A Virtual Walk Through My Office

I get comfortable writing about things, and sometimes forget that the reader may not know me as well as I think. I've been writing from time to time about business and economics, but have not explored the ways different people in the same company might see the situation. Also, some folks have written me (thank you) about their MBA search, and it might be useful to consider the ways that degree can be used. Rather than try to cover a comprehensive spectrum, I'd like to walk you through my company's corporate office and 'visit' the different officers who make our business run.

We are a mid-sized multinational corporation, and a joint venture partner with a very large multinational. That means we operate autonomously, but with boundaries and of course we operate by our own written policies and procedures. Without considering everyone - we have about 60 people working at our corporate headquarters, which is also a warehouse from which we can ship product - the main roles at the top functional level are the General Manager, Operations Manager, various regional Sales Managers, our Warehouse Manager, our Defects Manager, Purchasing Manager, our Controller, Accounting Manager, Accounts Payable Manager, Remittance Manager, our HR Manager, and me, the Global Credit Manager. I'm going to cover these in a series of posts, but let's start with the General Manager.

Before our Joint Venture was finalized, we had a CEO, but when the JV went into effect the role changed gradually, and now we have a General Manager, roughly equivalent to a Division Vice President in authority at the parent corporation. The GM is responsible for everything our comnpany does, and signs off on everything from budgets and projections to the actual results. He gets instructions and approvals in general from the corporate headquarters, then uses the authority of his position as he sees fit. On the rough side, he is personally responsible for everything we do, but he also has broad authority within his boundaries to get the job done. He can, for example, go over budget to a degree, but he'd better not surprise the parent company. He has to get AFE's prepared and approved for capital expenses ahead of time, which is something I work on, but budgeted expenses are generally in his control. Our GM has an MBA from Harvard and a Bachelor's from Texas, and had about 15 years management experience in project sales and operations before taking on his current role. His normal hours are around 8 AM to 7 PM, except when a project is in the works, when he may work later. The hours are misleading, though, since he has to be available by email/phone pretty much 24/7. The GM role is high-level, which means he has to be aware of performance vs projections, understand deadlines and assign/delegate tasks as needed to meet them. He has to be VERY tactful and able to work with sometimes conflicting requirements, and to meet with major customers whenever appropriate.

(to be continued)

The Top 25 Online MBA Programs 2011

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. At this time there are one hundred schools which have AACSB accreditation and 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. Last year 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, and in subsequent posts I will comment on important changes since last year in the online MBA paradigm, offer thoughts on why a person should or should not pursue an MBA and why they should or should not consider an online MBA, and discuss some of the top programs for earning your MBA online.

2011 Top Online MBA Schools

1. University of Florida

2. Georgia Southern University (15th in 2010)

3. Southeast Missouri State University

4. University of Nebraska at Lincoln (5th in 2010)

5. Valdosta State University

6. University of Massachusetts at Amherst (17th in 2010)

7. Oklahoma State University (25th in 2010)

8. University of Mississippi

9. Concordia University (Canada)

10. University of Wyoming

11. Mississippi State University

12. Fayetteville State University (13th in 2010)

13. Indiana University at Bloomington

14. University of Alabama (8th in 2010)

15. University of Texas at San Antonio (23rd in 2010)

16. Arizona State University (22nd in 2010)

17. Western Kentucky University

18. East Carolina University

19. University of Louisiana at Monroe

20. Tennessee Technological University

21. New Mexico State University

22. Florida State University (9th in 2010)

23. Jacksonville State University

24. University of Texas – Pan American

25. University of Wisconsin at La Crosse


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

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Eighteen: Summary Review, Methodology and Advice to MBA Candidates

If you’re still reading this, please accept my apologies for its length (18 parts!) and breadth. My intention was to not only present a relatively objective review of the AACSB’s accredited online MBA programs on consistent measures which you can check for yourself, but also to show the impact of each category upon the whole, and by showing the top schools in each category, to introduce schools not only in sum but also which perform well in selected areas. Some of the ranked schools stood out over and over again, while others were not at the top, but always did well enough to stay in the chase.

I’d like to take the time here to go over the top 25 programs again, looking at their key focus and why you should consider them. I will follow that section with a review of my scoring methodology, so anyone interested can tally up, weight and calculate scores on their own standards. And at the end, I have a bit of final advice for MBA candidates, from the academic and business perspectives of your MBA pursuit.

So, let’s have a look again at the Top 25 AACSB Online MBA Programs for 2010, in order of rank. The information presented here comes first from the school’s response to the AACSB survey, and then from the school’s website. In the event of conflicting information, the survey takes precedence because all schools in this review participated in the same survey with the same categories in the same time frame.

FIRST: Colorado – Denver (7,830.15 points)
Location – Denver, Colorado
Founded – 2004
Size – 1,207
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $52,444
Average GMAT – 560
# of Concentrations – Nineteen (!)
Student/Faculty Ratio – 14.9


SECOND: Wisconsin – Whitewater (7,416.19)
Location – Whitewater, Wisconsin
Founded – 1868
Size – 650
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $18,118
Average GMAT – 501
# of Concentrations – Seven
Student/Faculty Ratio – 7.2


THIRD: Gonzaga (7,372.01)
Location – Spokane, Washington
Founded – 1887
Size – 288
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $23,640
Average GMAT – 560.8
# of Concentrations – Seven
Student/Faculty Ratio – 6.3


FOURTH: Michigan – Flint (7,164.92)
Location – Flint, Michigan
Founded – 1944
Size – 187
Degree Levels – Two
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $8,881
Average GMAT – 517
# of Concentrations – Eight
Student/Faculty Ratio – 8.9


FIFTH: Nebraska – Lincoln (7,016.55)
Location – Lincoln, Nebraska
Founded – 1869
Size – 381
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $33,332
Average GMAT – 625.5
# of Concentrations – Four
Student/Faculty Ratio – 4.8


SIXTH: Northeastern (6,950.81)
Location – Boston, Massachusetts
Founded – 1898
Size – 774
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $71,620
Average GMAT – 553
# of Concentrations – Eight
Student/Faculty Ratio – 5.2


SEVENTH: Worcester Poly (6,948.84)
Location – Worcester, Massachusetts
Founded – 1865
Size – 285
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $53,361
Average GMAT – 595.5
# of Concentrations – Eight
Student/Faculty Ratio – 12.4


EIGHTH: Alabama (6,855.84)
Location – Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Founded – 1831
Size – 408
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $37,786
Average GMAT – 611
# of Concentrations – Four
Student/Faculty Ratio – 2.6


