, work ethic and analytical and problem-solving abilities of its graduates.

Recruiters gave BYU low ratings for previous work experience, experiential learning in the curriculum, the career-services office and graduates' willingness to relocate.

Recruiters continued to say BYU's lack of diversity is its major deficiency. The Marriott School is 83 percent male and 90 percent white. The school has launched a diversity initiative.