UH-Clear Lake online MBA business programs ranked for value quality

January 10, 2018 | Jim Townsend

University of Houston-Clear Lake’s online MBA program ranked in the top 43 percentile of U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 canvass of online MBA programs. The university’s online bachelor’s business degree program ranked in the top 50 percentile of the canvass.

In 2017, UH-Clear Lake revamped its online MBA program from a standard 16-week course length to an eight-week format, said Edward Waller, dean of the College of Business. A student can earn an MBA online in as little as 14 months by taking two courses per eight-week session across fall, spring and summer semesters without sacrificing academic quality, he said.

Students can complete accelerated online programs for bachelor’s degrees in general business, finance and public service leadership in as little as two years by taking 10 courses per year across fall, spring and summer semesters.

“Our students understand that succeeding in today’s economy can be a challenge, which is why our curriculum has been designed with both online and face-to-face options to fit their schedules,” Waller said.

 “In the UHCL College of Business, students acquire real-world professional skills in a supportive, student-focused environment. With the skills our student gain from our programs, they’ll continue their journey on the fast track to success,” he said.

U.S. News & World Report bases rankings on data about students who complete the programs. Data from students who complete UHCL’s accelerated programs won’t likely be fully realized until the magazine’s 2020 report, Waller said.

In computing its annual scores and rankings, the magazine weighs many factors, including students’ debt upon graduation, course delivery and the level of technical, academic and career support students receive remotely. The magazine relies on schools to self-report their results. Schools that don’t report – or have negligible online enrollments – are included in the canvass for having online programs but aren’t ranked or scored.

UHCL’s online MBA program tied with two other schools with a score of 50 for a ranking of 122 of a total 282 programs in the canvass. The online bachelor’s business degree program tied with three other schools with a score of 58 of 165 programs in the canvass. UHCL’s 2018 scores are consistent with 2017 scores.

For 2018, U.S. News & World Report added 27 online MBA programs and 24 online undergraduate business degree programs to its canvass.  From the totals, the magazine scored 204 of 282 online MBA programs and 119 of 165 online bachelor’s business degree programs.