U.S. News online MBA ranking

A program is “predominantly online” when the vast majority of required coursework can be finished through distance-education courses that keep regular, substantive instructor contact. Orientation or testing visits do not disqualify it. Programs that require regular in-person class attendance do not belong here. Schools must participate in the online-program survey. Non-respondents are omitted.

Category	Weight	What it counts
Engagement	30%	Best-practice index, three-year graduation rate, class-size index, retention
Peer assessment	25%	1–5 ratings from deans and distance-learning officials
Faculty credentials and training	15%	Distance-teaching training, terminal degrees, tenure-track share
Student excellence	15%	Mean undergraduate GPA, acceptance rate, experience index
Services and technologies	15%	Mean debt, support checklist, tech checklist

Class size here is section size, not entering-cohort size. Sections under 20 students get full credit; sections of 50 or more get none. Graduation rate is a two-year average of students who finish within three years of entry.

Example: Program A runs 18-person sections, reports a 72 percent three-year graduation rate, and has AACSB. Program B runs 55-person recorded lectures and graduates 48 percent within three years. A’s engagement block (30 percent of the formula) will usually swamp a small peer-score gap.

The campus ranking is AACSB-only and half employment and pay. This ranking does not require AACSB, does not use starting salary as a headline weight, and scores distance design. The FT Online MBA ranking is a global, alumni-salary table with a 70 percent online-content rule and a 20-school published list. Do not treat the two as one market.

No. AACSB (or half-credit for ACBSP or IACBE) is one half of the “best practices” index inside Engagement. Peer assessment is 25 percent of the whole formula on its own.

Sporadic trips for orientation, exams, or support are allowed. Recurring in-person coursework is not. If the degree cannot be completed at a distance, it is not this ranking.

This formula scores design for working distance learners: finish rates, section size, remote services, debt, and faculty training.

Unlikely in year one. Graduation rate needs a reporting cohort of at least ten finishers, and programs founded in the survey year are typically listed without a rank.