Loyola's Sellinger School of Business and Management was recently ranked by the Financial Times as one of the top executive MBA programs in the world for 2009. Among the other top schools whose programs were ranked are the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, and Columbia University.
Loyola was ranked in the top 25 of all private schools in the country. It was one of only two Jesuit institutions included in the list, and the only school located in Baltimore to be ranked.
The dean of the business school, Dr. Karyl Leggio, received the exciting news last Thursday and was permitted to release the ranking to the public late Sunday evening. She spoke about the magnitude of such recognition and what it means for the school saying, "The Financial Times is the premiere magazine for ranking executive MBA programs internationally. This is a testament to how good the program really is and to have an independent agency like this rank our school is an affirmation of what the faculty is doing here."
In order to be considered for the list, a school must have graduated 30 or more students for three years in a row. Loyola was able to do so the past three years, and as a result was taken into consideration for the first time this year since its inception in 1984. The rankings are survey based and dependent upon the responses of alumni.
The list is based on a variety of different categories. Of all the factors that helped contribute to this ranking, Loyola scored particularly well in three of these categories. First, Loyola students reported a high salary increase. After receiving their MBA from the Sellinger School, alumni salaries increased on average by 43%.
Next, Loyola scored very high in "aims achieved." This category measures the extent to which the MBA program aided the students in reaching these goals. For aims achieved Loyola was in the top 25 worldwide and first in the Baltimore-Washington area.
Many students attend grad school in order to receive a promotion at their current job, or to expand their knowledge in order to be better at what they do. Others are working towards obtaining leadership or management roles and want to increase their strategic thinking.
Recent graduate of the MBA program Julie Henn, class of 2009, explains how Loyola was able to help her to achieve her personal goals. She worked in the information technology field for several years before deciding to attend graduate school. She was looking to expand her knowledge on how businesses operate and advance her career. "Graduate business education was the next step, but I wasn't confident in my ability to jump into just any program."
She eventually decided on Loyola. "I chose Loyola as a partner for my graduate business education because of the school's confidence in my leadership potential and its commitment to developing that potential." The program's particular emphasis on ethical leadership and Jesuit values also had a personal effect on Henn. "Loyola prepared me with tools to make intelligent and ethical business decisions of which I can be proud," she continued.
The third category in which Loyola received especially high marks is diversity, specifically in the percentage of women students. The school was ranked 13th in the United States and 25th worldwide for this category.
Students and alumni of the MBA program will certainly be affected by this ranking. Most importantly, it provides higher visibility for their degree, both nationwide and across the world. The school's inclusion on such a well known and respected list will increase recognition of the Loyola name and encourage alumni to recommend the program to others. This is extremely valuable for alumni looking to be hired outside the Baltimore-Washington area after graduation. It will surely expand the opportunities made available to them.
Moving into the future, this ranking will aid the Sellinger School in continuing to run and expand upon the already high quality program. Dr. Ellen Hoadley, the Academic Director of the executive MBA program, believes this national recognition will help them continue to attract top students as well as faculty.
"This means we will be able to maintain our high quality student recruitment and also be able to attract high quality faculty members through the increased visibility and recognition this ranking provides," said Hoadley.
It also acts to confirm all of the hard work that goes into the program. Dr. Hoadley says, "This ranking provides a confirmation to the faculty and university as a whole that what we are doing is outstanding work."
Additionally, the ranking provides extra incentive to work hard and advance the program so the Sellinger School can continue to move up in the rankings in the coming years. This is exciting news for the business school, and something the entire Loyola community can be proud of.
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