October 25, 2013

Princeton Review: Business College among the best

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s College of Business is one of the country’s outstanding business schools, according to The Princeton Review.

The SIU College of Business earned recognition in the education services company’s 2014 edition of “The Best 295 Business Schools.” The book does not rank its featured business schools. 
“We recommend the SIU College of Business as one of the best institutions a student could attend to earn a business school degree,” said Robert Frank, Princeton Review senior vice president/publisher.

According to Frank, featured schools are selected and profiled in the book “based on our high regard for their academic programs and our reviews of institutional data we collect from the schools” in addition to input the company solicits from students attending the schools.  Students complete an 80-question survey rating their experiences, their school’s academics, student body and campus life and also providing information about themselves and their career plans.

“The recognition of SIU’s College of Business on the Princeton Review’s ‘Best 295’ list shows that we are committed to academic and student success,” said Jill Gebke, assistant dean.

“The review takes into account an all-encompassing approach to reviewing business schools, from academics to student services.  It includes things like opportunities, career centers, classroom experience and what students say, providing a well-rounded picture that goes beyond what takes place in the classroom to assist students searching for that right-fit college choice,” Gebke said. “The College of Business focuses on academic support and career development throughout the course of our students’ undergraduate careers and it is nice to have such a prestigious ranking system recognize that.”

The SIU College of Business and the rest of “The Best 295 Business Schools” each receive a two-page profile in the book.  The profiles incorporate details about academics, student life and admissions.  The Princeton Review editors describe SIU in its profile as “a smart pick for professionals from the Midwest, with its affordable tuition and strong academic programs.”

The profile includes comments from the student surveys as well, offering commendations for the enjoyable and informative classes, the outstanding MBA program, and well-educated faculty.   Although the schools are not ranked in hierarchy, the book does include rating scores in five categories based on provided institutional data, as well as 11 “top 10” category lists with 10 of those based entirely or partly on surveys completed by 20,300 students. 

“The Best 295 Business Schools,” published by Random House, is one of a number of Princeton Review books featuring ranking lists.  SIU was also named one of the best universities in the Midwest in “2014 Best Colleges:  Region by Region” and is recognized in “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges:  2013 Edition.”  The university has earned spots on all three of these lists previously as well. 

For more information about the Princeton Review and its publications, visit www.princetonreview.com.