Temple Fox School of Business Reveals More Rankings Details
Shortly after the forced resignation of longtime Dean Moshe Porat and hiring of his interim replacement Ronald C. Anderson, the Temple University Fox School of Business released more details following this year’s ratings fallout with U.S. News & World Report.
In a new letter from Temple University President Richard M. Englert and Executive Vice President and Provost JoAnne A. Epps revealed that the business school submitted false data regarding not only its Online MBA program—which was ranked first overall by U.S. News & World Report for four straight years—but the “Executive MBA, Global MBA, Part-Time MBA, Master of Science in Human Resource Management and Master of Science in Digital Innovation in Marketing” as well.
Englert and Epps states:
“These programs all had issues related to the reporting of one or more metrics, including the number of new entrants providing GRE/GMAT scores, student indebtedness and applicants’ undergraduate GPAs. For the Online Bachelor of Business Administration, misreporting related to student indebtedness was found. As a result, we have reported to U.S. News that we cannot verify data related to these programs, and we are not participating in or submitting business school surveys at this time.
We want all the members of the university community to know that, with respect to the misreporting of information at the Fox School, you had a right to expect this information would be accurate and honest. We deeply regret that this did not happen. We will do more than own this problem. We will fix it. And none of this takes away from the quality education that our Fox School students receive, or from the excellent teaching and research of its faculty.”
As a whole, the letter is a concerted effort at more transparency from the university, given the sensitive nature of the situation since being removed from U.S. News is January of this year.
The two go on to say:
“Integrity in the way we conduct and represent ourselves to the world is a fundamental value at Temple. The university is committed to the highest standards of accuracy in its data submissions to rankings organizations and has implemented rigorous new university-wide procedures to ensure this. As we said earlier this month, Temple is in contact with a number of agencies that have an interest in this matter. We are updating them as new information develops. We continue to diligently pursue the review of rankings data and will share additional updates.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the university staff who have been working so diligently in carefully reviewing thousands upon thousands of data elements in the Fox School and university-wide. It is through their tireless efforts that we are able to ensure we report proper information going forward, and can be open and transparent with all of you.”
You can read the entire letter from Temple here. Stay tuned for more information on the story as it continues to unfold.
BREAKING: Temple Fox Announces New Interim Dean Ronald C. Anderson
Just two weeks after the resignation of longtime dean Moshe Porat, the Temple University Fox School of Business announced that Ronald C. Anderson, professor and chair of the Fox finance department, will become the school’s interim dean.
Porat was forced to resign six months after the school’s rankings debacle with U.S. News & World Report. The publication removed the Philadelphia metro business school from all of its annual rankings after discovering falsified data was submitted. The turn of events occurred right after the publication revealed is annual Online MBA rankings, in which Temple had won first place for the fourth year in a row.
Fox School of Business Interim Dean Ronald C. Anderson / Photo via Ryan S. Brandenberg
In a new statement, Temple president Richard M. Englert says, “Ron has led significant growth in the department of finance, which is one of the most popular majors at Temple. He is an accomplished researcher and a well-regarded teacher who takes great pride in his students’ success. His professional experiences, both in industry and academia, are well suited for this critical leadership role.”
Anderson, who earned an MBA at the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration and his finance Ph.D. and doctorate at Texas A&M, joined the university in 2012 as a professor and department chair. As a respected member of the Temple community, news that Anderson would be manning the Fox School of Business ship at a tumultuous time seemed to earn praise from several members of the university.
Speaking with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Fox finance professor and deputy chair of the finance department Jonathan Scott says, “We were just hoping we could get through the process of identifying an interim dean and get on with righting the ship. Ron is the right person to get us back on track.”
Still, there is plenty of trepidation at Fox, with lingering lawsuits from several dismayed students hanging overhead, as well as the school’s upcoming accreditation re-approval this winter. Temple Association of University Professionals President Steve Newman, speaking with the Inquirer says, “This scandal has damaged the trust that students in and outside of Fox as well as the general public place in our university.”
“This scandal is in part the result of an unhealthy fixation on rankings that warps the priorities of our university as a whole. We understand that rankings matter in recruiting students, but their effect on fiscal and pedagogical decisions at Temple is entirely too strong.” – Temple Association of University Professionals President Steve Newman
Stay tuned with MetroMBA as this story continues to unfold.
