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The Princeton Review has named Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s School of Business as one of the best in the country for the 11th-consecutive year. The education services company features the School in the 2017 edition of its book, “The Best 294 Business Schools.”

“We appreciate the Princeton Review’s process of reaching out directly to students to capture their exceptional academic experience within our School,” said Tim Schoenecker, SIUE School of Business interim dean. “In an evolving and highly competitive academic landscape, our dedicated faculty and staff continue to provide dynamic programs that prepare students to be successful in the global marketplace.”

According to Robert Franek, Princeton Review senior vice president-publisher, “We recommend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as one of the best to earn an MBA. We chose the 294 schools in this book based on our high regard for their academic programs and our assessment of institutional data collected from the schools. We also solicited and greatly respect the opinions of 25,000 students attending these schools who reported on their experiences at their schools on our 80-question student survey.”

 “The Best 294 Business Schools: 2017 Edition” has two-page profiles of the schools, with sections on their academics, student life, admissions information and graduates’ employment data. In the SIUE profile, The Princeton Review editors describe the school as offering an “exceptional and ... convenient MBA program with courses in evening and weekend formats on the Edwardsville campus. This up-and-coming school offers a well-rounded program that is taught by professors with real world experience.”

The survey responders indicated that the SIUE School of Business administration is known for being “easily accessible and friendly,” “has made planning classes easy,” and has “a great concept of real-world work life [that they] implement … in the classroom.” Classes here place a great deal of emphasis on group work, which is furthered by the “ease of communication through online resources (great e-presence).”

SIUE students in the publication are quoted as saying professors, “relate the course-work to everyday life, know how to communicate their information to their students effectively, and they seem to truly care about students learning and being able to apply information in the real world.”

One SIUE student added this comment about the professors, “Their ability to answer questions from their experience in the field has earned my respect.”

Another SIUE student said, “Most of my professors still consult in their respective industries. They are very current on business trends and developments.”

Another student noted, “SIUE has the best value for the level of accreditation of all St. Louis area schools.”

The Princeton Review’s survey asked students at the 294 b-schools their opinions of their school's academics, student body and campus life, as well as about themselves and their career plans. The student surveys analyzed for this edition were all completed online and conducted during the 2015-16, 2014-15 and 2013-14 academic years.

The profiles also have rating scores in five categories that The Princeton Review tallies based on institutional data it collected during the 2015-16 academic year and/or its student survey for the book. Rating categories are: academic experience, admissions selectivity, career, professors interesting and professors accessible.

 “The Best 294 Business Schools” is published by Penguin Random House/Princeton Review Books and is available now. The two-page SIUE profile is available online at princetonreview.com/business-school-rankings/best-business-schools. 

The Princeton Review is also known for its guides to colleges and standardized tests, its classroom and online test-prep courses, tutoring and other education services. Headquartered in New York City, The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University, and it is not a magazine.

Photo: SIUE School of Business Interim Dean Tim Schoenecker.