NINTH: Florida State (6,821.99)
Location – Tallahassee, Florida
Founded – 1851
Size – 623
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $39,150
Average GMAT – 559.6
# of Concentrations – Four
Student/Faculty Ratio – 5.3



TENTH: Auburn (6,792.18)
Location – Auburn, Alabama
Founded – 1856
Size – 197
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $19,215
Average GMAT – 500
# of Concentrations – Five
Student/Faculty Ratio – 4.4



ELEVENTH: Quinnipiac (6,634.93)
Location – Hamden, Connecticut
Founded – 1929
Size – 199
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $33,580
Average GMAT – 580
# of Concentrations – Five
Student/Faculty Ratio – 3.0


TWELFTH: Penn State (6,620.94)
Location – University Park, Pennsylvania
Founded – 1855
Size – 267
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business And Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $58,408
Average GMAT – 640.5
# of Concentrations – Four
Student/Faculty Ratio – 3.6


THIRTEENTH: Fayetteville State (6,591.61)
Location – Fayetteville, North Carolina
Founded – 1877
Size – 98
Degree Levels – Two
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $13,207
Average GMAT – 472
# of Concentrations – Six
Student/Faculty Ratio – 2.3


FOURTEENTH: Houston – Victoria (6,512.91)
Location – Victoria, Texas
Founded – 1983
Size – 866
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $27,024
Average GMAT – 442.5
# of Concentrations – Six
Student/Faculty Ratio – 25.5



FIFTEENTH: Georgia Southern (6,495.10)
Location – Statesboro, Georgia
Founded – 1929
Size – 285
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $15,274
Average GMAT – 504
# of Concentrations – Three
Student/Faculty Ratio – 2.3



SIXTEENTH: Alabama – Birmingham (6,443.18)
Location – Birmingham, Alabama
Founded – 1969
Size – 347
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $21,905
Average GMAT – 557
# of Concentrations – Four
Student/Faculty Ratio – 6.2



SEVENTEENTH: Massachusetts – Amherst (6,426.50)
Location – Amherst, Massachusetts
Founded – 1867
Size – 1,183
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $21,944
Average GMAT – 617.2
# of Concentrations – One
Student/Faculty Ratio – 10.1



EIGHTEENTH: Morehead State (6,355.22)
Location – Morehead, Kentucky
Founded – 1968
Size – 202
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $15,192
Average GMAT – 400
# of Concentrations – Five
Student/Faculty Ratio – 5.2



NINETEENTH: Florida Gulf Coast (6,194.38)
Location – Fort Myers, Florida
Founded – 1991
Size – 230
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business
Out/State MBA Tuition – $51,198
Average GMAT – 505
# of Concentrations – Five
Student/Faculty Ratio – 4.2



TWENTIETH: North Texas (6,157.94)
Location – Denton, Texas
Founded – 1961
Size – 665
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $28,948
Average GMAT – 493.3
# of Concentrations – Two
Student/Faculty Ratio – 5.4



TWENTY-FIRST: Washington State (6,153.22)
Location – Pullman, Washington
Founded – 1890
Size – 52
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $23,656
Average GMAT – 554
# of Concentrations – One
Student/Faculty Ratio – 10.5



TWENTY-SECOND: Arizona State (6,150.06)
Location – Phoenix, Arizona
Founded – 1958
Size – 1,726
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $60,186
Average GMAT – 587.5
# of Concentrations – Two
Student/Faculty Ratio – 7.1



TWENTY-THIRD: Texas – San Antonio (6,120.89)
Location – San Antonio, Texas
Founded – 1969
Size – 626
Degree Levels – Four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $30,906
Average GMAT – 561.7
# of Concentrations – One
Student/Faculty Ratio – 4.4



TWENTY-FOURTH: Suffolk (6,112.81)
Location – Boston, Massachusetts
Founded – 1937
Size – 1,028
Degree Levels – Three
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $57,900
Average GMAT – 468.3
# of Concentrations – Five
Student/Faculty Ratio – 6.8



TWENTY-FIFTH: Oklahoma State (6,031.20)
Location – Stillwater, Oklahoma
Founded – 1890
Size – 690
Degree Levels – four
AACSB Accreditation – Business and Accounting
Out/State MBA Tuition – $37,326
Average GMAT – 562.5
# of Concentrations – one
Student/Faculty Ratio – 5.1


METHODOLOGY

The idea in setting up a ranking system was to record the relevant, consistent and publicly available elements of a school. The first part was to examine the information that could be found by simply looking up the school’s website and AACSB survey. From that, I selected fifteen categories of data which I believe is relevant for an MBA candidate to consider.

I then broke the fifteen categories down into three broad sub-groups, of Major, Useful, and Minor value, then ranked the categories within each. I then assigned relative proportions of the total to the categories, so that the end result would be 100%. This resulted in percentage values ranging from 0.36% to 24.00% for a single category.

I then ranked the schools according to their performance in each category. There were two ways to do this. Schools trying to reach a maximum number (like concentrations, where more is better) were assigned a value equal to the score in a category divided by the maximum (6 concentrations out of 8 maximum possible, for example) times 100 times the percentage value. Schools trying to reach a minimal value (such as tuition, where less is better) were assigned a value equal to the formula as follows: (1-(score-smallest possible)/largest possible) times 100 times the percentage value. As a result, maximum values for each category ranged from 36 points (for the lowest in-state undergraduate tuition) to 2,400 points (for the highest number of available concentrations). The rest was simple addition of scores to reach an aggregate. Anyone interested in their own scoring system can simply add or remove other categories they find relevant, adjust the weighting to suit their focus, and work the numbers the same way. I would just remind everyone that it’s important to use consistent data gathered the same way, which is available for all contending universities. Inconsistent data creates invalid results.

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone for reading my work and for your thoughts and comments, if you feel so inclined. This ranking is not meant to be advice on which school you should choose, but rather a tool to help you see which schools offer strengths that match your preferences. So far as I know, no one else is doing this, so amateur that I am, I like to think this may be of use.

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Seventeen: Number of FTE Faculty and Score Totals and Final Ranking

This is the last of our fifteen categories. It’s easy to overlook, but it can be important. The number of FTE (full-time employees) is the weighted full-time number of professors and instructors available, and just as the student body size influences your ability to find quality peers, the faculty size influences your access to top instructors. After all, the more instructors the more choice you have. This category counts for 8% of the total score.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 3 to 117 FTE faculty, schools can earn up to 800 points.

