Table notes‡ The first figure refers to the number of individual surveys completed by clients of the business school. The figure in brackets indicates the total number of years of survey data included in this ranking. Data are retained for those schools that participated in the 2017 or 2018 ranking but were not ranked in either or both.
Although the headline ranking figures show changes in the data year to year, the pattern of clustering among the schools is equally significant. Some 330 points separate the top school, Iese Business School, from the school ranked number 80. The top 17 business schools, from Iese to University of Pennsylvania: Wharton, form the top group of custom providers. The second group, which is led by ESMT Berlin, includes 50 schools. The third group of 13 schools is led by Tias Business School, Tilburg University.
Footnotes1. The level of interaction between client and school, the extent to which purchasers’ ideas were integrated into the programme, and the effectiveness of the school in integrating its latest research.
2. The flexibility of the course and the willingness of schools to complement their own faculty with specialists and practitioners.
3. The quality of teaching and the extent to which teaching staff worked together to present a coherent programme.
4. The relevance of skills gained to the workplace, the ease with which they were implemented, and the extent to which the course encouraged new ways of thinking.
5. The extent and effectiveness of follow-up offered after the course participants returned to their workplaces.
6. The extent to which academic and business expectations were met, and the quality of feedback from individual participants to purchasers.
7. Rating of the learning environment’s quality and convenience, and of supporting resources and facilities.
8. Purchasers’ rating of the programme’s design, teaching and materials in terms of value for money.
9. The likelihood that clients would use the same school for future customised programmes, and whether they would use the school for the same programme.
10. The percentage of clients with headquarters outside the business school’s base country and region.
11. The international reach of the school’s customised programme teaching.
12. The quantity and quality of programmes developed or taught in conjunction with other business schools.
13. The mix of faculty by nationality and gender.
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