'U.S. News & World Report' ranks Kelley School, freshman programs favorably

In its annual ranking of the nation's top colleges and universities, U.S. News & World Report recognized the IU Kelley School of Business and many of its specialty programs among the best undergraduate programs in the nation.\nAmong public and private undergraduate schools of business, the Kelley School was tied with the University of Illinois for 11th in the nation. Only the University of Michigan's undergraduate business program ranked higher than IU among Big Ten schools.\nDaniel C. Smith, interim dean of the Kelley School, said he believes the rankings clearly position the school as one of the country's elite programs and that will greatly benefit the students.\n"The best companies focus their recruiting efforts on a select group of schools," Smith said. "By being highly ranked in all major areas, our students will continue to have a wide range of attractive career opportunities."\nJames Wimbush, the chair of the Kelley Department of Management, said the rankings are viewed favorably by the Kelley staff.\n"(The rankings) provide affirmation that we are being recognized by our colleagues, and they suggest that we are thought highly of by our colleagues," Wimbush said.\nWimbush believes the published rankings affect the considerations students make and that prospective faculty may also take the rankings into consideration.\nThey want to be at a place that is highly regarded by colleagues, he added, though he did not believe they would weigh rankings as much as students would.\nThe magazine ranked specialty programs provided by universities in subcategories. Eight of Kelley's programs were ranked among the top 10 in the nation, including management, which ranked fifth; entrepreneurship, finance, marketing and operations management, which were all ranked seventh; accounting, which was ranked eighth; and management information systems and supply chain management, which were both ranked ninth.\nSmith said the school is in the process of organizing a task force that will review the entire undergraduate experience as a way to remain a leader in program innovation.\n"I have a high degree of confidence in our faculty to develop programs today that will be bench-marked by other schools in the future," Smith said.\n"The rankings influence students' decisions to come to Indiana instead of other institutions," Wimbush said. "They want to be places where the faculty is highly regarded."\nJessica Togut, a senior business major with a concentration in marketing, is one such student. Originally from California, the high-ranking business school attracted her to IU.\n"I really liked the courses that they offered, the closeness that the professors seem to have with the students and the closeness that the administration has in planning your academic schedule," Togut said.\nTogut also said she enjoys both feeling challenged and the group work at Kelley. She gave the school a favorable rating for imitating real life experiences.\nSmith gave credit for the school's ranking to its faculty, which he described as "the most gifted and passionate teachers in the country." He said there is a high level of enthusiasm among the students and the faculty.\n"A prospective student would feel that (Kelley) is a place where career dreams become reality," Smith said. \nIn overall academic rankings, IU fell three spots among public universities, from 27th to 30th, and four spots among all universities, from 67th to 71st, tying with Michigan State as the lowest rated school in the Big Ten.\nThe Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses were given good grades for the quality of educational experiences for first year students and promoting learning communities.\nThe Bloomington campus was cited for its efforts "to encourage writing at all levels and in all disciplines" and for its study abroad programs.\nThe Indianapolis campus was recognized for promoting community volunteerism in education.