Here are the top ten schools by FTE faculty counts for our group of schools:

1. Hong Kong Polytechnic
2. Texas - Dallas
3. Kennesaw State
4. Arizona State
5. Texas – Arlington
6. Towson
7. Massachusetts - Amherst
8. Wisconsin - Whitewater
9. East Carolina
10. Colorado – Denver

With that done, let’s look again at last year’s top programs:

2009 Top Online MBA Programs
1. Auburn
2. Drexel
3. East Carolina
4. Colorado – Denver
5t. Tennessee Tech
5t. Houston – Victoria
7t. Morehead State
7t. Wayne State
9. Colorado – Colorado Springs
10. North Dakota
11t. Georgia Southern
11t. Texas – Dallas
13t. Wisconsin – Oshkosh
13t. Wisconsin – Whitewater
15. Texas A&M – Commerce
16. Michigan – Dearborn
17. Nicholls State
18. Suffolk
19. Georgia College & State U
20. Colorado State
21. Florida
22t. Florida State
22t. Nebraska – Lincoln
24. Wyoming
25t. Durham
25t. Texas – Arlington
25t. Massachusetts – Lowell
25t. North Texas


And now, the Top 25 Online MBA Schools for 2010:
1st: Colorado – Denver (7,830.15)
2nd: Wisconsin – Whitewater (7,416.19)
3rd: Gonzaga (7,372.01)
4th: Michigan – Flint (7,164.92)
5th: Nebraska – Lincoln (7,016.55)
6th: Northeastern (6,950.81)
7th: Worcester Poly (6,948.84)
8th: Alabama (6,855.84)
9th: Florida State (6,821.99)
10th: Auburn (6,792.18)
11th: Quinnipiac (6,634.93)
12th: Penn State (6,620.94)
13th: Fayetteville State (6,591.61)
14th: Houston – Victoria (6,512.91)
15th: Georgia Southern (6,495.10)
16th: Alabama – Birmingham (6,443.18)
17th: Massachusetts – Amherst (6,426.50)
18th: Morehead State (6,355.22)
19th: Florida Gulf Coast (6,194.38)
20th: North Texas (6,157.94)
21st: Washington State (6,153.22)
22nd: Arizona State (6,150.06)
23rd: Texas – San Antonio (6,120.89)
24th: Suffolk (6,112.81)
25th: Oklahoma State (6,031.20)


As I said before I repeat now, this ranking is not an absolute ranking. It takes the available information on fifteen salient categories for AACSB-accredited schools of business which offer a true online MBA program, and assigns values based on the weighting of those categories as I understand them to proportionately apply to the value of the MBA. I present the top schools for each category, and have shown how the total score unfolded through the addition of the new points from each category. The school which is best for you, depends on the qualities which matter most to you. This presentation is to show how each category plays into the whole, and to present schools which excel in those areas. Some of these schools are well-known and some are not. I thought about presenting links to the schools’ websites and detailing the specific results for their performance in each category, but I presume you have access to a search engine, and the intent I brought here was to encourage you to chase down the relevant details yourself for schools which interest you. Because in the end, you must choose the school you attend, what concentrations and what cost and what length of curriculum and electives you select, and so you owe it to yourself to chase down the support for the school you choose. All I have done here is to point out how certain qualities are represented in schools, and to give you thoughts on some schools to consider. I will revisit the most prominent schools, and my methodology, in the next and final post.

Thanks.

The Best MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Sixteen: Minimum Program Duration

This category is important to a minority of students, but for some people it will matter. This category counts for 4% of the total score.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 12 to 36 months to finish the program, schools can earn up to 400 points.

Here are the shortest minimum-duration programs in our group of schools:

1t. Western New England
1t. Florida
3t. Michigan – Flint
3t. Institute de Empresa
5t. Colorado – Colorado Springs
5t. Colorado - Denver
7t. Suffolk
7t. Georgia Southern
7t. Florida State
7t. Florida Gulf Coast
7t. Georgia College & State U
7t. Gonzaga

The overall lead is now as follows:

1st: Colorado – Denver (7,475)
2nd: Gonzaga (7,215)
3rd: Michigan – Flint (7,110)
4th: Wisconsin – Whitewater (7,040)
5th: Nebraska – Lincoln (6,866)
6th: Worcester Poly (6,853)
7th: Auburn (6,676)
8th: Alabama (6,658)
9th: Northeastern (6,609)
10th: Florida State (6,548)
11th: Fayetteville State (6,516)
12th(tie): Quinnipiac (6,498)
12th(tie): Penn State (6,498)
14th: Houston – Victoria (6,328)
15th: Alabama – Birmingham (6,300)
16th: Morehead State (6,239)
17th: Georgia Southern (6,235)
18th: Washington State (6,119)
19th: Florida Gulf Coast (6,064)
20th: Massachusetts – Amherst (6,030)
21st: Wyoming (5,909)
22nd: Western New England (5,893)
23rd: Suffolk (5,839)
24th: North Texas (5,816)
25th: Texas – San Antonio (5,806)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Fifteen: Operating Budget per Student

This category is another relatively small one, but given the need for facilities and resources for online students, it still counts, especially since a large budget is less effective if it’s cut up into too many pieces. This part counts for 3% of the total score.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from $2,060 to $404,481, schools can earn up to 300 points.

Here are the ten lowest undergraduate in-state tuition rates of our group of schools:

1. Washington State
2. Southern Arkansas
3. Penn State
4. Missisippi
5. Wisconsin – Lacrosse
6. Western Kentucky
7. Wyoming
8. Tennessee - Martin
9. Indiana – Bloomington
10. Clarion U of Pennsylvania

The overall lead is now as follows:

1st: Colorado – Denver (7,119)
2nd: Gonzaga (6,881)
3rd: Wisconsin – Whitewater (6,773)
4th: Michigan – Flint (6,744)
5th: Worcester Poly (6,720)
6th: Nebraska – Lincoln (6,599)
7th: Alabama (6,524)
8th: Auburn (6,476)
9th: Northeastern (6,342)
10th: Fayetteville State (6,250)
11th: Quinnipiac (6,232)
12th: Penn State (6,231)
13th: Florida State (6,215)
14th: Alabama – Birmingham (6,166)
15th: Houston – Victoria (6,028)
16th: Morehead State (5,972)
17th: Georgia Southern (5,902)
18th: Washington State (5,852)
19th: Massachusetts – Amherst (5,763)
20th: Florida Gulf Coast (5,731)
21st: Wyoming (5,643)
22nd: North Texas (5,549)
23rd: Texas – San Antonio (5,540)
24th: Suffolk (5,506)
25th: Western New England (5,493)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Fourteen: Student Body Size

Things are closing towards the final results now, with only 16.43% (or 1,643 possible points remaining) of the total to be assigned. This category is the smallest of the four remaining areas to consider. The number of students attending a university influences the opportunity to find high-value partners for projects and challenging competition for to honors. This category counts for 1.43% of the total score.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 14 to 5,599 students, schools can earn up to 143 points.

