Home > Campus > College Station > Mays Business School

Mays Business School

While business school rankings are frequently published by various media outlets, these rankings have some significant limitations that must be considered. However, on an overall basis, these rankings form the most significant perceptions about the quality of a business school in the minds of current and prospective students, current and prospective faculty, and organizations who interact with those schools. In addition to these overall rankings, the following qualitative measures are also important in assessing the standing of a business school; it is important to note that some of these measures are considered in deriving the overall rankings published by U.S. News, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, and others.

Metrics of Excellence for the Mays Business School

Student Qualifications:

• Quality and diversity of entering class in all programs
• Undergraduate (SAT, class rank, National Merit)
• MS (undergraduate GPA, GMAT)
• MBA (undergraduate GPA, attended top undergraduate program, work experience, geographic diversity)
• Executive MBA (nature and extent of work experience, nature and extent of managerial experience, company and industry diversity)
• PhD (GPA, undergraduate and graduate institutions, GMAT)

Student Outcomes:

• Significant experiential learning opportunities, for example, internships and study abroad
• For undergraduate students, freshman retention rates and four-and six-year graduation rates
• Placement of undergraduate, MS, and MBA students with leading organizations (including salaries, guaranteed other first year compensation, and percentage placed)
• Advancement of Executive MBA students within their organization following graduation
• Placement of PhD students at top research universities
• Acceptance of undergraduate students to leading MBA programs and law schools

Faculty Quality:

• Faculty intellectual contributions (publication in top journals, authorship of leading textbooks, authorship of notable scholarly books)
• Impact of intellectual contributions (citations by other scholars, citations in media and business press, implementation of findings by corporations, reference in legal decisions)
• Academic leadership positions (journal editorships, associate editorships, editorial boards, and leadership positions within learned societies)

Corporate Relations:

• Number, quality, and geographic diversity of organizations employing undergraduate, MS, and MBA students
• Quality and industry diversity of organizations supporting students in executive degree programs and executive nondegree (continuing education) programs

Faculty Excellence

The three major dimensions of faculty performance are creation and dissemination of new knowledge via research and publication, instruction/teaching, and service to the institution, the profession, and external constituencies. To achieve overall excellence as a Business School, it is imperative that Mays deploy a mix of research-oriented faculty and teaching-oriented faculty, similar to other units at Texas A&M. In addition, because of the applied nature of a professional school (such as business), it is both desirable and necessary that we hire and develop faculty with business experience.

Indicators of excellence in the three major dimensions of faculty performance are shown below. In responding to the type of faculty and contributions of those faculty to achieve excellence (as noted in the attached Excellence Statement), the focus on characteristics of an outstanding faculty is external. While recognition within Texas A&M University and service to entities within Texas A&M University are important and are recognized by our merit and promotion and tenure decisions, they play a more limited role in achieving the outcomes noted in the Excellence Statement.
 

Research and Publications:

• Intellectual contributions, through publication of research in leading refereed journals, acclaimed scholarly books, and leading textbooks
• Impact of intellectual contributions, evidenced by citations by other scholars, citations in the media and business press, implementation of findings by corporations, and reference in legal decisions
• Editorship or associate editorship of a major journal
• Receipt of major fellowship, research, or publication awards(s)
• Receipt of significant external peer-reviewed funding for research
• Placement of doctoral students into significant academic and/or professional positions
• Membership on review panel(s) for national or international research organizations

Instruction/Teaching:

• Selection for professional society outstanding teacher/instruction awards
• Development of innovative pedagogical methodologies and materials
• Contemporaneous incorporation of latest business trends and issues into curricula
• Major contributions to the development of new instructional programs, both in degree programs and non-degree executive education programs
• Receiving significant peer-reviewed external funding for teaching/instruction
• Invitation to teach at a domestic or international institution of recognized excellence

Service:

• Officer in a national/international academic or professional organization
• Program chair or similar position for a national/international conference
• Service on a corporate board or major governmental commission or task force