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HAAS SCHOOL REJOINS LIST OF TOP TEN BUSINESS SCHOOLS IN LATEST RANKINGS It's that time of year again for debates on the latest b-school rankings.  In this report, we have summarized the latest rankings from US News & World Report, Financial Times, and Forbes.  I know most of us do not attach a lot of weight to the annual or bi-annual business school rankings, but here's the scoop for amusement purposes only (of course)... US News & World Report Rankings The Haas School of Business rejoined the list of the top 10 business schools in the United States in the latest survey by US News and World Report magazine, which was released earlier this month.  US News ranked the Haas School's Full-Time Program Number 10 -- up from 14th place last year -- and ranked the Evening MBA Program the 8th best in the country, unchanged from last year. This ranking is based on a reputational survey that is conducted among over 300 business school deans and senior faculty at business schools nationwide. The rankings and related stories are available at: www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/bcbiz.htm Several specialty programs at Haas were also ranked among the top 10 nationwide in a US News survey that is based on the opinions of deans and MBA Program heads.  They include:  international business (10th); entrepreneurship (10th); marketing (9th); quantitative analysis (8th); and nonprofit organizations (9th). The MBA program ranking is based on a weighted average of eight measures of academic quality that fall into three major categories:  reputation (40%); placement success (35%); and student selectivity (25%).  In the US News survey, Haas ranked 7th among all business schools on academic reputation, and 3rd in acceptance rate -- a measure of selectivity -- for the MBA Class that entered in fall of 1999 -- behind Stanford and Columbia, but ahead of Harvard and Wharton. Why did Haas do better in this year's ranking?  Much of the data submitted to US News were stronger than the year before - such as the higher GMAT test scores and GPAs of the Class of 2001, according to Richard Kurovsky, executive director of marketing and communications at Haas. "Clearly, however, the most important factor was the tremendous improvement in the accuracy and completeness of the School's placement data, which was only made possible by the heroic efforts of Ilse Evans (Director the MBA Admissions and Career Services) and her staff in gathering incredibly thorough information from MBA graduates from the Class of 1999."  For example, Haas was ranked 5th among schools in the percentage of MBAs employed at graduation; in last year's survey, Haas ranked 49th out of 50 schools.  Incomplete data last year was the cause of the poor showing. FORBES MAGAZINE RANKINGS The Haas School finished in 4th place among US national business schools in a recent ranking by Forbes magazine. In the brand new Forbes survey, the Haas School's ranking was seen as a surprise. The author states, "With a median gain of $64,000, the school ranked fourth, beating out such renowned MBA schools as the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton and the University of Chicago. Haas' tuition of $20,000 a year is a bargain." More details on the Forbes ranking can be found at www.forbes.com/forbes/00/0207/6503100a.htm.         Forbes bases its rankings solely on comparing the costs of getting an MBA to the monetary rewards of having an MBA (a.k.a. "Bang for the buck approach"). The business schools were divided into national and regional categories based on the cost of going to school. Forbes compared the compensation of the class of 1994 just prior to matriculation to their salary four and a half years later. Then they added in the cost of the degree and lost income. The end result was a ranking based on how long it took to recoup the cost of the MBA and which schools provided the greatest increase in earnings. Harvard, Dartmouth, and Stanford took the first 3 spots in the ranking, but Haas beat out the Anderson School at UCLA which came in 5th. FINANCIAL TIMES RANKINGS The blimey newspaper that Professor Andy Rose made us read in macro also released b-school rankings.  In January, it ranked Haas 12th in the world and 9th among US business schools.                  In the Financial Times ranking, the Haas School placed 1st in research, based on the number of articles published in academic journals, moving up from 5th place last year. Alumni recommendations placed the Haas School 3rd in entrepreneurship, ahead of Stanford. The school did well in the number of female students, coming in 9th. In the area of information technologies, Haas was 10th based on alumni recommendations and 8th in IT salaries.         The Financial Times ranking was based on a survey sent to the school, an alumni survey, and an independent assessment of research. Different factors from salaries to research to international placements were weighted and quantified to create the final rankings. More details can be found at www.ft.com/ftsurveys/sp888e.htm. BUSINESS WEEK RANKINGS...COMING SOON Business Week has already begun the process of collecting data for its ranking.  Members of the MBA Class of 2000 at Haas and other schools will soon receive questionnaires that ask them to evaluate their experience at their schools.  The results of these surveys, and the opinions of several hundred corporate recruiters, form the basis for the Business Week ranking methodology.  Haas has been lobbying Business Week vigorously to make sure that its list of corporate recruiters includes a fair share of New Economy firms that are now hiring large numbers of Haas School MBA graduates. Sources: HaasNewsWire. January 24, 2000, April 3, 2000.