Here are the ten highest size of MBA student class in our group of schools:

1. Texas – Dallas
2. Hong Kong Polytechnic
3. Arizona State
4. Florida
5. Texas – Arlington
6. Kennesaw State
7. Thunderbird
8. Durham
9. Colorado – Denver
10. Massachusetts – Amherst

(Note that these rankings are for ONLINE MBA student class size only)

The overall lead is now as follows:

1st: Colorado – Denver (7,106)
2nd: Gonzaga (6,858)
3rd: Wisconsin – Whitewater (6,759)
4th: Worcester Poly (6,759)
5th: Michigan – Flint (6,701)
6th: Nebraska – Lincoln (6,542)
7th: Alabama (6,459)
8th: Auburn (6,451)
9th: Northeastern (6,295)
10th: Quinnipiac (6,182)
11th(tie): Florida State (6,170)
11th(tie): Fayetteville State (6,170)
13th: Alabama – Birmingham (6,117)
14th: Penn State (6,108)
15th: Houston – Victoria (6,022)
16th: Morehead State (5,938)
17th: Georgia Southern (5,855)
18th: Massachusetts – Amherst (5,738)
19th: Florida Gulf Coast (5,703)
20th: Washington State (5,552)
21st: Wyoming (5,547)
22nd: North Texas (5,518)
23rd: Texas – San Antonio (5,495)
24th: Suffolk (5,439)
25th: Western New England (5,437)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Thirteen: Student/Faculty Ratio

This category is trickier than it may first appear. In face-to-face classes, the ratio of students per teacher is critical in the quality level of instruction a candidate may expect. It is less so in online classes, because the online student has greater access to the teacher when offering answers or asking questions. Also, since online classes use virtual office hours for professors or organized Q&A sessions for the class, there is no risk that a student may miss time with the instructor because someone else has already arrived first or the available time is a problem with other commitments, like work.

However, the student/faculty ratio does factor into how much attention an instructor may give an individual student’s work. Just imagine the difference between evaluating, say 75 students’ projects or just 25 in the same available amount of time, regardless of how the work is submitted. This category counts for 9% of the total score for a school.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 5.4 to 85.9 for schools, schools can earn up to 900 points.

Here are the ten lowest student-to-faculty rations of our group of schools:

1. Southern Arkansas
2. Tennessee - Martin
3. Western Kentucky
4. Georgia Southern
5. Wisconsin - LaCrosse
6. North Dakota
7. Louisiana - Monroe
8. Rowan
9. Fayetteville State
10. Mississippi

The overall lead is now as follows:

1st: Colorado – Denver (7,075)
2nd: Gonzaga (6,851)
3rd: Wisconsin – Whitewater (6,742)
4th(tie): Worcester Poly (6,697)
4th (tie): Michigan – Flint (6,697)
6th: Nebraska – Lincoln (6,533)
7th: Alabama (6,449)
8th: Auburn (6,446)
9th: Northeastern (6,275)
10th: Quinnipiac (6,176)
11th: Fayetteville State (6,168)
12th: Florida State (6,155)
13th: Alabama – Birmingham (6,108)
14th: Penn State (6,101)
15th: Houston – Victoria (6,000)
16th: Morehead State (5,933)
17th: Georgia Southern (5,848)
18th: Massachusetts – Amherst (5,708)
19th: Florida Gulf Coast (5,697)
20th: Washington State (5,551)
21st: Wyoming (5,544)
22nd: North Texas (5,502)
23rd: Texas – San Antonio (5,479)
24th: Western New England (5,434)
25th: Oklahoma State (5,414)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Twelve: Number of Concentrations

This category is the big one. This is because the initial criteria gave us a set of good schools, schools accredited by the AACSB, which offered a true online MBA. The difference between these 72 schools is weighed by what the school can offer a top candidate, and the top category of the 15 available to measure is the number of concentrations. Businesses like to know what the MBA means to them, and the concentration sets the applicant apart, even from other MBA holders.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 1 to 8 concentrations, schools can earn up to 2,400 points.

Here are top schools by available MBA concentration:

1t. Colorado- Denver
1t. Michigan – Flint
1t. Northeastern
1t. Worcester Poly
5t. Gonzaga
5t. Wisconsin - Whitewater
7t. Fayetteville State
7t. Houston – Victoria
9t. Auburn
9t. Florida Gulf Coast
9t. Morehead State
9t. Quinnipiac

The overall lead is now as follows (points):

1st: Colorado – Denver (6,363)
2nd: Gonzaga (6,023)
3rd: Michigan – Flint (5,979)
4th: Worcester Poly (5,956)
5th: Wisconsin – Whitewater (5,910)
6th: Nebraska – Lincoln (5,754)
7th: Alabama (5,639)
8th: Auburn (5,613)
9th: Northeastern (5,481)
10th: Houston – Victoria (5,378)
11th: Florida State (5,361)
12th: Alabama – Birmingham (5,326)
13th: Quinnipiac (5,323)
14th: Fayetteville State (5,301)
15th: Penn State (5,297)
16th: Morehead State (5,104)
17th: Georgia Southern (4,970)
18th: Massachusetts – Amherst (4,964)
19th: Florida Gulf Coast (4,869)
20th: Suffolk (4,725)
21st: Washington State (4,708)
22nd: Wyoming (4,702)
23rd: North Texas (4,684)
24th: Florida (4,670)
25th: Texas – San Antonio (4,665)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Eleven: Minimum GMAT

This category is useful but less significant than the average GMAT score, because it defines a floor which all students meet or exceed, but does not define the actual caliber of the students as a group. This category is worth 1.79% of the total.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 200 (if the GMAT is required or a score floor is established) to 600, schools can earn up to 179 points.

