George R. Brown School of Engineering moves up four spots in ‘Best Engineering Schools’

A number of Rice University graduate programs are rated among the nation’s best in the latest edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools” rankings.

The George R. Brown School of Engineering is ranked No. 26 nationally, up four spots from last year. Eight engineering disciplines are ranked in the top 30, five in the top 25 and two in the top 10: biomedical/bioengineering (No. 10), environmental engineering (No. 9, up from No. 12), computer engineering (No. 22, up from No. 26), civil engineering (No. 23), chemical engineering (No. 24), electrical engineering (No. 26), materials engineering (No. 26) and mechanical engineering (No. 27).

The Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, which ranks No. 29 nationally, has two programs in the top 15. The entrepreneurship program moved up two spots to No. 8, while the professional MBA program that U.S. News ranks in its part-time MBA category landed at No. 15.

“These rankings are symbolic of the hard work and talent of our amazing faculty, staff and students within our graduate programs,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said. “I look forward to seeing these programs continue to excel in the coming years as they produce impactful research and scholarship.”

The U.S. News & World Report rankings are among the most closely monitored annual surveys of the nation’s institutions of higher education. Each year, the publication ranks professional school programs in business, education, engineering, law, medicine and nursing, including specialties in each area.

“The rankings reflect our ongoing commitment to excellence across the board,” said Amy Dittmar, the Howard Hughes Provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “These strides would not be possible without the sustained efforts of our faculty, deans, department chairs and Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Seiichi Matsuda and his team.”

“Rice’s research productivity reflects the scholarship, the creativity and the dedication of our extraordinarily talented graduate students,” Matsuda said. “As the university enhances and expands high-quality graduate programs, we provide more opportunities for bright, driven students to achieve their highest potential and in so doing, positively influence their communities, nation and the world.”

The Department of Computer Science tied for No. 27, moving up four spots from last year, and landed in the top 25 rankings in two specialties: tied for No. 19 in programming language and tied for No. 21 in systems (up from No. 23).

The U.S. News Best Graduate School rankings are based on expert opinions and statistical indicators measuring the quality of faculty, research and students. The publication compiles data from surveys of programs and reputation surveys sent to academics and professionals in fall 2023 and early 2024.

For more information on Rice’s rankings, click here.

Based on research by Vikas Mittal and Jihye Jung

Key findings:

• Funding for public K-12 schools depends on enrollment; so, student and family satisfaction is essential to their success.
• Focusing on the “customer” will allow administrators to strategize from a place of data and transparency rather than personal beliefs and gut feelings.
• A customer-focused strategy prioritizes “lift potential” — executing the levers that have the highest capacity to increase customer value.

It’s no secret: K-12 public schools in the U.S. face major challenges. Resources are shrinking. Costs are climbing. Teachers are battling burnout. Student outcomes are declining.

There are many areas of concern.

Some difficulties are intangible, inescapable and made worse by crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. Some can be fixed or alleviated by wisely allocating resources. And others — like a lack of strategic focus — can be avoided altogether.

It’s an understandable impulse to make everyone happy. However, Mittal and Jung find that the “stakeholder appeasement” approach dilutes strategic focus, wastes resources and creates a bloat of ineffective initiatives.

It’s this final area, strategic focus, that researchers Vikas Mittal (Rice Business) and Jihye Jung (UT-San Antonio) address in a groundbreaking study. According to Mittal and Jung, superintendents and principals misallocate vast amounts of time and resources trying to appease their many stakeholders — students, parents, teachers, board trustees, community leaders, state evaluators, college recruiters, potential employers, etc.

Instead, Mittal and Jung show,  administrators need to put their entire focus on one key stakeholder — the “customer,” i.e. students and families.

It may sound strange to call students and families “customers” in the context of public education. After all, 5th-period Spanish isn’t like buying an iPhone or fast food. The classroom is not transactional. Students and caregivers are part of a broader relational context that most directly involves teachers and peers. And students are expected to contribute to that context.

But K-12 public funds are tied to enrollment and attendance numbers. This means the success or failure of a school or school district ultimately comes down to “customer” satisfaction.

