Fortune Magazine recognized Ohio University’s Professional MBA program last month as having the third lowest tuition rate in the country.
The program, which costs $29,000 to complete, is only more expensive than Naval Postgraduate School in California, which costs $10,000, and Benedictine College in Kansas, which costs $22,200. Students must pay for only books during the 20-month program.
“I think it means we’ll probably be able to grow the program; it’s good PR for us,” said Ed Yost, director of executive graduate education. “We’re going to be attracting high quality people.”
Bowling Green State University, Cleveland State University and Kent State University were also mentioned as having cheap tuition rates.
However, OU’s College of Business recently announced it would stop recruiting for its fulltime MBA degree. The last fulltime class will graduate later this year, according to a previous Post article.
Instead, OU has decided to expand its part-time program.
“Enrollments are going up; there’s a demand for (the part-time program),” Yost said.
To keep costs low, students watch prerecorded lectures then meet in person two days a week.
“We’re serving a slightly different audience,” Yost said. “It’s sort of our leading edge delivery model.”
This allows students to be able to receive lectures from the best professors while better controlling attendance. By having both online and in-person classes, the program does not suffer in quality, despite the cost-saving measure, Yost said.
The Professional MBA program has experienced an increased demand due to the cost and flexible structure, he said.
“For someone who works full time, it was a good program,” said Jennifer Simon, an MBA student and director of OU’s Innovation Center. “I think there’s so much value in being able to interact with students one-on-one.”
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