Here are the top minimum GMAT score requirements of our group of schools:

1t. Florida
1t. Nebraska - Lincoln
3t Mississippi
3t. Oklahoma State
3t. Massachusetts - Amherst
3t. Massachusetts - Lowell
3t. Wyoming
8t. Indiana - Bloomington
8t. North Dakota
8t. Quinnipiac
8t. Western Kentucky
8t. Worcester Poly

The overall lead is now as follows (points):

1st: Massachusetts – Amherst (4,664)
2nd: Nebraska – Lincoln (4,554)
3rd: Alabama (4,439)
4th: Washington State (4,408)
5th: Wyoming (4,402)
6th: Florida (4,370)
7th: Texas – San Antonio (4,365)
8th: Oklahoma State (4,331)
9th: Mississippi (4,204)
10th: Texas – Pan American (4,193)
11th: Florida International (4,173)
12th: Florida State (4,161)
13th: Texas – Dallas (4,128)
14th: Alabama – Birmingham (4,126)
15th: Auburn (4,113)
16th: Penn State (4,097)
17th: North Texas (4,084)
18th: Indiana – Bloomington (4,075)
19th: Georgia Southern (4,070)
20th: South Dakota (4,035)
21st: Arizona State (3,992)
22nd: Massachusetts – Lowell (3,983)
23rd: Colorado – Denver (3,963)
24th: Temple (3,930)
25th: Gonzaga (3,923)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Ten: Average GMAT

This category is tremendously important, second only to the number of concentrations available in a program. The reason this counts as 18% of the total score, is because the average GMAT score of full-time students indicates the caliber of your colleagues at school, not least because full-time students help establish course expectations, and higher GMAT scores raise expectations. A good school should challenge the candidate.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from 400 to 653 (where scores are reported), schools can earn up to 1,800 points. If average GMAT scores are not reported or the GMAT is not required by the school, a default 551.3 points are awarded.

Here are the ten highest average GMAT score averages in our group of schools:

1. Indiana – Bloomington
2. Penn State
3. Temple
4. Nebraska - Lincoln
5. Massachusetts - Amherst
6. Alabama
7. Florida
8. Drexel
9. Thunderbird
10. Worcester Poly

The overall lead is now as follows (points):

1st: Massachusetts – Amherst (4,500)
2nd: Nebraska – Lincoln (4,375)
3rd: Washington State (4,303)
4th: Alabama (4,296)
5th: Texas – San Antonio (4,246)
6th: Wyoming (4,238)
7th: Florida (4,191)
8th: Oklahoma State (4,167)
9th: Florida International (4,143)
10th: Florida State (4,132)
11th: Auburn (4,083)
12th: Texas – Pan American (4,074)
13th: Penn State (4,067)
14th: North Texas (4,054)
15th: Mississippi (4,040)
16th: Texas – Dallas (4,009)
17th: Alabama – Birmingham (3,983)
18th: Arizona State (3,962)
19th: Georgia Southern (3,935)
20th: Colorado – Denver (3,933)
21st: Indiana – Bloomington (3,925)
22nd: South Dakota (3,916)
23rd: Temple (3,900)
24th: Gonzaga (3,894)
25th: Drexel (3,863)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Nine: Operating Budget

This category is one which matters more for an online school than for many traditional programs. The online student is dependent on technology, not only in his own hardware and software but in the school’s resources. Access to research and course data is critical for students, especially when performing real-time discussions and projects, so the school’s operating budget reflects its ability to meet that demand.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from $1,768,743 to $90,020,515 for these budgets, schools can earn up to 107 points.

Here are the ten highest Operating Budgets for our group of schools:

1. Indiana - Bloomington
2. Arizona State
3. Thunderbird
4. Suffolk
5. Florida
6. Hong Kong Poly
7. Penn State
8. Florida International
9. Texas – Dallas
10. Temple

The overall lead is now as follows (points):

1st: Laval (2,888)
2nd: Texas – Pan American (2,839)
3rd: Texas – El Paso (2,821)
4th: Massachusetts – Amherst (2,798)
5th: Washington State (2,776)
6th: Texas – Arlington (2,759)
7th: Wyoming (2,709)
8th: Auburn (2,705)
9th: Texas – San Antonio (2,698)
10th: North Texas (2,695)
11th: Nebraska – Lincoln (2,651)
12th: Florida International (2,622)
13th: Oklahoma State (2,616)
14th: Alabama (2,612)
15th: Florida State (2,589)
16th: Mississippi (2,551)
17th: Georgia Southern (2,546)
18th: Texas – Dallas (2,542)
19th: Florida (2,509)
20th: West Georgia (2,486)
21st: Kennesaw State (2,448)
22nd: Alabama – Birmingham (2,447)
23rd: Durham (2,420)
24th: SUNY – Utica (2,400)
25th: Colorado – Denver (2,389)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Eight: MBA Out-of-state Tuition

This category is one of the more important ones. For a lot of MBA candidates, the cost of your tuition is an important factor in where you go to school, so this category counts for a full 10% of the total, surpassed only by the number of concentrations, the average GMAT score of students, and the degree levels offered by the school.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from $8,881 to $81,665 for a year of tuition and fees, schools can earn up to 1,000 points.

Here are the ten lowest MBA out-of-state tuition rates of our group of schools:

1. Michigan - Flint
2. Laval
3. Texas – Pan American
4. Texas – Tyler
5. Southern Arkansas
6. Rowan
7. Fayetteville State
8. Mississippi
9. Western Kentucky
10. SUNY – Utica

The overall lead is now as follows (points):

1st: Laval (2,846)
2nd: Texas – Pan American (2,829)
3rd: Texas – El Paso (2,811)
4th: Massachusetts – Amherst (2,770)
5th: Washington State (2,751)
6th: Texas – Arlington (2,732)
7th(tie): Auburn (2,697)
Wyoming (2,697)
9th: North Texas (2,671)
10th: Texas – San Antonio (2,667)
11th: Nebraska – Lincoln (2,628)
12th: Oklahoma State (2,580)
13th: Florida International (2,576)
14th: Alabama (2,569)
15th: Florida State (2,560)
16th: Mississippi (2,541)
17th: Georgia Southern (2,531)
18th: Texas – Dallas (2,497)
19th: West Georgia (2,478)
20th: Florida (2,442)
21st: Alabama – Birmingham (2,434)
22nd: Kennesaw State (2,423)
23rd: Durham (2,406)
24th: SUNY – Utica (2,396)
25th: Morehead State (2,376)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Seven: Undergraduate Out-of-state Tuition

This category is another pretty minor selection, which is why it counts for only 0.71% of the total, but it does matter a bit because, like the other tuition data, the undergraduate tuition rate often serves as a barometer for the graduate rate.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from $4,738 to $70,000 for a year of tuition and fees, schools can earn up to 71 points.

