Rollins MBA Ranked First in Florida by BusinessWeek

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Rollins MBA at the Crummer Graduate School of Business today announced it was named the top part-time MBA program in Florida by BusinessWeek magazine. The Rollins MBA ranked high for student satisfaction and post-MBA outcomes and received top grades from students for teaching quality and curriculum.

“To get an advantage in today’s competitive job market, professionals need be equipped with a skill-set that will not only help them to succeed in their current role but position them for a promotion or new opportunity,” said Craig McAllaster, dean of the Crummer Graduate School of Business. “Crummer alumni obtain this competitive advantage through the top-notch business education they receive, and connections they develop, at the school. As a result, our students achieve a better financial return on their MBA investment than any other part-time MBA program in Florida.”

BusinessWeek found that alumni of the Crummer Graduate School of Business earn, on average, a 35 percent higher salary compared to their pre-MBA income. Students benefit from the school’s distinguished faculty, who bring years of real-world business experience to the classroom. Rollins MBA students are also given many opportunities to engage in extraordinary hands-on learning experiences from leaders in business through practicum and other programs in corporate, entrepreneurial and philanthropic environments.

BusinessWeek’s 2009 part-time MBA rankings are based on three measures. A student survey, sent to 12,414 part-time MBA students at 99 programs and completed by 4,222 (34%), measures general student satisfaction. The academic quality score consists of six equally weighted measures: average GMAT score, average work experience, the percentage of all teachers in the part-time MBA program who are tenured faculty, average class size in core business classes, the number of business electives available to part-time MBA students, and the program’s completion rate. A third measure, of post-MBA outcomes, is based on the percentage of survey respondents who say their program was “completely” responsible for them achieving their goals.

Data on program cost, GMAT scores, work experience, class size, tenured faculty and completion rates were provided by the schools. The percentage of grads reporting salary increase and average salary increase is based on respondents to student surveys. Letter grades are based on the student survey. In each category, the top 20 percent earned an A+, the next 25 percent received A’s, the next 35 percent were awarded B’s and the bottom 20 percent received C’s.

For more information about this year’s ranking, go to http://bwnt.businessweek.com/bschools/ptmba_rankings_2009/.