The Top 25 Online MBA Programs 2012

Every year since 2008 I have posted my opinion of the Top 25 Online MBA programs. I determine these rankings by a weighted system which uses information from the schools’ websites and the AACBS (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), which is the premiere accreditation agency for business schools, both in the United States and the world. With no disrespect intended for schools which are not members of the AACSB, in my opinion that designation sets apart the serious programs from the run-of-the-mill schools. This year the number of AACSB-  accredited schools is down to 92 which offer an MBA degree with all or nearly all classes online; some of the schools require an on-campus orientation, a foreign trip to a profiled nation, or a very few selected courses to be taken on campus, such as case competitions. My ranking uses a weighted evaluation of fifteen categories of information, with weighting based on criteria which will be of value to students in the quality of education and resources available to them, as well as cost and convenience.  In past years I put too much detail into explaining the categories, so this year I am trying to keep it simple. In this post I will simply announce the top 25 with a brief review of the factors considered in their scoring, and in subsequent posts I may comment on the Online MBA as compared to more traditional versions.

2012Top Online MBA Schools

1.     Nebraska at Lincoln (#4 in 2011, #5 in 2010) 

2.     Oklahoma State (#7 in 2011, #25 in 2010) 

3.     Alabama (#14 in 2011, #8 in 2010) 

4.     Fayetteville State (#12 in 2011, #13 in 2010)

5.     Mississippi State (#11 in 2011, unranked 2010) 

6.     North Dakota (unranked 2010-11, #10 in 2009)

7.     Western Kentucky (#17 in 2011, unranked 2010)

8.     Massachusetts – Amherst (#6 in 2011, #17 in 2010)

9.     East Carolina (#18 in 2011, unranked 2010)

10. Florida (#1 in 2011, unranked 2010)

11. Texas – San Antonio (#15 in 2011, #23 in 2010)

12. Texas – Dallas (unranked 2010 and 2011, #11t in 2009)

13. Indiana – Bloomington (#13 in 2011, unranked 2010)

14. Wisconsin – Whitewater (unranked in 2011, #2 in 2010)

15. Wyoming (#10 in 2011, unranked 2010)

16. Wisconsin – LaCrosse (#25 in 2011, unranked 2010)

17. Morehead State (unranked 2010 and 2011, #7t in 2009)

18. Houston – Victoria (unranked 2011, #14 in 2010)

19. Louisiana – Monroe (#19 in 2011, unranked 2010)

20. Texas – Tyler (unranked 2009-2011)

21. Quinnipiac (unranked 2011, #11 in 2010)

22. Tennessee Tech (#20 in 2011, unranked 2010)

23. South Dakota (unranked 2009-2011)

24. Texas – Pan American (#24 in 2011, unranked 2010)

25. Southern Arkansas (unranked 2009-2011)

Weighting Categories

1. Average GMAT score (14.00%)

2. MBA in-state tuition (13.00%)

3. Minimum GMAT score (12.00%)

4. MBA out-of-state tuition (11.00%)

5. Number of available concentrations (9.50%)

6. Minimum Duration (8.50%)

7. Operating Budget (7.50%)

8. # Faculty FTE (6.50%)

9. Student/Faculty Ratio (6.00%)

10. AACSB Accreditations (3.50%)

11. Budget/Student (3.00%)

12. Student Body Size (2.50%)

13. Undergraduate in-state Tuition (1.50%)

14. Undergraduate out-of-state Tuition (1.00%)

15. Degree levels offered

A Quick Word on Factors and Weights

This list of ranks is not meant to tell you where you should go to school.  It’s meant to offer a guide of schools which generally should provide a quality education and expand your skill set, at reasonable cost and with appropriate resources.  The school best suited for your career growth will need to meet your personal goals and provide support and opportunity where you choose.  The online MBA, for example, is a degree suited far better for the working professional seeking to expand an extant skill set rather than an inexperienced person who just finished their undergraduate studies.  As a result, you don’t need your hand held by having face access to your professor, but you should get timely and substantive answers to emails and class discussions.  You don’t need to schmooze in a student lounge with classmates, but you should have the means to make contact with other MBA candidates and quickly assess suitability for virtual teams on projects and for your case competition team.  You will expect to work independently, but you will still need access to timely resources to support research and develop your reports.  Most of all, you need to be able to tailor your MBA to meet your career goals, including competitive work with and against fellow students with superior abilities and intellect.  These rankings are meant to identify the schools which most effectively offer a package suited to such goals.

Good luck.