Here are the ten lowest undergraduate out-of-state tuition rates of our group of schools:

1. Laval
2. Durham
3. Kennesaw State
4. Southern Arkansas
5. Louisiana - Monroe
6. Houston - Victoria
7. Texas – Permian Basin
8. Wyoming
9. Texas – Tyler
10. Alabama - Birmingham

The overall lead is now as follows (points):

1st: Texas – El Paso (1,939)
2nd: Texas – San Antonio (1,936)
3rd: Washington State (1,932)
4th: Florida State (1,931)
5th: Massachusetts – Amherst (1,930)
6th(tie): Oklahoma State (1,927)
Nebraska – Lincoln (1,927)
8th: Texas – Arlington (1,926)
9th: Alabama (1,923)
10th: North Texas (1,917)
11th: Florida (1,913)
12th: Colorado – Denver (1,907)
13th: Texas – Dallas (1,902)
14th: Florida International (1,889)
15th: Arizona State (1,872)
16th: Penn State (1,856)
17th(tie): Laval (1,846)
Indiana – Bloomington (1,846)
19th: Texas – Pan American (1,833)
20th: Wyoming (1,827)
21st: Auburn (1,823)
22nd: Durham (1,799)
23rd: Temple (1,721)
24th: Drexel (1,671)
25th: Hong Kong Poly (1,645)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Six: MBA In-state Tuition

This category is more important than undergraduate tuition, since we’re talking about MBA tuition, but it’s still relative minor, since a true online school will want to attract candidates from outside their state. So this category counts for 2.14% of the whole set.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from $3,617 to $81,665 for a year of tuition and fees, schools can earn up to 214 points. Here are the ten lowest MBA in-state tuition rates of our group of schools:

1. Fayetteville State
2. Laval
3. Texas – Pan American
4. Texas - Tyler
5. Georgia Southern
6. Texas A&M - Commerce
7. Southern Arkansas
8. Louisiana - Monroe
9. Mississippi
10. West Georgia

The overall lead is now as follows (until the last category, amounts under a point are rounded):

1st: Texas – El Paso (1,880 points)
2nd: Massachusetts – Amherst (1,875 points)
3rd(tie): Florida State (1,874 points)
Washington State (1,874 points)
5th: Texas – San Antonio (1,873 points)
6th(tie): Nebraska – Lincoln (1,869 points)
Oklahoma State (1,869 points)
8th: Texas – Arlington (1,866 points)
9th: Alabama (1,864 points)
10th(tie): Florida (1,862 points)
North Texas (1,862 points)
12th: Texas – Dallas (1,847 points)
13th: Colorado – Denver (1,846 points)
14th: Florida International (1,830 points)
15th: Arizona State (1,815 points)
16th: Penn State (1,806 points)
17th: Indiana – Bloomington (1,796 points)
18th: Laval (1,775 points)
19th: Texas – Pan American (1,771 points)
20th: Auburn (1,764 points)
21st: Wyoming (1,762 points)
22nd: Durham (1,730 points)
23rd: Temple (1,668 points)
24th: Hong Kong Poly (1,640 points)
25th: Drexel (1,624 points)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Five: Undergraduate In-state Tuition

This category is admittedly pretty minor, which is why it counts for only 0.36% of the total, but it does have meaning. If nothing else, the undergraduate tuition rate often serves as a barometer for the graduate rate, so you need to watch it. This is the weakest category of the fifteen I use, but it still counts.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there is a range from $1,930 to $42,100 for a year of tuition and fees, schools can earn up to 36 points. This is the first category which begins to set schools apart from each other.

Here are the ten lowest undergraduate in-state tuition rates of our group of schools:

1. Laval
2. Kennesaw State
3. Durham
4. Wyoming
5. Fayetteville State
6. Louisiana – Monroe
7. Georgia Southern
8. Florida Gulf Coast
9. Florida International
10. East Carolina

The overall lead is now as follows:

Tied for 1st at 1,684 points:
Florida
Florida International
Florida State

4th: Alabama (1,683 points)

Tied for 5th at 1,682 points:
Arizona State
Colorado – Denver
Nebraska – Lincoln
Oklahoma State
Texas – San Antonio
Washington State

Tied for 11th at 1,681 points:
Texas – Arlington
Texas – El Paso

Tied for 13th at 1,680 points:
Indiana – Bloomington
Massachusetts – Amherst

Tied for 15th at 1,679 points:
North Texas
Texas – Dallas

17th: Penn State (1,675 points)

18th: Laval (1,561 points)

Tied for 19th at 1,560 points:
Durham
Wyoming

Tied for 21st at 1,558 points:
Auburn
Texas – Pan American

23rd: Temple (1,552 points)

24th: Drexel (1,538 points)

25th: Hong Kong Polytechnic (1,527 points)

The Best Online MBA Schools (AACSB) for 2010 Part Four: Degree Levels

This one may not appear important, but a university which offers you an MBA may later be attractive for a doctorate, or additional certification. A school which offers more degree levels is more serious in its mission.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there are four levels to consider, schools can earn 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of 100 times the 14.00 value of the category, or 350, 700, 1050, or 1400 more points.

Twenty-five AACSB schools with online MBA programs offer the full four degree levels. They are, alphabetically (2009 ranking in parentheses):

Alabama
Arizona State
Auburn (1)
Colorado – Denver (4)
Drexel (2)
Durham (25t)
Florida (21)
Florida International
Florida State (22t)
Hong Kong Polytechnic
Indiana – Bloomington
Laval
Nebraska – Lincoln (22t)
North Texas (25t)
Oklahoma State
Penn State
Temple
Massachusetts - Amherst
Texas – Arlington (25t)
Texas – Dallas (11t)
Texas – El Paso
Texas – Pan American
Texas – San Antonio
Washington State
Wyoming (24)

The lead is now a 17-way tie for first, with another 8 teams tied for 18th place:

Tied for 1st at 1,650 points:
Alabama
Arizona State
Colorado – Denver (4)
Florida (21)
Florida International
Florida State (22t)
Indiana – Bloomington
Massachusetts - Amherst
Nebraska – Lincoln (22t)
North Texas (25t)
Oklahoma State
Penn State
Texas – Arlington (25t)
Texas – Dallas (11t)
Texas – El Paso
Texas – San Antonio
Washington State

Tied for 18th place at 1,525 points:
Auburn (1)
Drexel (2)
Durham (25t)
Hong Kong Polytechnic
Laval
Temple
Texas – Pan American
Wyoming (24)

(The reference to 2009 rankings will not be continued again until the final rankings)

The Best Online MBA (AACSB) Schools for 2010 Part Three: AACSB Accreditation Levels

We’ll start simple. The AACSB accredits schools as either Business schools, or as both Business and Accounting schools. The reason it matters, is not only for people who want to focus on Accounting as a concentration or career, but the additional effort by the school reflects, in my opinion, a superior academic standard which should be reflected in the overall MBA curriculum.

