Forbes magazine furnished UB's School of Management with yet another reason to enlarge its MBA program, which the school saw increase in size by nearly 40 percent this fall.
In a study to be released in its Oct. 15 issue, Forbes surveyed 20,000 1996 MBA graduates to determine which schools gave the "best bang for the buck," based on a comparison between the cost of an MBA degree (tuition along with potential foregone income) and students' salaries five years after graduation. UB's management school was ranked 21 out of 25 in the "small business schools" category, grouped by tuition costs.
"This is the first year UB was included on the Forbes list, and we are thrilled because we feel as if we have an excellent MBA program," said David W. Frasier, assistant dean and administrative director of the MBA program.
The Forbes study is intended to assess whether the higher salary culled from a business school degree is worth the sizeable investment.
UB's median five-year gain (compensation after graduation minus the sum of tuition and foregone salary potential) was $40,000, or 73 percent of educational and occupational expenses. The median salary of 1996 UB MBA grads in 2000 was $75,000, compared to the $17,000 price tag for out-of-state students at UB's management school. On average, it took UB grads 3.4 years to break even.
According to Frasier and Jerry Newman, interim dean of the School of Management, several aspects of the school, including a focus on student satisfaction through a technology-enhanced curriculum and the nationally renowned career resource center, contributed to the new publicity and surge in enrollment.
"[The enrollment increase] can be attributed largely to the school's rise in national ranking, complemented by its strategic marketing and recruitment efforts," said Newman.
"Over the past five years, we've focused on attracting talented MBA students and providing them with programs designed to help them excel in a modern, global business environment."
"We are pleased not only because we are being recognized but because this publicity allows prospective students to see what UB is all about," said Frasier.
"I feel as if we're attracting more students and a higher quality of students than we ever have before."
The Forbes ranking is only one of several honors the management program recently received. In April, the Wall Street Journal ranked the school 43rd in the world from its survey of corporate recruiters, and Business Week included the school in its list of the top 65 MBA programs, based on student satisfaction and corporate recruiter polling.
Frasier said the next step for the school is to improve its growing appeal by establishing a greater public "brand identification" with the school, as well as continual improvement of existing technology and facilities. Although the published acknowledgements "have sparked tremendous international interests," Frasier expressed a mild disappointment at the lack of a similar increase in the school's domestic appeal.
According to Newman, however, the presence of a large international student body is of unique benefit to the program.
"We have truly become a global business school, which means our students play an important role in educating one another about how business is conducted around the world," said Newman.
Rahul Baja, an international MBA student, was attracted to UB by its international reputation.
"I grew up in Nigeria and went to high school in England. Wherever I am, people know UB because it's known to produce such a high caliber student," said Baja, who is "very pleased with the program thus far."
International students are not the only ones gratified by the school's recent accolades.
"I feel as if my degree will carry a much higher value when I am done, now that we are receiving such high rankings," said School of Management student Elise Gornish. "I hope we continue to improve because I feel that all the publicity will help me land a better job when the time comes."
Among elite schools, Harvard topped the Forbes charts with a five-year MBA gain of $162,000. In the small school category, Brigham Young ranked first, with Wake Forest University, Brigham Young, Purdue, Ohio State, Penn State and Texas A&M joining UB on the list.
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