Management MBA rankings improve

The College of Management (CoM) was recognized by Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek for its full–time MBA programs. Tech was ranked 23rd, a jump from its previous ranking of 29th. Tech ranked ninth among public schools. It was also recognized for a high job placement rate, which ranked second in the nation and first among public schools.
“This climb in the rankings is a reflection of our continuous improvement processes, our remarkable success in faculty hiring and the outstanding MBA students we attract. Our graduates’ performance in the job market is truly impressive and is but one indication of the first-rate education they receive at Georgia Tech,” said Steve Salbu, dean of the College of Management.
The criterions that Bloomberg used to rate the program are based on the intellectual capita, career services and student and recruiter satisfaction. The program was most noted for its quality as well as its job placement rate. In the categories of analytical skills and general management skills, Tech received an “A”. The Career services received an “A+” and Teaching received a “B”.
The program heavily focuses on recruiting qualified students into the program and is the only MBA program where the career services personally interviews its applicants. Factors other than the GMAT scores that would contribute to the students’ success such as recommendations and student attitude are heavily considered in the program.
“We really think students should have at least three years of work experience because it makes them much more valuable in the market. Also, it provides a better experience for the students when they are pursuing their degree because they have the job experience to relate it to the academic part,” said Jim Kranzusch, executive director of the College of Management MBA Career Services.
The high selectivity of the program recruits only a small number of students and the small size of the program allows for a great deal of personal attention in classrooms and in different career matters.
Another factor that has contributed to the success of the program is its alumni support through philanthropy to the Institute’s MBA program.
“My role is… [not only] to create an exciting vision for the college, but also generate the resources for the things we need to do. The hiring of new faculties that we’ve done would not have been possible without the generous donation of our alumni. I think it is very important and should not be overlooked that without the philanthropy that has generously supported this institution over the past years, we would not have seen these results,” Salbu said.
Ninety-four percent of Tech’s full-time MBA Class of 2010 had accepted full-time employment within 90 days of graduation compared to 84 percent within that window in 2009. The average starting salary for 2010 Tech MBA graduates was $86,481 (an increase of $1702 over 2009), compared to $94,981 for those joining companies with national MBA recruiting programs.
One of the things the program is working to improve is the diversity of its students. The numbers of women and underrepresented minority have gone up significantly this year, but the program still has the lowest numbers in the top 30 MBA programs.
“We are making sure that we have diversified community that reflects community that we operate in. That’s something that we have to keep working on,” Kranzusch said. “Our students’ success is a testimony to their resilience and mental and emotional toughness. They just would not give up. I hope everyone who supports the MBA program feels a sense of pride in the success of our students. This is a team effort in every sense.”