The College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has jumped 13 spots and into the Top 50 of undergraduate business schools in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.
The college checked in at No. 48 in the publication’s annual ranking of business programs, which were released Sept. 13. CBA was No. 61 last year and No. 72 in 2013. Among public business colleges, Nebraska was No. 30.
U.S. News’ business-school rankings are based on peer assessment surveys conducted in 2015 and 2016. To qualify for the publication’s rankings, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business must accredit an undergraduate business program.
CBA, which will move into a new $84 million building in 2017, offers 10 undergraduate majors – accounting, actuarial science, agribusiness, business administration, economics, finance, international business, management, marketing and supply chain management. In the past five years, the college’s overall enrollment has grown by 19.4 percent.
“We are thrilled to be recognized among this elite set of business schools – both private and public,” CBA Dean Donde Plowman said. “We have had a singular focus to raise the stature and visibility of our college. This ranking, our growing enrollments, our new privately funded building, and our exceptional faculty and staff are indicators that we are making great progress.”
Chancellor Ronnie Green said, “It’s obvious that CBA has been gaining momentum for some time, and so it’s great to see this U.S. News ranking confirm what we already know – that the college’s energy and effort are paying off.”
Overall, the university was in the top half of the first tier of national universities in the latest rankings. Nebraska checked in at No. 51 among public national universities, and among all national universities (public and private), the university was tied with four other institutions at No. 111.
This year, the national universities category grew to 310 institutions — 189 public, 114 private and seven for-profit — that offer a wide range of undergraduate majors as well as master’s and doctoral degrees; some emphasize research. Last year, U.S. News & World Report ranked only 280 national universities.
“The world of higher education is increasingly competitive, and even as we have raised our game, so have others,” Green said. “We’re pursuing big goals at the university to build on our strong foundation and achievements, and we are working to accelerate our progress and have even more impact in Nebraska and beyond.”
To arrive at the overall university rankings, data on up to 15 indicators of academic quality are gathered from each institution and tabulated. Among the indicators are peer assessment; retention and graduation of students; faculty resources; student selectivity; financial resources; alumni giving; and graduation rate performance – the difference between the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion that do.
In January, four online programs were recognized in U.S. News’ Best Online Programs rankings. The university’s online graduate education, bachelor of science in applied science, master of business administration and master of engineering management online programs were among the nation’s top programs.
In March, several graduate programs at Nebraska also were ranked among the nation’s best. They included the College of Education and Human Sciences’ graduate program in education as well as its graduate speech pathology and audiology programs; the College of Law; CBA’s part-time MBA; the College of Engineering; and the ceramics program at the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.
