DENTON (UNT), Texas — The University of North Texas College of Business' online MBA program was ranked in the Top 25 Online MBA programs by The Princeton Review for excelling in five areas of criteria: academics, selectivity, faculty, technical platforms, and career outcomes. UNT ranked 14th on the list, which was published in May.
"Each of our top 25 schools offers a first-rate MBA degree online as well as on campus," Robert Franek, senior vice president and publisher at The Princeton Review, said in a 2015 press release. "Like highly-successful businesses, these highly-respected [business] schools are serving their customers with innovative options. For working professionals unable to move to a 'brick and mortar' campus for an MBA, these schools offer an opportunity to learn from some of the world's best [business] school professors and earn the degree from anywhere in the world."
The rankings were based on surveys distributed to 80 business schools offering online MBAs and surveys sent to nearly 2,000 students enrolled in those programs. This was the first time The Princeton Review considered the results of both surveys when ranking the online programs.
Many students look toward online MBA programs for schedule flexibility and cost savings. UNT's College of Business offers fully online MBA programs in strategic management, finance and marketing. It also created a partially online program in health services management. All programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
"The College of Business has been extremely proactive in making sure our online business programs were of the highest quality by training instructors, reviewing classes annually, and working with Center for Learning Enhancement, Assessment and Redesign," said Marilyn Wiley, interim dean of the College of Business.
Wiley said that about 400 UNT students are currently taking online graduate classes in pursuit of their MBA. The College of Business offers nearly 40 online graduate classes.
"We provide wonderful support to our students," Wiley said. "Our graduate advising office has advisors who work with the students and help them through the program. We provide coaches, and we have the same excellent content and faculty in our online classes that we do in our face-to-face classes."
U.S. News and World Report and Business MBA have both highly ranked the College of Business' online MBA program in the past. The Princeton Review's ranking is just one more indication of UNT's high standards for graduate business education, according to Wiley.
"We were an early adopter of online education, so we think we have always had an excellent program," Wiley said. "But, we have worked very hard to improve it every year."
The College of Business plans to continue this trend of improvement by introducing a new online MBA concentration in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management for the 2015 fall semester.
About UNT's College of Business
With more than 5,500 students, UNT's College of Business is one of the largest business schools in the nation and has been continuously accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International since 1961.
With 103 full-time faculty members, the college offers 16 undergraduate degrees, 22 master's degrees, seven doctoral programs and 17 certificate programs. Three centers and institutes in the College of Business create synergy among scholarship, research and teaching. Classes take place in the 180,000-square-foot Business Leadership Building, which opened in 2011.
Students enhance their learning experience through student organizations, study abroad programs, internships and the Professional Leadership Program to develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in today's technological and global business environment.