Beware the Stakeholder Appeasement Trap

Here’s what happens when students and families become dissatisfied with their school:

As conditions deteriorate, families (who can afford to) may choose to homeschool or move their children to private or better-performing public schools. As a result, enrollment revenue decreases, which forces administrators to cut costs. Cut costs lead to worsened performance and lower satisfaction among students and families. Lower satisfaction leads to further enrollment loss, which leads to more cost-cutting. And so on. (Schools need about 500-600 students to break even.)

It’s a vicious downward spiral, and it’s not unusual for schools to become trapped in it. To avoid this vortex, administrators end up adopting a “spray and pray” or “adopt and hope” approach, pursuing various stakeholder agendas in hopes that one of them will be the key to institutional success. Group A wants stronger security. Group B wants improved internet access. Group C wants better facilities. Group D wants to expand athletics.

It’s an understandable impulse to make everyone happy. However, Mittal and Jung find that the “stakeholder appeasement” approach dilutes strategic focus, wastes resources and creates a bloat of ineffective initiatives.

Initiative bloat isn’t a benign problem. The labor of implementing programs inevitably falls on teachers and frontline staff, which can result in mediocre performance and burnout. As initiatives multiple over time, communication lines become strained and, distracted by the administration’s efforts to please everyone, teachers and frontline staff fail to satisfy students and families.

Pay Attention to Lift Potential

Using data from administrator interviews and more than 10,000 parent surveys, Mittal and Jung find that students and families only value a few strategic areas. By far the most important is family and community engagement, followed by academics and teachers. The least important, somewhat surprisingly, is extracurriculars like athletics programs.

The assumption that athletics would be high on the list of student and family priorities raises a crucial point in the study. Mittal and Jung note that it’s a serious error to assume that the more a strategic area is mentioned the more it drives customer value.

“Conflating the two — salience and lift potential — is the single biggest factor that can mislead strategy planning,” the researchers say.

A customer-focused strategy prioritizes lift potential — meaning it allocates budgets, people and time to the areas that have the highest capacity to increase customer value, as measured by customer satisfaction. If family and community engagement is the most important strategic area, then savvy administrators will invest in the “execution levers” that improve it.

For instance, Mittal and Jung find that allowing input on school policies is the most effective lever for demonstrating family and community engagement. Another important strategic area is improving the quality of teachers, and one of the most effective ways of doing this is to emphasize their academic qualifications.

“Conflating the two — salience and lift potential — is the single biggest factor that can mislead strategy planning,” the researchers say.

Just as important as instituting effective customer-focused initiatives is de-emphasizing those that are ineffective. It can be a difficult process to stop and de-emphasize initiatives, however ineffective. But ultimately, the benefit is that teachers and frontline staff will be able to concentrate on the execution levers that matter.

This strategic transformation can’t happen overnight. Developing the framework will require a school district 18 to 24 months, Mittal and Jung estimate. Embedding it into practice can take an additional 12 to 18 months. For example, it would involve changing the way senior administrators, school principals and teachers are held accountable. Instead of emphasizing standardized test scores, which do not add to customer satisfaction, it’s more effective to concentrate on input factors that directly impact the quality of academics and learning.

To help schools develop and implement a customer-focused strategy, future research can focus on frameworks for guiding schools to maximize the areas of value that students and families care about most.

Written by Scott Pett

For more, see Mittal and Jung, “Revitalizing educational institutions through customer focus.” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (2024): https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-024-01007-y.

Where did you receive your bachelor's and master's degrees?

My petroleum engineering bachelor’s degree (1998) is from the Universidad America, located in my hometown, Bogota, Colombia. I got my master’s in petroleum engineering (1999) from the Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires (ITBA) in Argentina. 

Describe your career journey including your current role and company.

My career path began in 1998 as a field engineer for YPF in Patagonia, Argentina. A few years later, I transitioned to a French company, SLB, where I was part of specialized operations teams gaining experience in reservoir performance and production engineering. Over time, I advanced through technical and leadership roles, including assignments in Brazil and Chile, before returning to Buenos Aires as the Argentina testing services manager.

In 2007, Chevron brought me on board as the senior production and operations engineering team lead in Brazil. After Brazil, I relocated to Covington, Louisiana for an IT role supporting deepwater assets.

