School Gave US News Inaccurate MBA Ranking Data

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University of Florida Warrington College of Business supplied the magazine with inaccurate job-placement data, resulting in a higher ranking

Less than four months after learning that Villanova law school tried to game its rankings, U.S. News & World Report is confronting another ranking scandal, this one involving its b-school list. The Gainesville Sun last night reported that the University of Florida Warrington College of Business supplied the magazine with inaccurate job-placement data, resulting in a higher ranking.

An anonymous complaint made through the university’s ethics hotline in August alleged that 37 percent of UF’s 2009 MBA graduating class had jobs at graduation, while 53 percent had jobs three months later. The figures supplied to USNWR indicated 53 percent placement at graduation and 79 percent three months later. UF was ranked 39th in 2009, falling two spots from the year before; in 2010 it fell to 47th.

A report of an internal investigation [investigation report.pdf] obtained by Bloomberg Businessweek found no evidence of collusion or deliberate intent to distort the data. But the report, authored by Angel Kwolek-Folland, associate provost for academic affairs, found that several graduates were listed as employed based on questionable documentation, and several more were listed as “not seeking employment” when in fact they were.

“In this case, the principals appear to have used a looser interpretation of the data than would a reasonable person using the same standards,” Kwolek-Folland wrote, referring to the standards for placement statistics created by the MBA Career Services Council. “Whether this was the result of poor judgment or inexperience, the end result is an inaccurate portrait of the employment profile of 2009 WCBA MBA graduates.”

In a memo by Warrington Dean John Kraft [Dean’s response.pdf], the school maintains that it adhered to the MBA-CSC Standards. “The College also disagrees with the reviewer’s opinion that the 2009 Placement Report ‘is an inaccurate portrait of the employment profile,'” Kraft wrote. “The 2009 Placement Report is an accurate portrayal of the employment profile as defined by the MBA-CSC standards.”