BusinessWeek has ranked Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) number one in the Northeast for its part-time Master of Business Administration program -- known as The Innovator's MBA -- and number eight in the nation. The Innovator's MBA has been rated number one in the Northeast by BusinessWeek for five consecutive years.
Student surveys count for 40 percent of the ranking, with academic quality and post-MBA outcomes contributing 30 percent, respectively. The BusinessWeek article gave WPI an "A" for its curriculum, and ranked the program 3rd in the nation for student satisfaction and 7th in academic quality. The article noted that The Innovator's MBA program was rated best for career changers, and has a 95 percent completion rate. Nearly 70 percent of those completing the program received salary increases as a result of completing their MBA.
"I think the school has a lot to be excited about, finishing third in overall student satisfaction and seventh in academic quality," said BusinessWeek staff editor Geoff Gloeckler. "It's no fluke that they're number one in the Northeast."
In its 2011 ratings of part-time MBA programs, published on Nov. 10, BusinessWeek based its findings on five quality measures: completion rates, GMAT scores, work experience, selectivity and tenured faculty. Its methodology uses three elements – student survey, goals measure, and academic quality. The student survey comprises 50 questions measuring student satisfaction with the MBA experience, from teaching to course content to career outcomes. The survey was used to determine the percentage of respondents who were seeking to advance their careers with their current employer, career advancement with a new employer in the same industry, or career changers who want to change industries, functional areas, or both.
"We believe the world needs leaders who are technologically sophisticated and business savvy. Our faculty and staff collaborate intensely with our students in creating a dynamic and innovative learning experience," said Mark P. Rice, dean of WPI's School of Business. "The blend of highly interactive, web-based learning, and face-to-face in-class engagement gives our students the opportunity to develop the knowledge, skills and values that will enable them to become leaders of technology-intensive enterprises."
WPI's part-time MBA program has consistently earned high rankings among national schools. The Princeton Review ranked the WPI School of Business in the Top 5 for Women in its 2011 'Best 300 Business Schools.' The part-time MBA program is the school's dominant program and has a large percentage of women faculty. In 2009 BusinessWeek ranked the part-time MBA program number one in the nation, and in 2007 the publication ranked it number one in the Northeast and number nine in the nation, as well as number five nationally in student satisfaction and number four nationally in academic quality. Business 2.0 magazine has ranked the program number nine in the nation for offering students the "best career prospects."
