UA Manderson Graduate School of Business Ranked No. 3 by Princeton Review for Best Campus Facilities

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama’s Manderson Graduate School of Business is ranked No. 3 for “Best Campus Facilities” in the new Princeton Review rankings released this week. The magazine ranks graduate schools in 11 categories each year, and Manderson has been ranked in the top 10 in at least one of the categories for the past four years.

The “Best Campus Facilities” ranking is based on student assessment of the quality of classroom, library and gym facilities, the magazine said. In the past, the graduate school has been ranked eighth for campus facilities, ninth in best classroom experience, and eighth for administration.

The only other Southeastern Conference university ranked in “Best Campus Facilities” was the University of Georgia at No. 9. In fact, only four SEC schools made the ranking, with Vanderbilt coming in second for “Most Competitive Students” and second for “Best Administered.” The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville was 10th in the “Most Competitive Students” category.

Comments by graduate students at Manderson included, “the facilities are fantastic” and have a “high level of technology for the classroom. Every student has a laptop, and there is a wireless cloud for the business school. You can log on anywhere inside or outside the facilities.”

Another student said professors at Manderson are “fantastic. Most write leading textbooks in their subject area. Better still, they are highly accessible and willing to work as hard as the students, and they passionately desire to help students grow as leaders.”

Students also noted that administrators of the program respond to changes in the marketplace to ensure success in the marketplace.

Another comment noted that the school has some of “the greatest alumni in the country” who often visit campus.

Susan West, assistant dean, Graduate Programs, noted that the Manderson Graduate School enrolled its largest full-time M.B.A. class this fall, with 78 students enrolling in the Class of 2010.

“As we have grown, we have attracted more out-of-state and out-of-region students, which produces a multiplier effect. Our graduates typically want to return to the region from which they came. By going back to these areas, it helps in our brand awareness and effectiveness on a broader basis geographically,” West said.

“As we grow in quantity, it is obvious why we would strive to demand equal growth in quality. The better our students, the more competitive we can be on a national basis, which again reflects what we are trying to accomplish in building our brand.”