LONG BEACH - Recognizing its various options in MBA programs for working students, the College of Business Administration at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) has been named an outstanding business school by The Princeton Review and is featured in the 2013 edition of its just released guidebook "The Best 296 Business Schools."In particular, the 2013 guide mentions three particular MBA options at CSULB-the Fully Employed MBA, a 23-month sequence of four 10-week sessions per year that are scheduled on Saturdays for the convenience of full-time workers; the Self-Paced Evening MBA, a program that can be pursued either full- or part-time; and the Accelerated MBA, a one-year, full-time program for students eager to jump start their business careers. The publication also notes that "there are 'many options for working folk,' including a 'Saturday only program,' which is a 21-month long, lock-step cohort" program. "We are very pleased that the quality of our MBA programs is being recognized by the prestigious Princeton Review," said Michael Solt, dean for the CSULB College of Business Administration. "We firmly believe that we offer our graduate students an outstanding educational value and an excellent degree. So, the acknowledgement of The Princeton Review, as well as our accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB), validates our belief and reinforces our efforts." "The Best 296 Business Schools" has two-page profiles of the schools with write-ups on their academics, career and placement, student life and environment, and admissions. The profiles also have ratings (scores from 60 to 99) for academic experience, admissions selectivity, and career services. It also offers students advice on applying to business schools and funding the degree. "We consider Cal State Long Beach one of the best institutions a student could attend to earn an MBA," said Robert Franek, senior vice president-publisher for Princeton Review. "We selected the schools we profile in this book-280 of which are in the United States and 16 are international-based on our high regard for their academic programs and our reviews of institutional data we collect from the schools. "We also solicit and greatly respect the opinions of students attending these schools who rate and report on their experiences at them on our 80-question survey for the book," he added. The Princeton Review's survey asked 19,000 students at the 296 schools their opinions of their school's academics, student body and campus life as well as about themselves and their career plans. The student surveys analyzed for this edition were all completed online and conducted during the 2011-12, 2010-11, and 2009-10 academic years. "The Princeton Review ranking is significant because it is based on the experiences and opinions of Cal State Long Beach students," said CSULB President F. King Alexander. "The faculty and staff in the College of Business Administration have done an excellent job of creating MBA programs that appeal to students, fit their schedules and help them meet their educational and career goals. The "Survey Says" section of the profile highlights some of the topics students at each school most agreed upon. CSULB students who took the survey stated that the College of Business Administration provides "solid preparation" in general management and teamwork. In the Career and Placement section, CSULB students say the MBA Career Management Services "is very interactive and helpful with networking for future careers." Besides maintaining an MBA job board and hosting on-campus recruiting events in a variety of business disciplines, they also maintain contact with alumni to encourage networking opportunities. Attending one of the large, campus-wide career fairs hosted by the Career Development Center affords yet another opportunity to meet potential employers. Also, in the Student Life and Environment section, students remarked that the MBA program combines a mix of students from several different countries, some who come directly from an undergraduate program and others that have "15+ years of work experience." This "diverse, friendly" student body consists of a solid group of classmates who "are invested in the education experience." The Princeton Review does not rank the schools in the book on a single hierarchical list from 1 to 296, or name one business school best overall. For additional information on the college and universities listed in this year's "Best 296 Business Schools" guide, visit the website at www.princetonreview.com/business-school-rankings.aspx.

********** Published: October 18, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 27