The Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) program in Ohio State's Fisher College of Business has been ranked 17th nationally in the Wall Street Journal's 2010 Executive MBA rankings.
The newspaper, along with Portland-based Management Research Group, consulted recent program graduates and companies familiar with the programs to compile rankings and assess graduates' management and leadership skills.
Tony Rucci, associate to the dean for executive programs and clinical professor of management and human resources at OSU, said he is excited about the ranking and progress of OSU's program.
"We're very pleased with the momentum we have," Rucci said. "Their rankings are the ones that are most heavily influenced by surveys of students and the companies who have sponsored sending them. That to me is very compelling.
"I hate to sound like Jim Tressel here, but it wouldn't matter in my mind where we rank. The whole focus on improvement and being really focused on the customer wouldn't change no matter where we were ranked."
Fisher's Executive MBA program ranked in the top third in program quality, faculty quality, classmate quality and immediately applicable course work.
Carol Newcomb, executive director of executive education in the Fisher College of Business, said the applicability of students' course work is most important to the program's success and development.
"If what they're learning they can't apply, it's not a really useful program," Newcomb said. "You can have the best faculty, but if you can't use what they're telling you, that's problematic."
Rucci said the quality of the faculty has played a role in the program's improvement.
"We have identified the faculty we know resonate most with business executives," Rucci said. "And the folks in our administrative area around the Executive (MBA) program are absolutely in-touch with the students."
The program also had the fifth-lowest cost in the Wall Street Journal's rankings.
"Tuition is important," Newcomb said. "I don't see our tuition ever going up to $130,000 as Michigan and some of the others are."
Nancy Crespo, deputy director of Government Relations for State Auto Insurance Companies and a student in the program, said she was not surprised at the progress from 2008, when the program was ranked 21st.
"Students are giving feedback, and they're listening," Crespo said. "I can see students being completely satisfied with the program."
Crespo also said she believes the Wall Street Journal's rankings will have a positive effect on the program.
"Any ambitious student is going to look for a program that's highly ranked across the nation," she said. "And the OSU program, you get more value out of it. I think that's definitely going to attract many more students to apply for the program."
Chuck Rotuno, president and CEO of OEConnection, was accepted into the University of Michigan's Executive MBA program but chose OSU's instead. He thought the quality of the program was better for the price, he said.
"I went out and assessed several different programs beyond Michigan and quickly landed on Ohio State as being the best value for the money," he said. "I couldn't be happier with the decision I made."
Value is not the only aspect of OSU's program that Rotuno thinks will attract students.
"The format is perfect for business executives who are participants in the program," Rotuno said. "The international component is a very big piece of the program. International is weaved into pretty much every course that students are taking, and in today's world, that's obviously very important."
Rotuno said he thinks the program will continue to climb in the rankings.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see Ohio State in the top 10 rankings within the next couple years," he said. "Without a doubt, my expectations were greatly exceeded. The camaraderie and relationships you develop in a program like this speak volumes. I do think that will continue to propel the program forward."
I should've. I was concerned that I wouldn't get to talk to anyone in the program. Nobody was answering calls or responding, and the people in the program only meet once a month for three days at a time, and that wasn't until after my deadline. I thought I was in trouble. 
