BGSU MBA program high on Princeton Review's list

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Bowling Green State University has an outstanding business college, and is especially strong in the opportunities it provides for minority students, according to the Princeton Review.

The New York-based education services company features BGSU in the just-published 2008 edition of its “Best 290 Business Schools.” This is the fourth time BGSU has been cited by the Princeton Review.

According to Robert Franek, Princeton Review vice president for publishing, "We select schools for this book based on our high regard for their academic programs and offerings, institutional data we collect from the schools, and the candid opinions of students attending them who rate and report on their campus experiences at the schools."  

The “What students say about BGSU” academics portion of the report says, “ Looking for a ‘quality education' with ‘high standards' that keeps ‘student success as a primary goal'—all while offering an MBA degree that can be completed in 14 months? . . . ‘The workload is heavy, and the classes are demanding,' students tell us. However, this is bolstered by the ‘very supportive' professors. . . . Despite the rigors of the curriculum, most students find the program manageable thanks to the fact that ‘everyone seems willing to help each other out.'”

The MBA program was noted in the “greatest opportunity for minority students” category “based on the percent of students from minorities, the percent of faculty from minorities, and student assessment of: resources for minority students, how supportive the culture is of minority students, and whether fellow students are ethnically and racially diverse,” according to the review's description of its criteria.

BGSU is fifth on the list of 10 headed by Howard University and including such schools as Florida International and the University of Houston-Victoria.

The current MBA student population includes people from 16 countries and six states. In addition, approximately 34 percent of the students are international. Across all MBA programs, students range in age from 22-52, with an average of 29. The average work experience of full-time, part-time and executive students is three, six and 10 years, respectively. Because BGSU's MBA programs do not require undergraduate degrees in business for admission, participants' academic backgrounds also vary.

The Princeton Review does not rank the schools in the book on a single hierarchical list or name one business school best overall. Instead, the book has 11 lists ranking the top 10 business schools in various categories. Ten lists are based on the review's surveys over the past three years of 19,000 students attending the 290 business schools profiled in the book.   One list, “Toughest to Get Into,” is based solely on institutional data.  

The BGSU College of Business Administration first earned accreditation from AACSB International—the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business— in 1954. Bowling Green is one of only 171 colleges worldwide to have earned AACSB accreditation in both business and accounting.

"Great business programs are created because of the hard work of students, faculty and staff. External recognition of our programs from sources such as the Princeton Review and U.S. News and World Report validates the great work of these individuals," said Dr. Rodney Rogers, dean of the business college.

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(Posted October 22, 2007)