Temple University President Richard M. Englert announced today an independent review of the data reporting processes the Fox School of Business used for U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings.

 

Shortly after the 2018 rankings were released and the Fox Online MBA received a No.1 ranking, the Fox School immediately self-reported to U.S. News an inaccurate data element. As a result, U.S. News this week announced that the previously top-ranked Online MBA program would be listed as “unranked” for 2018. 

 

“I have tremendous confidence in the quality of our online MBA and every program we have at the Fox School of Business. We need to have equal confidence in the data that was reported to U.S. News,” Englert said.

 

“The integrity of our data and reporting are paramount. After consultation with Provost JoAnne Epps and Fox School of Business Dean Moshe Porat, I have decided to bring in an outside independent analyst to review our data reporting processes, including what occurred in this instance,” said Englert. “The Fox School takes great pride in making ethics a part of every program. We need to assure our students and alumni that we practice what we teach.”

 

The data originally submitted to U.S. News were inaccurate regarding the percentage of incoming Fox Online MBA students who had provided GMAT and GRE scores as part of the enrollment process.

 

“Once we discovered the error, we took the proactive approach to promptly correct a mistake. We accept the U.S. News & World Report decision to revise the 2018 ranking,” the dean explained.

 

“The Fox Online MBA has a long-standing reputation as one of the nation’s best online MBA programs,” Porat said. “We look forward to restoring the program to its rightful place among the top-ranked in the nation.”