Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2009

Abstract

An association between the national ranking of a graduate school in engineering and innovation is investigated by product moment analysis and Spearman correlation coefficients. This paper combines school statistical data used in the national ranking with data normally associated with innovation, e.g., the college’s number of patents, licenses and startups, to determine if there is some correlation between these factors and if so, to what extent there is a relationship. We determine the product moment and Spearman correlation coefficients between the ranking data and the innovation data from the top twenty five engineering schools in a recent USNWR ranking (2006). We find that disclosures of discoveries and inventions show a stronger relationship with innovation than ranking. Further, school ranking shows a more significant relationship with enrollment and research expenditures than with innovation parameters. We conclude that the subjectivity input into school ranking may not take into account a school’s contribution to innovation and the creation of intellectual property, two attributes that are more closely aligned with the national priorities of business creation and economic development.

Publisher

Review of Business Research

Volume

9

Issue

5

Language (ISO)

English

Keywords

Innovation, Engineering School Ranking, Economic Development

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