In 2013, I took on the strategic growth manager position in Maracaibo, Venezuela, identifying and developing production opportunities. I was then appointed as the Subsurface Manager for a Chevron joint venture with PDVSA in eastern Venezuela.

After nearly a decade in Venezuela, I moved to Houston in 2022 as Chevron's corporate reservoir performance, framework and standards manager. I now oversee reservoir management activities, technical standards, communities of practice and portfolio analysis.

My journey started from humble beginnings but through perseverance and commitment to continual learning, I've grown into senior leadership roles in a major energy company. I'm grateful for the opportunities along the way.

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Why did you choose a Rice Business Executive MBA?

To acquire tools for greater impact at my company and in society, I sought a program that would challenge my critical and creative thinking. I needed one that would build a solid understanding of the current business environment while allowing application to the energy field.

This led me to the Executive MBA program at Rice Business, the top-ranked program in Houston known for its entrepreneurship focus. Designed for experienced executives like me, it offers a flexible schedule to continue working while pursuing the degree.

The curriculum features personalized, experiential, integrated learning. In the second year, I can select from over 100 electives to tailor my education to specific needs and interests.

The program also provides leadership and strategy executive forums and seminars to build an executive mindset. I appreciate the custom executive coaching to identify and fill gaps in my leadership portfolio.

Choosing Rice Business was a decision tailored to my needs, helping tremendously in reaching my goals. It's more than education; it's a transformative experience preparing me for effective leadership in the evolving business landscape.

What do you enjoy the most about being a Rice MBA student?

After one year in the program, I can say the experience has been truly enriching. The high-quality education from exceptional professors stands out. The diversity of my cohort greatly enhances the learning experience, bringing a wide range of perspectives and insights.

What has made it even more rewarding is the close-knit community Rice fosters. The staff, faculty, students and alumni share a strong bond, creating a supportive and collaborative environment. The well-being guide provided by Rice Business was particularly helpful, ensuring we thrived during the rigorous first year.

Networking opportunities have been plentiful, allowing us to socialize and connect with people from other graduate programs. The strong reputation of Rice Business also opens doors - people are willing to engage when they learn I'm a student here.

Additionally, having access to the larger university's resources has been advantageous. Rice Business ensures its MBA students can leverage the wide range of university resources available.

All these factors combined are making my time at Rice an enriching journey. I'm grateful for the experience.

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What are your career goals after graduation?

My short-term goal is to become a general manager within my company. I'm currently one level below that target. I believe the broadened knowledge and polished skills I'm acquiring through the executive MBA program can increase my ability to add value and contribute to the energy landscape.

Like many of my executive MBA peers, I seek to evolve my career within the same industry, with a long-term goal of potentially becoming a vice president at the company. The program provides me the opportunity to implement at work what I've learned in classes over the weekends, which is invaluable.

Ultimately, the goal is not just about advancing up the corporate ladder, but also about finding work that I'm truly passionate about. The new skills and knowledge I'm gaining as an executive MBA student are equipping me to pursue that aim of aligning my career ambitions with my passions.

How does the program positively impact you at work, and can you share an example of applying what you learned on the job?

The Executive MBA program at Rice Business has had a profound impact on my professional life. It has equipped me with a robust skill set and comprehensive business understanding that I've been able to directly apply to my work.

One of the most significant impacts has been the enhancement of my leadership capabilities. The program's focus on experiential learning and integrated thinking has allowed me to approach challenges more holistically. This has been particularly beneficial in my current role requiring strategic decision-making and effective leadership.

For instance, a key learning was the importance of stakeholder engagement in decision-making processes. I applied this when our team faced analyzing extensive enterprise business data. By engaging all relevant stakeholders, facilitating open communication and collaborative problem-solving, we devised a solution that addressed the immediate issue and improved overall operational efficiency.

Additionally, the program's emphasis on critical thinking and resilience has helped me navigate complex situations. During a multi-team, cross-region project with unforeseen obstacles threatening progress, I leveraged the problem-solving skills and resilience developed in my executive MBA to guide my team through challenges toward successful completion.

In summary, the Rice Business executive MBA program has enriched my knowledge, skills and ability to apply those learnings to drive personal growth and organizational success. It continues shaping my professional journey.

Ale Arbelaez is an Executive MBA student in the Class of 2025.