NAU’s Master of Business Administration at the W.A. Franke College of Business was recently mentioned in the 15th edition of “Princeton Review’s 296 Best Business Colleges.”

The Princeton Review is a student-based survey that takes 65 students from each business school and asks 80 questions about their school’s academics, student body and campus life. 

“Although NAU’s MBA  (program) didn’t receive the No.1 spot in any of the categories, I would like to mention how high the percentage is for the ‘Professors Who are Interesting’ and ‘Professors Who are Accessible Outside of Class,” said Rebecca Lessem, the senior editor of the review. “Both categories received 99 percent.”

Lessem also said NAU’s College of Business received a two-page profile that was printed into the review. In the review, statistics were given about admissions, financial facts, students and academics. 

“It’s amazing,” said Jessica Shipley, a hotel and restaurant management major, about classes in the College of Business. “It’s a big classroom, but it doesn’t feel big and even though I’m in the back, the professor still knows my name. I see professors that I had last semester and they take the time to come talk to me and they still remember my name.”

Professors were not the only aspect highlighted by Princeton; the new business building was also mentioned in NAU’s review saying, “(It’s) designed to encourage students to linger after class…to hang out and socialize.” 

Shipley also mentioned how easy it is to relax in the business building. 

“I’ve seen people take naps, but it’s totally cool because it is such a mellow place to chill,” Shipley said.  

Princeton Review notes the relaxing atmosphere can also be seen in after school activities. Students say that being inside a small town, yet having a “superb” location near the San Francisco Peaks and the Grand Canyon, lets them choose many different recreational activities.

“From a student’s perspective, a valuable and desirable feature is the small size of our MBA program,” said Jane Thompson, director of NAU’s MBA program. “The ratio of faculty to students is high, allowing each student to receive individual attention, whether it is a core course or in-depth elective.”

The MBA program is offered in two different formats. The first is a 10-month program for students who have undergraduate business degrees.  The second is an 18-month program for students with  non-business undergraduate degrees. In these programs, Thompson said students would face intense, team-based and personalized classes.

“For classes, we like to do a cross-functional approach, which is taking a class and giving different angles,” Thompson said. “For example, a class might look at both finance and accounting.”