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Trent University's Business Administration program ranked first in its category by Corporate Knights magazine

Corporate Knights ranking recognizes integration of social and environmental issues into curriculum

Trent University has taken the top spot in the undergraduate category in Corporate Knights magazine's annual ranking of business school programs in Canada.

The Second Annual Guide to Business Education: Knight Schools was published in the April issue of Corporate Knights magazine and is touted as "a guide to business schools for students who want to change the world". The ranking, which is modeled after the US-based Beyond Grey Pinstripes Survey, evaluated 34 Canadian business schools by looking at the degree to which they incorporate social and environmental factors into their programs. Criteria used to rate the schools included course work, student initiatives and institutional activities ranging from speaker series to financial awards. Last year, Trent ranked second among primarily undergraduate schools.

"This result really pleases us since it is about what we, as a program, aspire to be. We take the idea of being Trent's Business Administration program very seriously - to be as eclectic, creative and thoughtful, and as focused on the environment, ethics and community as our whole university aspires to be," says Business Administration Professor Dr. Raymond Dart.

"What is also pleasing is that a number of other universities are following our work in this direction. I think that many already know what we know - that in this emerging century, business and other organizations will both benefit from, and need to work within, the environmental and social changes ahead. We don't see this as an option or an add-on any more. We see this as something that all managers and organizational professionals need to consider."

Trent placed first in the course offerings category – one of three used by Corporate Knights to determine the ranking. This category ranked schools according to their curriculum offerings of core courses, elective courses, joint degrees and specializations or concentrations dedicated to or dealing with social and environmental impact management. 

The magazine also highlights the collaboration at Trent between the Business Administration program and the Trent Centre for Community Based Education, in which students have the opportunity to do research with local non-governmental organizations and community agencies for credit.

"What Corporate Knights especially noted for us was (and is) the work we have done in curriculum and program for our students to reflect the importance of ethics, sustainability and community contribution in innovative business practice," says Prof. Dart, adding the program has new courses in business and sustainability in nongovernmental and non-profit organizations. "We also have these issues dealt with in everything from Strategic Management to Accounting, as ideas underlying what any forward-thinking manager now needs to know."

The survey was conducted immediately following the 2003-2004 academic year and evaluates business school activities for the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 academic years. Every Canadian business school was invited to participate.

Corporate Knights, The Canadian Magazine for Responsible Business, is a quarterly publication with a 100,000 circulation. Corporate Knights publishes the annual ranking of the Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada as well as the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World.

Posted May 24, 2005

 

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