What Is Next for Temple’s Fox School of Business?
Just a week after the the resignation of longtime dean Moshe Porat, the Temple University Fox School of Business still has a lot of questions to answer.
Temple Fox is not the first school to lose its status due to artificially boosting its own rankings. In 2011, Villanova’s law school came under fire for giving false GPA and LSAT data to U.S. News & World Report and the American Bar Association. Just one year later, both Tulane University and George Washington University were docked by U.S. News for submitting false data for a positive placement on its annual rankings lists. The following year, in 2013, Bucknell University was caught providing incorrect SAT data. So while the history of Temple’s relatively new public relations bruising is not unprecedented, the question now remains of what the future may hold for the Philadelphia business school.
In a recent Philly.com article, writers Susan Snyder and Erin Arvedlund ask just how much did the outward effort for high rankings hurt Temple? In the piece, MetroMBA and Clear Admit co-founder and CEO Eliot Ingram says, “At the end of the day, the value proposition of the Fox MBA program rests on its education, brand, and network.”
“Having read the Jones Day report, I am stunned that the dean would risk jeopardizing the brand and reputation of the entire Fox/Temple community by overseeing a multi-year effort to submit incorrect data to U.S. News in order to get a high U.S. News ranking for the Fox online MBA program. As Benjamin Franklin once said, ‘It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad deed to lose it.'”
The fallout has already produced a lawsuit from nine individual students, represented by lawyer Jason Brown. Speaking with Snyder and Arvedlund, Brown says, “Had they [Temple] done the slightest due diligence of how they shot up to the No. 1 slot. They handsomely profited from it and didn’t care about how they obtained the wings to fly so high.”
After its dismissal of Moshe Porat, the Temple Fox School of Business is still without a dean during a tumultuous time.
There are some who still vocally support Porat, who was officially dismissed from the business school on July 9. Temple MD and MBA graduate Raza Bokhari has reportedly considered removing his $1.5 million donation to the school. Talking with Philly.com, Bokhari notes that the school did not inform him personally before dismissing Porat. “People like us who write big checks watch this. Our goodwill is very important.”
“He said he [Porat] is assessing the situation,” Bokhari adds. “He feels he’s been victimized. He is also reviewing his options and is very graceful. He wants Fox to do well.”
A few days after the news initially broke, Philly.com profiled Porat’s time at the business school, highlighting a bevy of co-workers who appeared to stay in Porat’s corner. “Have we sacrificed due process for expediency?” one anonymous finance professor asked, despite the rankings fallout starting six months prior.
“His supporters say Porat, 71, was pushed out too quickly for a rankings scandal discovered under his watch. They argue that the Jones Day law firm report released last week doesn’t make clear that he personally ordered numbers to be manipulated. More than 100 faculty and staff turned out at a somber meeting last week with Temple president Richard Englert and provost JoAnne Epps to voice their defense and criticism of Porat.”
Adding even more pressure to the situation, the business school will be seeking re-accreditation this winter; nearly a year before it was originally scheduled to do so.
Regardless of the internal strafing among the faculty and staff, Temple’s principle concern moving forward its finding an adequate replacement and rightfully adjusting how it handles its internal data for future rankings. The latter of which will likely continue to be of massive importance for the school, according to Samuel Hodge Jr., who teaches law at Fox.
“I believe if you talk to any dean at a top 100 business or law school, rankings are of critical importance to him or her,” he says. “Faculty must be held accountable, and requiring excellence in the classroom and research makes us better academicians. Rankings also provide a measuring stick to gauge improvement and to maintain consistency and accountability.”
Former Fox School of Business dean Moshe Porat / April Saul/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP (’09)
Recovering from the scandal may seem daunting, but most of the schools caught in similar fashion, such as the Villanova University School of Law in 2011, usually end up recovering in the rankings in the long-term. Philly.com notes that the school fell 20 spots on the U.S. News law school rankings after the incident (falling from 67 to 87), but now sits 65th overall. The Fox School of Business Online MBA, however, was ranked 1st overall for four years in a row by U.S. News, so when the school eventually returns to the annual ranking next year, the falloff may be a bit more severe.
