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August 27, 2007
University stays strong in U.S. News rankings

By Elaine Justice

Increasing faculty salaries and smaller class sizes helped Emory edge up to 17th among 248 national universities in this year’s U.S. News & World Report annual college quality rankings. Goizueta Business School rose from 13th to 12th in the rankings of undergraduate business programs.

“Being in the top 10 in faculty resources, which represents 20 percent of the final score, helped Emory move up in the rankings,” said Daniel Teodorescu, director of institutional research. The faculty resources indicator is mainly derived from faculty compensation and class size distribution, he explained.

Average faculty compensation at Emory rose last year at a higher rate than in previous years, as did the percentage of classes with enrollments under 20, both of which helped boost Emory’s overall faculty resources past Stanford (13th), Dartmouth (15th), Cornell (14th) and several other highly ranked schools.

Salary increases are one of many ways the University rewards a faculty member’s contributions to teaching, research and service, said Claire Sterk, senior vice provost for academic planning and faculty development. “Competitive faculty salaries impact recruitment and retention. As the faculty labor market increasingly becomes competitive, Emory carefully benchmarks faculty salaries on an annual basis,” Sterk said. It is this benchmarking that results in the overall compensation increase, she added.

“Rankings tell one story about the success of an institution in fulfilling its goals and objectives. The work and accomplishments of its students, faculty and staff are the true measure, however,” said Provost Earl Lewis.

Lewis added that the University is “committed to investing strategic resources that enable our faculty and students to make a significant impact in the Atlanta community, in higher education and in the world.”

Emory had a 15th place ranking in student selectivity. Other components included a 4.0 out of 5 in academic reputation, 12th in alumni giving and 17th in overall financial resources.

Emory was ranked 17th among national universities offering the best value. Rankings in this category were based on academic quality and the net cost to a student receiving the average amount of financial aid. Emory also was cited for its economic diversity, with 12 percent of undergraduates receiving need-based Pell grants. Earlier this year, the University announced Emory Advantage, a program of financial aid initiatives to help lower- and middle-income students and families reduce debt during the undergraduate years.

Emory ranked 12th in alumni giving, with an average of 37 percent (up from 36 percent in 2006) of alumni contributing to the school over a two-year period. This is a three-notch climb from 2006.

“I’m proud of my alma mater and of the more than 100,000 alumni who are essential elements of our community,” said Walker Ray ’62C-’65M, president of the Emory Alumni Board. “Emory’s alumni are always happy to support the University in every way we can.”

Goizueta Dean Larry Benveniste attributed the Bachelor of Business Administration program’s rise to 12th in the rankings to the school’s “commitment for providing a strong student experience.”

Last spring BusinessWeek ranked Goizueta No. 4 in its listing of undergraduate business programs.
The business program’s rankings are based on a survey of deans and senior faculty at undergraduate business programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Participants were asked to rate the quality of programs they were familiar with on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished).

This year’s BBA graduates “enjoyed unprecedented placement success,” said Andrea Hershatter, associate dean and director of Goizueta’s undergraduate business program. “We’re delighted to note the continued positive trajectory in the public’s perception of our BBA program.”

The rankings appear in the Aug. 27 issue of U.S. News at www.usnews.com.

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