The 14-point drop in ranking should prove more troublesome for officials in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Officials must use this time to reflect and move forward with improvements.

School officials say they try to focus on the students rather than the rankings. It’s comforting to know Whitman officials hold this philosophy and are focused on currently enrolled students, but officials cannot simply ignore the rankings.

Rankings can point out areas for schools to focus on improving. For example, in Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s national ranking, Whitman’s teaching received a B rating instead of its usual A. For administrators, this can be a wake-up call.

Ranks should not control or define the school either. Each publication ranks schools a little differently, and faults and discrepancies can be found in every method.

Whitman fell to No. 61 in the Bloomberg ranking. Previously, the school was ranked at No. 47. The school has a higher ranking with the U.S. News and World Report, hovering around 40 in the past few years. U.S. News and World Report tends to rank schools based on their reputations. Part of the Bloomberg ranking involves students and employers taking surveys.

From the Bloomberg ranking, it’s clear students and employers are finding fault with the teaching system in some way. This ranking allows Whitman officials to pursue this specific area of teaching and make improvements.