Stay tuned with MetroMBA as this story continues to unfold.
Supply Chains, Rankings Changes, and More – Philly News
We know it’s hard to keep up with the news while you’re enjoying your summer, so we put all the latest Philly MBA news in one place just for you!
How UD MBA Grad Lisa Weaver Saved DuPont $8 Million and Counting — UDaily
Lisa Weaver, an MBA graduate from the Delaware University Lerner College of Business and Economics, was recently named to the Institute for Supply Management’s 30 Under 30 Supply Chain Stars list. As category manager for DuPont’s sourcing and logistics department, Weaver led initiatives resulting in more than $8 million in savings.
In a recent Q&A with her alma mater, Weaver explained how her experiences at UD influenced her career in supply chain management.
“Lerner resources like the Career Services Center allowed me to find the right jobs for me at the time,” she said, adding:
“Additional programs like the Graduate Executive Mentors program allowed me to expand my network and develop a relationship with a mentor. My mentor has challenged my thinking, increased my confidence and provided alternative perspectives. Each of these experiences through Lerner have influenced my career in a different way and provided additional capabilities to be successful.”
You can read more about Weaver’s impact at DuPont and her Lerner experience here.
Faculty Quality, Other Factors Propel Penn State Smeal Executive MBA — Smeal News
The Executive MBA Program at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business was ranked as the 26th overall and 7th among programs from public institutions in The Economist’s 2018 recent list of top global EMBAs.
“What makes the Smeal Executive MBA Program truly unique and led to a successful debut in today’s rankings is our unmatched combination of faculty quality and the unique access our students have to those amazing resources,” said Managing Director Jason Stieg. “The program delivers every course in a face-to-face environment using the same renowned faculty who teach in Smeal’s full-time residential MBA program at University Park.”
Smeal’s EMBA in Philadelphia is one of the top ten public programs in the world, according to The Economist.
The Philadelphia-based Executive MBA takes place over 17 months, and is the highest-ranked Philadelphia-area program. You can learn more about the program here.
Saint Joseph’s Offers Exclusive Healthcare MBA Program for American Osteopathic Association — SJU News
According to a recent press release, Saint Joseph’s Haub School of Business has announced a healthcare-focused Executive MBA program designed exclusively for the American Osteopathic Association’s physician members.
“An executive MBA in health care expands doctors’ knowledge of industry challenges and solutions and allows them to prepare for their next steps—career shifts into administration, consultancy, or running a private practice,” said Joseph A. DiAngelo, dean of the Haub School. “We are proud to equip healthcare leaders with such valuable skills.”
The program offers participants an online, two-year MBA while also simultaneously completing medical education credits. To learn more about the executive MBA in health care program, or to learn how to apply, click here.
Temple Fox Business Dean Moshe Porat Resigns – MetroMBA
Months after Temple University’s Fox School of Business was removed from the U.S. News & World Report rankings earlier this year, Moshe Porat—the long-time dean of the business school—was officially asked to resign while the internal structure of the school goes into rebuild-mode.
No news has been released as of yet of Porat’s replacement, or which methods Fox will offer to change in the future when it comes to school rankings. You can read more about his resignation here.
Best MBA Internship Opportunities in the Northeast
There’s no doubt that summer internships play a critical role in an MBA student’s education and career. Not only do internships provide students with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the workforce, but they’re also known for helping students develop professional connections and earn top-tier salaries.
But not all internships are made equal, especially for talented business school prospects. For example, working at Apple would likely have a very different effect on an MBA’s resume than working for a small, unknown startup company down the street. And if you’re looking at the top cities across the U.S. where companies actively recruit talent, you can’t go wrong with Boston, New York City, or Philadelphia for your location. But which is the best?
In this article, we highlight the top internship destinations in each city along with the top two schools in each area that will get you where you want. Continue reading…
BREAKING: Temple Fox Business Dean Moshe Porat Resigns
Months after U.S. News & World Report officially removed the Temple University Fox School of Business from its annual rankings, dean Moshe Porat has been officially asked to step down from his role.
