The Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a community that challenges itself “to produce important new knowledge at the leading edge of our disciplines, to create an intellectually rigorous learning environment and to show uncompromising dedication to those we serve.” It strives to embody core fundamentals for a successful career in business, including excellence, leadership, integrity, community and teamwork.”

The Kenan-Flagler MBA program has had a wide range of rankings in recent years, with national standings being anywhere from #6 (the Wall Street Journal) to #29 (the Financial Times). The program usually falls in the top 20 and often the top 10.

Kenan-Flagler claims that it was one of the first business schools to make the concept of “team” an essential part of their curriculum. That was back in the 1970s, and program administrators say it has been a leader in collaboration-based leadership ever since. With a philosophy as strong as that, students can expect heavy emphasis on teamwork and group-based projects.

Part of this joint-effort concept includes an evaluation of a student’s skills and areas for improvement, not just by professors but by peers in a student’s small team and even an assessment by one’s colleagues before a student enters the MBA program. This, they believe, will help students gain the most honest assessment of their abilities and faults. The part that goes hand-in-hand with teamwork is communication, and Kenan-Flagler has an environment that is constantly encouraging effective oral and written communication skills. With one of the strongest management communication programs in the country, the idea of successful communication permeates the environment of the entire program.