“Foster means business: It’s our year to make it #1,” is the mantra on the lips of every member of the Undergraduate Business Council (UBC) as they push for UW’s Michael G. Foster School of Business to place high in BusinessWeek Magazine’s annual rankings.

Business School Rankings Awareness Week kicked off on the 10th and runs through the 17th. During this time, seniors in the business school are encouraged to complete online surveys to help boost the school’s ranking.

Senior Toan Viradet, co-chair of the UBC, helped plan the events taking place during the awareness week.

“We’re trying to get the word out about how important this week is and how students can make an impact on UW’s rankings if they just spread the message,” Viradet said.

On Jan. 16, business school seniors are invited to complete last-minute surveys in Balmer commons, from noon to 2 p.m., Viradet said.

Viradet worked with sophomore Ashley Farnsworth, vice president of finance of the UBC, to spread the word about the awareness week.

Farnsworth is optimistic about the push for students to vote this year.

“A few years ago we weren’t even ranked because BusinessWeek needs 25 percent of seniors in the business school to vote for the school to be ranked at all,” she said. “Two years ago they didn’t have that. Last year they made an effort, but it was nothing like what we’re doing this year.”

Farnsworth was also in charge of the Facebook group and events pages that Business School students were invited to. Even though only seniors in the business school can cast their votes — BusinessWeek cross checks the names on submitted surveys to make sure that only students meeting those requirements participate — the UBC is doing its part to make everyone spread the word about voting.

As another facet of their effort to push the awareness week, the UBC will be handing out buttons to students who have voted. There will even be prizes for students caught wearing buttons around campus.

The success of the awareness week and the Michael G. Foster School’s ultimate ranking rides primarily on the UBC’s word of mouth campaign.

“Last year the co-chairs of the UBC pushed [the surveys] a little bit and that’s how we got ranked eighth among public schools and 25th nationally.” Viradet said. “This year, it’s our goal to make the top five nationally and to be first among public schools.”

Jennifer Kitchen is the Student Activities adviser at the Undergraduate Programs Office in the business school. Although the awareness week is completely student run, (staff members are not allowed to promote the rankings), Kitchen was able to illuminate the impact that the surveys have.

The surveys consist of a wide range of questions that pertain not only to business school offerings, faculty and classes, but also to the UW in general.

“BusinessWeek wants to know what students’ plans are after college, whether or not they’ve had job offerings or if they are interested in MBA programs,” she said.

With high rankings come more opportunities for students in the business program at UW.

“BusinessWeek’s rankings are one of the primary places that employers look for rankings of business schools,” she said. A high ranking could mean more career opportunities after graduation in an increasingly competitive job market.

Because the UW competes with Ivy League universities, the Business School Rankings are another way to show the quality of the professors, students and programs that the UW has to offer.

“The main goal of Awareness Week is to make Foster the number one school in the nation,” Viradet said. “I believe that this is a good opportunity for UW students to express their experiences and opinions about how the business school has helped prepare them for the future.”

[Reach reporter Kyle Frischkorn at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]