Craig School among the best

Fresno State's Craig School of Business will be included in The Princeton Review's list of top business schools for the first time

By Travis Ball
The Collegian

The Craig School of Business at California State University, Fresno is just another needle in a haystack.

But in this case, the haystack is The Princeton Review’s 2007 edition of its book, “Best 282 Business Schools,” and the Craig School is among 281 other needles the company considers to be the best in the nation.

The 2007 edition will include 45 universities selected into the publication for the first time, including the Craig School of Business.

Rafael Solis, the director of graduate programs for the Craig School of Business, said it’s not quite as big as winning a Pulitzer or Nobel Prize but it still makes him very proud. “I feel really proud of this school and the work of the faculty and the students. The students think we are good. That’s the main thing.”

When it comes down to how The Princeton Review determines what schools are the best, student opinions are important. The Princeton Review is an education services company from New York that surveys programs every year, and is not affiliated with Princeton University. The criteria it uses in selecting schools for the book include its views of academic programs and other offerings, institutional data collected about the school and opinions of the universities students.

Since student beliefs play an important role in a school receiving The Princeton Review’s “Best” recognition, the Craig School of Business must be doing something right. Jay Froman, a junior majoring in business administration thinks it is. He believes the school has worked hard and deserves the recognition it is receiving. “They care about students,” he said. “They need to continue teaching kids what they need to know and not dragging them through what they don’t.”

Organization and an ability to gauge students is why Fresno State student Chris Carroll believes the Craig School deserves recognition from The Princeton Review. Carroll, a senior majoring in information systems at the Craig School, said, “A lot of professors don’t just come to class because it’s a paycheck. They really want to be involved with the students. Having the students in mind first really makes an impact.”

This recognition from The Princeton Review will certainly fhelp the Craig School of Business at Fresno State, but it’s something that will also help the school’s students and the university in general.

“It’s good to be up in the rankings, because that’s marketing,” Solis said. “A lot of people see that and then apply to our school.”

According to Solis, the Masters in Business Administration graduate program at the Craig School received 89 applicants this semester and admitted 50. Solis said, “I presume that our enrollment, because of this good press, is going to go higher this next spring and next fall.” Solis said 50 percent of the students in the graduate program come from Fresno State. The other 50 percent come from other schools. About one-third of them are international students.

Both Froman and Carroll think the recognition from The Princeton Review will help Fresno State and the Craig School of Business attract more local students.

“It benefits the university in general by getting its name on the map,” Froman said. He said students are going to take the time to look at Fresno State more, and if they come here and don’t like business, they may still decide to stay and pursue another major.

Carroll said local students might be more reluctant about leaving Fresno now that they know the university is getting national attention. “Anything that benefits the school in any way is going to benefit the image of the school as a whole,” he said.

The recognition the Craig School of Business receives from The Princeton Review has a trickle effect through the entire university, Solis said. “If another department here wins a big prize I feel a part of it,” he said. “I’m an associate of this person. It feels good.”

Solis said this acknowledgement by The Princeton Review is something that might help students after graduation. “Our graduates are finding excellent jobs anyway before the rankings. Maybe now after the rankings they can say, ‘my school was ranked by The Princeton Review.’”

The recognition is something Carroll believes will help him after school, and in many ways it is a sigh of relief. “That is something I was worried about for a long time, how potential employers will look at my degree here. A lot of times they might think the education may be watered down in a sense. People are starting to see that our business school is one of the better ones.”

For the Craig School of Business to remain one of the best, Solis said students need to stay happy.

“You keep the students happy by providing good faculty. We have good faculty.” He said good faculty filters down to the students being satisfied with the studies. “It is a team effort,” Solis said.

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