COB comes out on top
Posted on March 17, 2008
For the third year in a row, the College of Business is in the top 5 percent of business schools as ranked by BusinessWeek.
“We have been in the top 5 percent all three years of the survey,” said Toni Mehling, director of communication for the College of Business, adding that the number of schools surveyed has increased from 90 in 2006 to more than 130 in 2007.
JMU ranked 54th nationally, which includes both public and private universities, and ranked 20 nationally among public universities by BusinessWeek.
The reason JMU is ranked lower when compared with private schools is because private schools have more funding to give to specific programs, Mehling said.
The University of Virginia and the University of Richmond were the only two Virginia schools ahead of JMU.
The rankings are based on nine categories that BusinessWeek uses to judge the schools. Mehling said students, recruiters, SAT and ACT scores, facilities, teaching quality and job placement are surveyed along with a few other categories to gain a composite score for the school.
According to Kate Brown, who recruits JMU students from the College of Business to Dick’s Sporting Goods, they have had quite an impression on businesses.
“Not only do they perform well but they have good business and interpersonal skills,” said Brown, adding that Dick’s Sporting Goods only recruits from eight universities.
“We currently have two full-time hires from JMU in the trainee program,” Brown said. “They perform in the upper percentage of the group and not only do they have strong business acumen but strong interpersonal skills, too.”
Brown cited the COB 300 course as a solid program that provides students with a different experience from the classroom. She said it prepares students for the business world because it integrates all aspects of business together.
“Students that participate in COB 300 learn how to work in group environments and see how a business works,” Brown said.
So far students seem to enjoy working with others in the program.
“People like working with JMU students because they interact well with other people,” Brown said, adding that “the biggest part of working in a group is learning how to work with different kinds of people.”
Robert Reid, dean of the College of Business, said that COB 300 and COB 202 are both noteworthy programs that contribute to the program’s success.
“We focus on the total development of our students, not just the academic component,” he said. “In cooperation with the College of Business Executive Advisory Council and other professionals, including many College of Business alumni, our faculty strive to produce graduates that possess the skills, talents and attributes that are highly valued by the marketplace.”
BusinessWeek said it is impressive that classes are taught by professors and not teaching assistants.
Reid said, “We have been successful because our faculty members are dedicated to improving the quality of the academic programs and experiences offered by the College of Business.”
