Harvard Business School in Boston, Columbia Business School in New York City, Stanford (Calif.) Graduate School of Business and University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in Philadelphia are among the top-ranking business schools that opted to skip annual MBA rankings by The Economist and the Financial Times, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Sixty-two percent of business programs expect to participate in at least one ranking, while 10 percent intend to not participate in any, according to a Kaplan survey cited by WSJ. Nine schools have opted out of the Financial Times' ranking, a spokesperson told WSJ.
Business school rankings play a vital role in how prospective students select their program. In 2021 rankings, schools are ranked differently than in past years. Some schools may have moved up from lower spots since their competitors have dropped out of the race. For example, Spain's ISBE Business School has moved from 10th place to first in The Economist's most recent rankings.
Brian Kenny, a spokesperson for Harvard Business School, said in a statement: "data gathering — which can take months — was an added burden as schools pivoted to remote learning earlier in the pandemic."
Many of these schools, including Harvard, Stanford and Columbia, have opted to participate in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, which are slated to come out in March, since it is less time-consuming.
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