Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School is indisputably the nation's most famous business school, and it is also one of the most selective. In 1994-95, a class of 900 students was admitted from among over 6,900 applicants. With these numbers and a worldwide reputation as the business school, HBS appears to be the envy of almost everybody in graduate business education. Unsurprisingly, the prevalent felling here is summed up by one student's remarks: "If you're going to do an MBA, don't mess around. Come to the best b-school in the world." Those who are fortunate enough to be accepted usually do. More than 80 percent of last year's "admits" chose to enroll. Indeed, the school's "yield" (percentage of admitted candidates who choose to enroll) is the highest of any b-school in the United States.

How did Harvard come to occupy such an august position? First, as one of the oldest b-schools in the nation (founded in 1908), it got a head start on all the other programs. Second, as the biggest b-school- graduating roughly 800 MBAs per year - it's built a network of more than 60,000 alumni worldwide. And these are uncommonly loyal and generous alumni. Since 1980, the school's endowment has grown from $100 million to approximately $545 million in 1995. HBS also boasts more CEO alums than any other grogram, a nationally renowned faculty, and authorship of 90 percent of the case materials used worldwide.

HBS is known from coast to coast for its comprehensive coverage of the functional areas of business and how well it integrates them. General management is considered the cornerstone of the program, but all of the departments are strong. In recent years, however Harvard's programs have come under heavy criticism. The complaints: HBS has not been responsive to changes in the marketplace. Its right program has featured little of the international perspectives, teamwork, student consulting, or innovative learning experiences now characteristic of b-school education in the United States. Surprisingly, the venerable HBS has done what was considered unthinkable before and decided it's time for change. Recently, HBS has undertaken a stem-to-term program overhaul called the Leadership Learning Initiative. It offers year-round classes (students can now enroll in September or January), sections of eighty instead of ninety, and greater emphasis on skill building and field-based learning delivered in a much more cross-functional context. The school also has been completely transformed by technology: relying heavily on the Internet and Harvard's own Intranet for everything from course materials to lecture examples.