The Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has risen for a second consecutive year in the Bloomberg Businessweek rankings to become the 26th best public business school nationally. Based on surveys of 26,699 MBA students, alumni and recruiters, as well as employment data, the rankings also placed Haslam as No. 54 among all business schools nationally.

“What’s particularly exciting about Haslam’s position in Bloomberg Businessweek this year is that the ranking methodology has changed and better reflects our focus on learning that is highly relevant to the workplace,” says Bruce Behn, associate dean for graduate and executive education at Haslam. “This has long provided powerful networking opportunities for our students and alumni, as well as opportunities for significant growth in terms of salaries, career position and job satisfaction.”

The surveys done by Bloomberg Businessweek show top salaries of $133,000 for Haslam MBAs, and that manufacturing, retail and technology are the top three sectors hiring Haslam MBA students. Of all respondents surveyed, positive experiences were reported by 89 percent of women, 92 percent of minorities, 86 percent of international students and 100 percent of people with disabilities.

Anonymized feedback indicated students and alumni consider some of the best aspects of the Haslam MBA program to be the “collaborative nature of the work and the opportunity to build relationships with classmates and alumni” and that the professors and curriculum are “best in class in the country.”

The publication’s new methodology utilizes a system of four indices that rank: compensation, networking, learning and entrepreneurship. The full rankings were released Thursday, Nov. 8.