The UF business college reported inaccurate data about 2009 graduates of its masters of business administration program to U.S. News and World Report, according to a university internal investigation.
Last August, an anonymous caller to the university's ethics hotline alleged that officials from the Warrington College of Business Administration manipulated data on job placement of program graduates in order to boost the program's ranking. The call was followed by the submission of documents supporting the allegations.
An investigation headed by Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Angel Kwolek-Folland followed.
According to the investigation report, completed in September, college officials "appear to have used a looser interpretation of the data than would a reasonable person" using standards used by professionals in the MBA career services field.
UF's MBA program ranked 39th in the U.S. News and World Report ranking based on 2009 data. Data on job placement figures highly in the publication's methodology.
Data the college reported about the 2010 graduating class led the school to slide to 47th place.
Officials from the college have denied claims that they intentionally manipulated the data.
The allegations state that Craig Petrus, director of graduate business career services, was pressured by Selcuk Erenguc, the associate dean for graduate programs, to manipulate the data in order to maintain a higher ranking.
The complaint alleged that Petrus spoke of the pressure to colleagues during a July 2009 staff luncheon at a local restaurant. Two staffers supported the claim.
According to the investigation, Petrus could not recall the luncheon, and both he and Erenguc denied any pressure. Erenguc attributed the change from 2009 to 2010 to a slumping economy.
According to the ranking of the 2009 class in U.S. News and World Report, the MBA program's 2009 graduating class had 53 percent job placement at graduation and about 79 percent placement three months after graduation.
The complaint alleged that the accurate numbers paint a different picture, with 37 percent of the students having jobs at graduation and 53 percent having jobs three months after graduation.
The investigation found no evidence of collusion to create a more positive set of data.
"Whether this was the result of poor judgment or inexperience, the end result is an inaccurate portrait of the employment profile" of the 2009 graduates of the MBA program, according to the investigation.
In an October memorandum sent in response to the investigation, College of Business Administration Dean John Kraft said the 2009 set of data accurately portrayed graduate placement and the college adhered to appropriate reporting standards.
He said there was unrest in the office of career services after Petrus was selected for his position last summer, and he attributed the allegations to this negativity.