In terms of scoring, each school earns up to 100 times the percentage value of the category, so that in total a maximum score of 10,000 is possible. For this category, since there are two levels to consider, accreditation in both Business and Accounting earns 100% of (100 x 2.5) or 250 points. Accreditation in Business only earns half that, or 50% of (100 x 2.5) or 125 points.

Twenty-nine AACSB schools with online MBA programs are accredited in both Business and Accounting, so we start with a 29-school tie for the early lead. They are, alphabetically (2009 ranking in parentheses):

Alabama
Alabama - Birmingham
Arizona State
Colorado – Denver (4)
Florida (21)
Florida International
Florida State (22t)
Georgia Southern
Gonzaga
Indiana – Bloomington
Kennesaw State
Louisiana – Monroe
Massachusetts - Amherst
Mississippi
Nebraska – Lincoln (22t)
North Texas (25t)
Oklahoma State
Penn State
Portland State
Suffolk (18)
Tennessee Tech (5t)
Texas – Arlington (25t)
Texas – Dallas (11t)
Texas – El Paso
Texas – San Antonio
Towson
Washington State
West Georgia
Western Kentucky

The Best AACSB Online MBA Schools for 2010 Part Two: Why Rank?

This is where I explain why I am ranking online MBA programs. First off, I am biased. I hold an MBA from the University of Houston at Victoria, class of 2009 and member of Beta Gamma Sigma. I am fifty years old, which should tell you that I am mature, experienced in my work, and frankly not at all interested in schools that promise more than they deliver. I will also say bluntly that you will not get anything of value from a school that does not start with a serious investment in time, study, and effort. An ‘easy’ MBA is worthless. I chose to earn my MBA online, because as a manager my schedule often requires me to come in early and stay late, and I can’t even guarantee my Saturdays will always be available. Also, I cannot afford to take a couple years off work to go back to school, and as a professional the idea that I should stop working in order to learn theory is ludicrous on its face. So I am a strong advocate of the online MBA, though again I caution the reader not to imagine that it’s easier than face-to-face programs, nor that once you have an MBA you will get everything you want in your career. Earning an MBA is acquiring a tool, and in the process developing your mind and identity as a business professional. Like a gym, a university’s worth depends on how hard you sweat out the work and how much discipline you have.

But not all MBA programs are equally valuable, and that’s also true for online programs. In fact, the bias that many people have against online MBA programs comes from the more well-known online programs, which are poorly accredited and do little to really prepare their students to become leaders and build effective teams. No names, but you know the kind of schools I mean. If you're going to do the work to get an MBA, I mean a real one, then you owe it to yourself to protect your investment by making sure you get a degree that will be a true asset to your career - by coming from a solid university, and by making sure your education truly endows you with the tools to lead and build.


The people at MBA.com put out a survey of MBA candidates which note that there are about “4,750 graduate management programs around the world”. That same survey reported that the most common place for applicants to find out information on MBA programs is from school websites, but frankly when you’re starting out that’s a big field to work through. Published rankings also get a lot of notice, but here’s the problem – the big magazines and mainstream media play up the full-time schools and – sort of – some part-time programs, but discounting the cheapo ads pushing the garbage programs, no one breaks down the qualities of top-tier online MBA programs. In fact, no one even defines what would be the top tier.

Well, no one besides me. I took the time to look up a few things, weigh some numbers, and this year I improved significantly my methodology and the amount of data I gathered. I also tried to find information that you, the reader, could verify for yourself, and reweight to suit your preferences. That MBA.com survey says that 14.9% of all MBA candidates at least consider an online program, so there are a lot of people who deserve relatively easy access to some good numbers to know.

Let’s start with a few key numbers about online MBA programs. As I said, MBA.com reports that there are around 4,750 graduate management programs in the world. But only 593 of them are accredited by the AACSB (Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business), the international accrediting body founded in 1916 specifically for business schools, and which includes every program generally recognized to be worth the cost and effort. Of those 593 schools (up from 580 in 2009), 141 offer online classes at the graduate level (up from 77 in 2009) and 72 schools offer a true online MBA as I define it (up from 50 in 2009). You have a lot of choices.

I define an online MBA as one a candidate can earn without ever setting foot on campus, except for a maximum of three weeks residency. All required classes must be taught online. That’s my starting point, and while there are a number of programs which almost make that standard, if they did not I did not count them.
Next, I wanted to make sure you could get the same information I did, so I used two sources for each school – the AACSB member profile and the schools’ websites. If the information was not available there, I did not include it. The idea is to compare schools on consistent standards.

Next was to find the valid data to count. I settled on fifteen categories of information:

AACSB accreditation types
Degree levels offered
Undergraduate in-state tuition
MBA in-state tuition
Undergraduate out-of-state tuition
MBA out-of-state tuition
Operating budget
Average GMAT score
Minimum GMAT score
Number of MBA concentrations available
Student/Faculty ratio
Number of Students
Budget per student
Minimum program duration
Number of FTE faculty

Obviously, these are not of equal value to the MBA candidate, so next I weighted them according to their importance to the program:


Category Weight
AACSB accreditation types 2.5%
Degree levels offered 14%
Undergraduate in-state tuition 0.36%
MBA in-state tuition 2.14%
Undergraduate out-of-state tuition 0.71%
MBA out-of-state tuition 10%
Operating budget 1.07%
Average GMAT score 18%
Minimum GMAT score 1.79%
Number of MBA concentrations available 24%
Student/Faculty ratio 9%
Number of Students 1.43%
Budget per student 3%
Minimum program duration 4%
Number of FTE faculty 8% Total 100%

The next sixteen posts reveal the results of scoring in each category, and provide a list of the top schools in that category and a running total of the leading schools in points scored. The last post will discuss the overall results, and present the methodology clearly, so you can reweight the data if you would like to do your own scoring.

The Best AACSB Online MBA Schools for 2010 – Part One: Overview

If you’re reading this, you’re either one of my regular readers or you have an interest in the Online MBA process. I ranked accredited schools of the AACSB (Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business) last year in a ‘Top 25’ format, and I am doing so again this year, although this year I have a much more rigorous format and, I believe, a more objective and useful set of criteria and methodology for my ranking. Before I present my results, however, I want to discuss the MBA degree in general and the development of the online MBA program, the reason I am doing rankings of online MBA programs, and to discuss the selected criteria and why I am using it and how I am weighting that data.

