Topic: Miller College of Business
October 12, 2007
Ball State is ranked 20th in an analysis of the nation's top
undergraduate entrepreneurship programs by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review.
The rankings were compiled for the magazine's November issue by The Princeton Review, a multifaceted New York-based education corporation. Entrepreneur's college rankings will be on newsstands Oct. 23.
Ball State's undergraduate entrepreneurship program is ranked ahead of the University of Iowa, Brigham Young University, Baylor University, Northeastern University and Ohio State University.
Nine hundred schools were evaluated based on academics and requirements, students and faculty, and outside-the-classroom support and experiences.
Since it was founded more than 20 years ago, Ball State's entrepreneurship program has consistently ranked among the nation's elite including being listed in the top 10 by U.S. News & World Report since 1999.
"It means a great deal to us to be ranked so consistently among the nation's top universities and colleges by each of the publications," said Larry Cox, director of Ball State's Entrepreneurship Center. "Each ranking has a different methodology. This says that no matter how we are measured, the university has a nationally prominent program in entrepreneurship."
This is the third time in recent years that Entrepreneur magazine has ranked Ball State among the nation's best. The university's undergraduate program was ranked in the top 25 by the magazine in 2003 and 2004.
Cox said Ball State has retained its top 20 status after the magazine revised its ranking system, enlisting The Princeton Review to provide a more detailed examination of what an undergraduate program offers.
"The new analysis not only considers course work and faculty involvement but also the existence of business plan competitions and other extracurricular activities," he said. "We have the Nascent 500 Business Plan Challenge, the premier national undergraduate competition that attracts teams from across the nation and Canada to a fast-paced event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last spring. Next year's competition is set for March 28. The Nascent 500 is one of the recent steps we've taken to enhance an already innovative program."
The entrepreneurship program, an initiative of Ball State's Miller College of Business, is well known as the ultimate entrepreneurial experience. It includes a final pass or fail class that requires seniors to put their degrees on the line when their business plans are reviewed by a group of top business leaders just days before graduation.
Cox said the Entrepreneurship Center has established a solid position at the forefront of entrepreneurial education, research and innovation, with a commitment to outreach and research. It is the co-administrative site for the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers.
By Marc Ransford, Senior Communications Strategist