Students

Rankings, rankings everywhere

In the recent US News & World Report ranking of information systems undergraduate programs, W. P. Carey jumped up six slots. But our programs also go through another evaluation, when a company is considering relocating or expanding in Phoenix. These relocation decisions are where the rubber meets the road. If there are any doubts about the importance of universities and academic programs in attracting business to a region, they need to be put to rest.

2012-10-08

By Michael Goul, Chairman, Department of Information Systems We are very pleased to let you know we jumped up six slots in the bi-annual US News & World Report ranking of information systems undergraduate programs! We went from being ranked number 18 in the nation to the number 12 slot. That makes it an improvement sweep for us in these latest rounds of US News & World Report rankings — a jump of six slots higher for both our undergraduate and masters degree programs (MSIM is now ranked number 13). While rankings aren’t our end-all objective, they are a significant indicator of progress. I want to personally extend a heartfelt thank-you to all of our Executive Advisory Board members, our faculty, staff and students, our recruiters and the many people who contribute in one way or another to our mission. This is a well-deserved recognition of everyone’s hard work and support. Even with this ranking snapshot, our continuous improvement efforts endure. In fact, participating in program rankings by print media involves drastically different processes than what I call the ‘school of hard knocks’ rankings processes we are starting to get used to. For print media, each ranking organization (like US News & World Report) establishes their criteria, gathers data and then does a rank-ordering of programs based on scores by criterion. There are typically only minor changes in the methodology from year-to-year. But now our programs go through a more critical, dynamic and sometimes excruciatingly detailed evaluation when there is the possibility of a company relocating to or expanding in the Phoenix metropolitan area — particularly when that company needs and expects a critical supply line of qualified undergraduate information systems, MS in Information Management and Dual MBA/MSIM graduates to support its line of business. These relocation decision rankings are where the rubber meets the road. For us, there are major unknowns — like who the organization is and what they actually do. We don’t know what they need to know about us until we actually meet. One never knows if they ultimately relocate or expand, whether they ranked you high or low on their criteria and if what you had to say was competitive with their other, secretive options. In the end, it is as if the record of the meeting evaporates, like when the Men in Black movie characters flash their Neuralyzer. Even the projects are code-named to hide identities and corporations. It’s this James Bond-like ranking process that builds character, separates the wheat from the chaff, offers up an occasion where only the strong survive: the sessions are not for the faint at heart. The fight night cliché, ‘Let’s get ready to rumble…’ is probably a fitting description of some parts of the face-to-face meetings. Luckily, we’ve been supported in these bouts by ASU Career Services, their placement reporting systems and director Elaine Stover. In addition, we’ve been fortunate to be working with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (www.gpec.org). Their staff is excellent at connecting organizations that are making relocation decisions with key workforce educators. We’ve learned to be prepared. In addition to the criteria that print media uses, the mystery companies often want to know details of how many students are in our programs right now:

• CIS Undergraduate: 467 students enrolled (54 Frosh, 52 Soph, 120 Junior, 227 Senior)
• Evening MSIM — 66 students currently enrolled (average 11.03 years of experience)
• Online MSIM — 69 students currently enrolled (average 9.82 years of experience)
• Dual MBA/MSIM — 17 students currently enrolled
• Ph.D. Program — 10 students currently enrolled

They often want to know the percent of local students in the programs:

• CIS Undergraduate — 84 percent
• Evening MSIM — 97 percent
• Online MSIM — 49 percent

They might want information about recent internships and average compensation. Thanks to Career Services data collection efforts, we have that information. Mystery companies almost always want to know exactly how our computer-related degrees in engineering and business are similar and different. We try to have unit chairs and industry liaisons for each program at the table in these meetings. Some questions get into the details — what do you cover in course x and what can a student do in area y when a course is over. Or — where do you cover topic z? The questions come fast, and they come from all members of an average eight to 10-member team. From the ASU side, everyone simply has to be on their best game. It is exciting to be part of a metropolitan area and engaged in supporting decisions where organizations might relocate or expand. If there are any lingering doubts about the importance of universities and academic programs in attracting business to a region, they need to be put to rest. You won’t see details in the media about these meetings — we are all sufficiently Neuralyzed afterwards. But we do want you to know that rankings come in all forms and manners of process. We are very happy with our US News & World Report progress report, and we will keep working hard to have our programs in the best shape possible for what we hope will be even more frequent bouts with relocation/expansion mystery companies.

KnowIT