Cal State L.A.; America's Best Undergraduate Business Program; CSU; Los Angeles; U.S. News

August 27, 2008

Business College among the 'Best'--10 years running

Cal State L.A.'s program rises 5 notches on
U.S. News & World Report list

Los Angeles, CA -- For the tenth straight year, Cal State L.A.'s undergraduate business program has been listed among the nation's best in U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" issue.

Cal State L.A.'s program was listed at No. 121, tied with San Jose State University. Only the undergraduate business programs at three other public institutions in California were ranked higher.  Last year Cal State L.A.'s program made the national list at No. 126.

To determine the rankings, U.S. News polled deans and senior faculty from undergraduate business programs last spring. Only programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business were considered.  According to the U.S. News, the ranking can help prospective corporate executives and entrepreneurs find a school right for them.

Cal State L.A.'s College of Business and Economics offers undergraduate programs in accounting, economics and statistics, finance and law, information systems, management and marketing.

With nearly 900 majors, accounting is the third most popular undergraduate program at the University (behind criminal justice and psychology, with about 950 each); and management is fifth with about 740 students. Overall, roughly 3,600 students--about 17 percent of Cal State L.A.'s enrollment--are majors in the College of Business and Economics.

According to the College's dean, Philip Romero, "These rankings, while primarily reputational, reinforce what we already know: Our students and graduates, with support from excellent faculty, are making names for themselves far beyond this campus."

Teams of business students from Cal State L.A. recently placed first in two national competitions:

 ● American Collegiate Retailing Association's annual Undergraduate Student Retail Analysis Competition (based upon the team's business plan and site selection for a new Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory store).

North American Case Research Association's (NACRA) Outstanding Student-written Case Award (based on the graduate-student team's research and analysis of American Apparel).

Also, each year since 1998 dozens of accounting students trained by University faculty and the Internal Revenue Service have provided free tax-preparation assistance to moderate- and low-income individuals through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

Cal State L.A.'s business alumni include James A. Bell, executive vice president of finance, The Boeing Company; Robert W. Brown, president, University of West Los Angeles; Alan J. Fohrer, chairman and CEO, Southern California Edison; Marshall Geller, investment banker/senior managing partner, St. Cloud Capital LLC; and many other outstanding individuals.

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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles' civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 205,000 alumni--with a wide variety of interests, ages and background--reflect the city's dynamic mix of populations. Six colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu