The 2014 U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings released Tuesday placed St. Thomas’ Opus College of Business down six spots from last year and the School of Law up 11 spots from its highest ranking two years ago.
The Opus College of Business ranks No. 110 out of the 494 universities that are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business. Because the college was accredited in December 2010, last year’s list was the first year Opus was eligible to be ranked.
Max Shapiro, a graduate student at the Opus College of Business, said the university’s spot in the nation’s top 25 percent of business schools is encouraging.
“I’m not concerned with dropping six spots in the rankings. I’d be more concerned if we fell 60 slots,” Shapiro said. “The faculty and administration are doing a great job at implementing new ideas that put us at the cutting edge of business schools across the country.”
Doug Hennes, vice president of university and government relations, said the drop in rank isn’t alarming for the university.
“We don’t live for rankings,” Hennes said. “They’re important. They’re something people pay attention to, but our focus is on trying to provide the education.”
St. Thomas’ School of Law ranked No. 124, moving up from its No. 135 spot two years ago. The school lost its No. 119 ranking last year after a reporting error. The law school placed in the third tier when it was first ranked in 2007.
Hennes said the almost decade-old School of Law has made significant progress and has earned the higher recognition.
“I think they’re pleased that there’s upper movement,” Hennes said. “It takes time to build a reputation and to earn credibility in the legal community. The fact that it has been showing improvement in U.S. News is reflective.”
First-year law student Meagan Tinajero said since the St. Thomas program is new, she doesn’t expect it to continually be consistent in rankings just yet.
“Like anything else, things like that take time … I really don’t think it’s as important to focus on the law school’s ranking than on the many other great aspects the school has to offer that make it more valuable than a number,” Tinajero said.
For Tinajero, rankings aren’t everything in terms of success.
“We have top notch professors who genuinely care about the quality of the education its students are receiving,” Tinajero said. “I think that sort of mindset will prepare me better for my career as a lawyer.”
Overall, Hennes said the reasoning behind the rankings isn’t always easy to analyze.
“These rankings are made up of a lot of different components: peer assessment, classes, LSAT scores, GPAs, whole variety of different things,” Hennes said. “You can perform exactly the same, but if someone below you performs a little better, they can leapfrog you and vice versa.”
The St. Thomas-St. Catherine School of Social Work remained at the No. 52 spot, as U.S. News doesn’t conduct a social work survey each year. The joint program placed No. 53 on the list three years ago.
The Schools of Engineering and Education weren’t included on the list this year. U.S. News ranked St. Thomas No. 69 out of 193 engineering schools that offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees but not doctorates. The School of Education is listed alphabetically among schools in the second tier rather than as a numerical ranking.