How The University of Delaware Boosted Its Online MBA Ranking by Targeting Student Engagement

We had the pleasure of sitting down (virtually) with Jack Baroudi, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Programs for the University of Delaware's Lerner College of Business and Economics. In our conversation he shared the secrets behind the University of Delaware’s 15 spot jump up to 32nd in the US News & World Report Best Online MBA list.

“Moving up 15 places and placing among the top 10% of the 300+ accredited programs reflects our continuous enhancements to the quality of our Online MBA program,” says Lerner College Dean Bruce Weber in an article by UD announcing the ranking increase. “We invest in a transformative experience and our students’ ultimate success. We constantly curate the content of our offerings and update the design of our courses.”

Baroudi is also a professor in the college teaching leadership. He teaches classes in UD's Lerner College online MBA: Positive Leadership and Building Emotional Intelligence and Critical Thinking. His hands-on experience allowed us to dive deeper into the online MBA’s ranking improvement.

So, what was that secret? Continue reading to learn how they targeted student engagement with a unique student engagement strategy that boosted student perceptions, while improving the MBA program overall.

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In this post:

1. What goes into the US World News college ranking?

2. University of Delaware’s Online MBA

3. How Lerner targeted Student Engagement

4. A look into Senior Associate Dean Jack Barodi’s use of the Student Engagement platform Yellowdig in his classes

5. How UD’s Online MBA program seeks to continue to improve online learning

6. Conclusion

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