The Flores Master of Business Administration full-time program at the E. J. Ourso College of Business was ranked No.1 in the nation for best financial value after graduation by U.S. News and World Reports.
According to the 2014 report, which uses recent salary and debt data, 2012 graduates of the Flores MBA program made on average 7.3 times their student debt for their starting salaries. The average full-time graduate’s starting salary three months after graduating was $59,762 compared to the average debt of $8,181 for those who borrowed.
The report ranked schools based on the self-reported data of the colleges, based off academic programs and the makeup of their student body.
MBA students pay more for their education in comparison to other graduate programs at the University, Edward Watson, director of the Flores MBA program, said. However, the program cost remains equivalent to most public institutions. MBA students pay $25,000 for their two years of study, while the average graduate student at the University pays $16,000 for the same time period.
At graduation, 60 to 70 percent of  MBA graduates are in permanent positions, said Watson, and after three months, 90 percent of graduates in the market have a job.
“We try to train [the students] to have business knowledge and         business experience,” Watson said.
Watson also said part of the program’s success is putting emphasis on internships and getting students employed. Eighty percent of MBA students are in summer internship programs and a majority of students work as graduate assistants. 
Watson said another factor leading to the program’s ranking was the relatively low cost of the program. However, the MBA program is continually dealing with an increase in tuition because of the national trend of decreasing state funding, Watson said.
Although the program is successful, a large concern is the continued decrease in state funding, said Craig Juengling, president of the Flores MBA Alumni Association. University programs, such as engineering, mass communication and business, are facing an increase in student size but not an increase in funding, leading to an under-financed program.
Juengling said state funds are not keeping pace with the growth of some programs at the University.
“I believe the quality of the University won’t be what it can be if the funding does not keep up with the growth in students,” Juengling said. “These programs that are growing and doing well need to have funding that increases with their growth.”