BusinessWeek ranks Robins School of Business MBA Program 14th among "Best Part-Time MBA Programs"
November 2, 2007
BusinessWeek magazine has ranked the Robins School of Business MBA Program 14th in the country on its new list of "The Best Part-Time MBA Programs".
In rankings released online Nov. 1, the Robins School MBA program was the only professional MBA program in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia to make the list.
The Robins School received high marks for salary increases of its MBA graduates (2nd) and student satisfaction (4th), while earning the magazine's grade of A for teaching quality and A-plus for caliber of students. Only UCLA, Emory University and the University of Chicago had more-satisfied students.
"This ranking confirms that a challenging curriculum can make a difference in the lives and careers of the region's most ambitious professionals," said Richard Coughlan, associate dean for graduate and executive programs at the Robins School. "At a time when so many MBA programs are promoting instant gratification through rapid completion of the degree, our students have found real value in the opportunities we provide for rich conversation and deep thinking throughout an extended period of study."
In arriving at the rankings, BusinessWeek identified finalists from among nearly 340 part-time MBA programs and surveyed students who were preparing to graduate, measuring their satisfaction with the MBA experience from teaching to course content to career outcomes. It also factored in the change in their pre- and post-MBA salaries, the importance of the MBA degree in achieving their goals and a variety of measures of academic quality.
Robins School MBA graduates lauded what they said are the program's strengths.
"Richmond was a great choice for me to get my MBA, said Larry Marsh, a 1994 program graduate and a managing director of Lehman Brothers in New York. "The program combined high-quality faculty and small, interactive classes with the flexibility to accommodate a schedule when I was working a lot of hours in my job."
"I got the opportunity to turn real business situations into rich, thought-provoking learning and leadership experiences," said Lyn McDermid, a 2000 graduate and chief information officer of Dominion Resources. "My fellow students ranged from college graduates attending full time to combined law-MBA degree students to seasoned executives with full-time careers. Most professors were tenured faculty of the Robins School who taught leading-edge business theories."
The Robins School's MBA program joins the undergraduate school of business as a nationally ranked program. For the past two years, BusinessWeek has ranked the undergraduate program among the top 25 on its list of top business schools.
"We share this accolade with the business community of central Virginia," said Jorge Haddock, dean of the Robins School. "We're proud of the relationships we've built with the area's best employers, who have strengthened the Robins School in so many ways."
Details on the BusinessWeek rankings are available online at www.businessweek.com/bschools.