The Master of Business Administration degree is a relatively new innovation, created for practical application of business skills and tools. This is an important point, because the online MBA represents an innovation on that degree. But I will come back to that. Because it’s also important to recognize that the MBA is an elite degree. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 85% of Americans graduate high school or earn a GED, about 53% of Americans have some college experience, but only about 28% of Americans earn a college degree, and only about 9% earn a postgraduate degree.

When you consider that advanced degrees include technical, legal, and medical degrees, the number of MBAs out there in the workforce is really quite small. This leads to several conditions:

1. People with MBAs are often considered to have superior business ability and experience. This is a problem if the individual does not actually have such skills or knowledge;

2. Being considered ‘elite’ sometimes goes to a person’s head, and they become arrogant and offensive;

3. People who do not have MBAs often believe that getting an MBA will improve their career prospects

I mention this here, because not everyone can really benefit from earning an MBA. The degree is a tool, and it depends on what you do with it, how well it works for you. Also, in my experience there are four types of people with regard to the MBA:

I. Some people earn an MBA and gain insights into how to make the most effective use of their skills, to maximize advantages and opportunity, and become leaders who transform their companies;

II. Some people get an MBA and become arrogant energy parasites who kill morale and damage their company through incompetence and greed;

III. Some people do not need an MBA to accomplish their potential, and make their success through independent effort;

IV. Some people can make good use of an MBA, but they cannot go to a campus for two or three years to attend morning and afternoon classes.

There is a bias against online degrees in many places, but the reasons for such bias are rapidly becoming invalid. With regard to the MBA, let’s consider why a person seeks that degree. There are five key tools that an MBA candidate should acquire in earning his or her MBA:

[] The candidate’s thinking moves from tactical (my job, my department, my situation) to strategic (the company, the community, the long-term prospects and needs)

[] The candidate develops their leadership ability, and takes charge of problem-solving, initiative to tackle projects and challenges, and finding opportunity

[] The candidate learns to build teams and understand the process and value of team-building, not only for specific projects but also building a network of colleagues for discussion, planning, and evaluation

[] The candidate learns how to identify and communicate effectively with stakeholders of all kinds, to minimize risk and obstacles and to discover opportunity and growth, and to build a community network that builds brand value through good corporate citizenship

[] The candidate learns effective methods to resolve disputes, including analysis of cause and effect, key stakeholders and their concerns, and the key objectives of all concerned parties

You may note that none of those key goals require the candidate to attend a traditional MBA program. There are very different ways to earn an MBA, and each has advantages as well as disadvantages. The traditional MBA pathway includes the full-time and part-time programs, and focuses on face-to-face classroom lectures, discussions, and examinations. The online MBA pathway depends on the virtual classroom and web-based resources. The distinction between each path may be seen in the following points:

1. The traditional path focuses on face-to-face personal interaction, which allows candidates to study as a community and develop teams for study and projects through common behavior traits such as common age, gender, and superficial attraction. Many traditional schools set their candidates up into cohorts, who will take the same classes at the same time and place as their colleagues, creating a direct sense of community. On the other hand, online candidates first perceive their peers through classroom discussion and so develop impressions through the strength of their intellect and use of words and concepts. Also, since online candidates are not forced into artificial communities, they interact with a wider range of candidates from different stages in the program, and the flexibility of online programs brings in more experienced professionals, who can speak to the direct effects of theoretical concepts in the real work world.

2. Traditional MBA candidates see and interact directly with faculty, and can personally visit the professors regularly. Of course, this is an advantage only if the student/faculty ratio is small and the professor keeps his office schedule, something not that common in universities. Also, the online MBA candidate is known to the professor by his or her participation in class discussions, and the quality of his or her work on assignments and projects. The online candidate also had the opportunity to ask a question in real-time discussions without fear of being ignored, because the question appears in the chat text and is not lost to crowd noise or misunderstanding. Over time, the online student also has the advantage of being identified primarily by his or her work, rather than on irrelevant appearances.

3. Traditional MBA candidates can easily form study groups with students they meet in class or on campus. The whole idea of a campus, after all, is to create a place which encourages study and conversation among students. They can also form project teams and establish networks for later collaboration. However, online MBA candidates can also form virtual teams with equal ease, and they may meet online or in person as they choose with greater flexibility. Note also that the use of e-mails and other electronic means of communication creates more durable access, which may continue after graduation from the university and therefore creating greater network value than nominal methods.



4. Traditional MBA candidates have direct access to the professor teaching each class, and may have an advantage from being able to see and react to instructors’ demeanor and personality. However, online candidates do not have to dear being judged on superficial appearance, and can submit questions or ask for guidance in online format, where time constraints are far less pressing.

5. Most major corporations have a bias in favor of traditional face-to-face programs, especially full-time MBA candidates. This gives traditional MBA candidates broader opportunity at job fairs and face-to-face campus interviews. However, the online MBA candidate generally has superior work experience and job-specific skills related to coursework that are less emphasized in traditional programs, such as virtual team-building, teleconferencing, and online project documentation. When the online MBA candidate goes into an interview, he/she will be better equipped to offer immediate application of relevant work skills.


Each method has advantages and disadvantages, but it’s important to recognize that the online MBA program is distinct from the traditional MBA program in its organization, requirements, and results. This is a vital point to understand when deciding your own path to the MBA. While the material covered in online courses is identical to that covered in face-to-face classes, the method by which the candidate learns the material and presents his/her work, and by which the candidate builds contact networks for study and project teams, is distinctly separate from the nominal classroom approach, and the candidate who stands out in the online program must be more mature, disciplined and better-organized than one seeking to shine in more traditional settings. An example of this can be seen in the classroom discussion, a vital forum for an MBA-level curriculum.

Rather than simply read from the text and recite the appropriate maxims and formulae, MBA candidates discuss cases and context, to explore the full scope of relevant issues and to not only answer the question with an effective solution, but learn how to apply the strategic lesson holistically, and also to listen to alternate solutions so that in real life the answer can still be found, even if the individual does not know the answer himself. The problem with the traditional face-to-face classroom, is that it’s too easy for a slacker to coast along, for a braggart to steal credit for someone else’s idea or explanation, and for room noise to make it hard for a student to be heard or understood clearly. In the online classroom, the bad news is that discussion and participation are much more stringently tracked and graded – I have known professors who dropped students from an online class for failing to contribute in substance to discussions. The online class tracks every keystroke of a comment and identifies not only the person making the entry, but the date, time and length. The professor can sort through comments to find the most valid and effective observations and insights, and more than a few candidates in online classes find that the difference between an A and a B in a class depends on the quality of their discussions.