Wake Forest Schools of Business Undergraduate Program Ranks #1 in the Nation for Academic Quality in recent report by BusinessWeek

BusinessWeek magazine ranks Wake Forest University’s Undergraduate Business Program first in the nation for academic quality and 18th overall, in its 2010 list of the Top 50 Undergraduate Business Schools. The magazine announced its fifth annual ranking of “The Best Undergrad Business Schools” on March 4.

“Achieving the number one rank in academic quality for the second consecutive year is a strong testament to the hard work and passion of our students and the dedication to excellence of the faculty and staff at the School,” said Dean of Business Steve Reinemund. “It is clear that the educational rigor of our programs, coupled with the high degree of one-to-one interaction between students and faculty, is highly effective in preparing students for the next chapter in their lives,” he added.

News of the School’s first place academic rank by BusinessWeek comes on the heels of the recent announcement that for the fifth consecutive year, graduates of the Wake Forest University Schools of Business accountancy program achieved the highest passing rates in the nation on the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. According to results compiled by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) for the 2008 exam, the most recent scores available, Wake Forest graduates led all first-time candidates by achieving an overall pass rate of 89.74 percent.

To calculate its ranking, BusinessWeek compiles surveys of about 85,000 senior business majors and more than 600 corporate recruiters. The ranking considers median starting salaries for graduates and the number of graduates each program sends on to top MBA programs. The “academic quality” score that BusinessWeek calculates for each undergraduate school combines SAT scores, faculty-student ratios, class size, the percentage of students with internships, and the number of hours students spend on class work each week.

BusinessWeek’s complete 2010 ranking of the best undergraduate business schools, including the full methodology, interactive tables, and in-depth profiles, is available at www.businessweek.com/bschools/undergraduate.