4:05 p.m., March 12, 2009----The fourth annual BusinessWeek review of the "Best Undergraduate B-Schools" ranked the University of Delaware's Lerner College of Business and Economics 26th among the nation's top 59 public university programs and 58th among schools with international accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

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"Being ranked 26th among the top public university business schools and 58th overall reflects the dedication and hard work of the Lerner College faculty and staff in providing an excellent education to ensure the success of our students," Dean Conrado (Bobby) M. Gempesaw said.

"I am especially pleased that the college received very high ratings in student satisfaction, teaching quality, facilities and service, and job placement. This is the third year in a row that we have been recognized and clearly signals the college's rise to prominence in delivering quality education, excellent scholarship, and service to the community," Gempesaw said.

BusinessWeek used several criteria in ranking the schools. According to BusinessWeek, the "centerpiece" of the ranking was "a survey of about 85,000 graduating seniors at the 137 eligible programs." Students were asked to complete a 50-question survey.

Corporate recruiters also were polled, and other factors included median starting salaries for graduates and what schools sent the most grads to 35 top MBA programs, as determined by BusinessWeek.

The other criterion was an "academic quality measure that consists of SAT/ACT test scores for business majors, full-time faculty-student ratios in the business program, average class size in core business classes, the percentage of business majors with internships and the number of hours students spend preparing for class each week."

The UD Department of Business and Economics was founded after World War II, and the College of Business and Economics was established in 1963. In 2002, in recognition of an MBNA Foundation endowment honoring its former chairperson and CEO, the college was renamed the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics.

The college is comprised of five academic departments including Business Administration, Economics, Accounting and MIS, Finance and Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management.

The college was first accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business at the baccalaureate level in 1966. Graduate accreditation was received in 1982, and accounting accreditation was earned in 1984. All accreditations were reaffirmed in 2001.

Article by Martin Mbugua