U.S. News & World Report ranked UCM’s online Master of Business Administration program among the best in the country in its 2019 list of best online MBA programs released January 14.

The Jan. 14 publication examined five categories to create the rankings: engagement, student excellence, expert opinion, faculty credentials and training and student services and technologies. UCM’s online MBA program ranked 126^th among programs at universities across the country, up 38 spots from 164^th in 2018.

Ginger Killian, associate dean and MBA director said attaining an MBA helps graduates gain skills to solve business problems and become a leader. She said the degree also provides a critical understanding of business fundamentals to help them solve organizational challenges, making them more valuable to management.

Killian said the higher UCM’s programs rank, the more beneficial it is for students seeking jobs.

“As our rankings improve, we become more visible to prospective students who rely on rankings to assess a program’s quality,” Killian said. “External rankings also signal quality of our educational experience, helping our graduates to be competitive in the job market.”

UCM offers many other  online concentrations, including healthcare administration, which has been fundamental in helping the MBA program climb 38 spots from 2018.

“Beginning in fall 2017, we offered select courses in an online format, but securing a full degree online was still difficult,” Killian said. “By 2018, we had five concentrations in a fully online format, including the healthcare administration concentration. This concentration is new to UCM but is quickly becoming one of our highest demand programs, given the health care industry in Missouri.”

Killian said offering master’s programs online can help UCM reach a broader spectrum of students.

“Many individuals are working but desire to continue their education,” she said. “The work schedules of working professionals are often such that committing to a regular class time may be too challenging. Online programs allow students the flexibility and accessibility to complete classes around their busy schedules, instead of asking students to schedule their lives around our class times.”

The development of educational technology has also been helpful in helping achieve this.

“Online tools allow students to have personalized interactions with instructors, record themselves in videos to share with others and share links, tools and videos with classmates to contribute to the learning experience,” Killian said. “The evolution of distance learning technologies allows for more meaningful interactions in online courses.”

Killian said earning an MBA provides lucrative opportunities for students.

“A recent survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council shows that MBA graduates often earn more than $100,000 per year,” Killian says.

Editor’s note: A sentence was corrected to say that there are five fully online MBA concentrations instead of 85 .