UPDATE April 2014: Kelley Direct was ranked #1 this year by U.S. News.
Kelley Direct claimed a spot in the top 3 in the US News Best Online Graduate Business Programs list released earlier this month behind Washington State University and Arizona State University. It’s great to see your MBA school getting recognized by others. The more positive visibility the better, and that has been the case since I joined the Kelley Direct Program in 2012. In addition to getting bumped up to the top 15 ranked business schools by Bloomberg Businessweek, Kelley was also recognized for having the best MBA teachers and career services in the US. It’s no wonder why Kelley MBA students are the most satisfied B-school students in the country.
Even though number 3 isn’t bad, I was curious as to why Kelley Direct didn’t rank higher on this list. So I decided to take a look at other rankings that prospective students and employers typically look at and my suspicions were confirmed. One of the main ways a B-school gets its reputation is by its full-time ranking and its ability to place its students into jobs. This is not to take anything away from the other schools on this list, but Kelley takes these things very seriously (and I love it because of that). Here’s a quote from faculty chair of the Kelley Direct MBA Program, Phil Powell after seeing the US News rankings: “Our goal is to be number one,” Powell said. “Number three is good, but our goal is to become number one.”
Here are the results of my Online MBA Program Rankings study: (more…)