NYU Stern Chalks 9-Point US News Plummet To Clerical Error
Dean Peter Henry of NYU’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business, recently published a response to the school’s disconcerting 9-point plunge from #11 to #20 on the annual US News and World Report full-time MBA program rankings. A fact that came as a shock “given the stability of Stern’s performance over the years on the eight criteria used to determine the rankings.”Dean Henry reports that NYU Stern challenged the ranking during the “embargo period” last week when stats could be reviewed prior to publication. According to US News, NYU Stern’s statistical nose-dive was a result of a “single missing background data point” in a 300-question survey—specifically, “How many students submitted GMAT scores?”
When Dean Henry was informed of NYU Stern’s drop in the 2017 US News ranking, internal analysts reviewed the submission data and discovered that “NYU Stern clearly dominates the schools ranked #15-19 this year, outperforming each of them often by substantial margins on at least six of the eight criteria (see table below):
According to Dean Henry, “US News had substituted an “estimated” number in its absence” without any additional data on “how it was factored into the computation.” Henry asserts that NYU Stern had always addressed the question in previous years, and that “US News never flagged the missing data point” on the 2017 questionnaire, then declining NYU Stern’s request for an adjustment even after providing accurate data.
Nevertheless, Dean Henry accepts the onus of responsibility on behalf of NYU Stern, admitting “the failure to submit the data is ours.” He adds, “While rankings matter because they are an important reference for prospective students, the reality of NYU Stern’s quality is no different this week than it was last week.” Dean Henry promises that NYU Stern will “further tighten the procedures for data submissions so such lapses do not recur.”
About the Author
Jonathan Pfeffer
Jonathan Pfeffer joined the Clear Admit and MetroMBA teams in 2015 after spending several years as an arts/culture writer, editor, and radio producer. In addition to his role as contributing writer at MetroMBA and contributing editor at Clear Admit, he is co-founder and lead producer of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast. He holds a BA in Film/Video, Ethnomusicology, and Media Studies from Oberlin College.
