BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University's Kelley School of Business moved up to 18th in rankings of master of business administration programs by Business Week, one of the nation's oldest magazines dedicated to the coverage of finance and industry.

The rankings are reported in the Oct. 18 issue, available now online and on newsstands on Monday (Oct. 11).

The school's MBA program has been in the magazine's top 20 seven of the eight times that the magazine has ranked MBA programs since 1988. The magazine ranks MBA programs every two years. The Kelley School previously was ranked 20th in 2000 and 2002.

This year the magazine also ranked the school's marketing program eighth and its finance program 10th. In comments accompanying the Kelley School's listing, the magazine reported that overall graduate and corporate rankings moved upward.

"Core faculty earn an A from Kelley grads in a year when most MBAs grumble about poor teaching quality," the magazine reported. The school also earned an A in communication from recruiters and an A from students for teaching quality.

Kelley School focus academies, which offer students an opportunity to specialize in areas such as investment banking and health care, also were recognized in a separate article, "Is the Focus Too Fine."

In its lead article, Business Week reported that corporate recruiters, "who have long grumbled about MBAs who can't hit the ground running, now say MBAs are making a contribution from the get-go." One reason for this, the article said, is that "schools have become more innovative, adopting hands-on learning techniques designed to give them a taste of the business world they're about to inhabit."

Daniel Smith, interim dean of the Kelley School, indicated that its academy programs are an example of the advances highlighted in today's report. "The Kelley MBA Program has long been and continues to be one of the most innovative and fundamentally sound programs in the nation. I am pleased by the positive move in the rankings.

"To be No. 18 in the nation in this extraordinarily competitive market and No. 6 among public schools is terrific," Smith added. "At the same time, I am not surprised by our progress. The leaders of and faculty who teach in our MBA program have dedicated themselves fully to pushing the program to new levels. I am very proud of our team."

Idalene Kesner, chair of the MBA program, also was pleased that Business Week recognized the quality of the school's offerings.

"The level of competition among MBA programs is extremely tough, and for this reason we are particularly proud of the fact that our school has moved up," Kesner said. "The faculty and staff at the Kelley School have worked hard on design and implementation revisions to the program, and we are excited to see both students and recruiters recognize our efforts.

"We are especially pleased since this recognition comes just a few weeks after having received the No. 1 ranking by the Princeton Review for best-quality MBA teaching," Kesner added. "We hope to continue our upward momentum in this and other surveys in future years as we continue to provide a great educational experience for our students and prepare them to take on top leadership positions in national and international companies."

During an online chat that the publication held to announce the rankings, praise was given to the Kelley School's administration for being responsive to needs from recruiters and students.

The Kelley program was one of three business programs in Indiana to be recognized by Business Week. Purdue University's Krannert School of Business was 21st in the survey and the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business was ranked 24th.