When do you stop being a good or bad student? Maybe never. Higher education establishments, the same ones that distribute grades to millions of students, they also run after the congratulations. In their case, good points are not awarded by teachers, but by higher-ranking organizations, usually the media.
Business schools seem particularly obsessed with the verdicts of this academic capitalism. Thus, in the days prior to the publication of its ranking of the main business schools, The student It becomes a complaints office. Dissatisfied with the result obtained under embargo, several directors expressed their dismay: some were on the verge of tears, others threatened to abandon the classification. “We get a lot of calls about this. Schools want to collect information. “They don’t like losing places, that creates waves.”confirms Kira Mitrofanoff, responsible for the magazine’s ranking Challenges.
On the contrary, when the news is good, ” HE business schools take out the champagne »says Leo Cremonezi, rankings editor (“classification manager”) for the Financial times (FOOT), the most prescriptive journal on the subject and the most influential in this small ecosystem. ” HE classificationsIt is free marketing and the market is very competitive in France »specifies the statistic.
Every year, the British newspaper publishes its ranking of the best master’s degrees in management in the world. In 2024, six French schools (HEC, Insead, Edhec, ESCP, EM Lyon, Essec) are in the top 10. Andrew Jack, education editor-in-chief of FOOTseries: “France, a complete paradox! This is a country with a leftist and anti-capitalist reputation, but nevertheless has one of the best business schools in the world. » They return the compliment. ” HE FOOT “It is for business schools what Shanghai is for universities: a world reference and an exceptional showcase”summarizes Léon Laulusa, general director of ESCP.
“An exceptional marketing tool”
At the ESCP, three statisticians are in charge of collecting the data and answering the questions of the different classifications, explains Léon Laulusa: “Each school has a team dedicated to classifications. » Especially since the rankings, which emerged in the 1980s with a national focus, gained momentum with the Bologna process, which advocates the harmonization of the different European higher education systems.
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