Online MBA Ranked 2nd in Florida and 32nd in Nation

U.S. News & World Report has ranked the Online MBA Program at USF St. Petersburg 32nd in the nation and 2nd in Florida, second only behind the University of Florida, in its 2015 survey of Best Online MBA. The rankings are based on five general categories: Student Engagement, Admissions Selectivity, Peer Reputation, Faculty Credentials and Training, and Student Services and Technology. The program scored especially well on the Faculty Credentials and Training criterion, in which it tied for 6th in the nation, and in Student Engagement, in which it tied for 11th. On both criteria, it was best in Florida. More details about the rankings, including the methodology used by US News and World Report, can be found at http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/mba/rankings?int=987608.

Congratulations are due to Dr Alison Watkins, Associate Dean in the Kate Tiedemann College of Business, and Mr Eric Douthirt, program administrator for the MBA program, and of course all the faculty in the Kate Tiedemann College of Business.

Accounting Undergraduate Program Ranked Amongst Most Affordable

Accounting Degree Review recently published its rankings for the most affordable undergraduate programs and the USF St Pete accounting program ranked as the 14th most affordable program in the US and the most affordable in Florida. Accounting Degree Review only considered U.S. institutions with accounting accreditation from AACSB, if which there are around 170 in the United States, as AACSB accounting accreditation is generally regarded as the best indicator of the academic quality of the program. More details about the ranking can be found at http://www.accounting-degree.org/most-affordable-bachelors-in-accounting/.

Congratulations are of course due to all faculty in the Kate Tiedemann College of Business, and in particular to the accounting faculty.

USFSP Adds Minor in Biophysics

USFSP recently added a minor in Biophysics to its degree programs. This cross-disciplinary program will enable students to build models of biological systems and their simulation, and to understand the statistical techniques used for the analysis of biological models. The program degree will prepare students for the professional schools as well as graduate programs in the sciences, business, education and medicine. The minor will also prepare students for work them for work in the growing research & technology industry in Florida. the retention for

The program was the brainchild of Dr Leon Hardy of the Department of Biological Sciences and I wanted to thank him for his efforts to shepherd this program through and to congratulate him on his achievement.

M.Acc Approved

The USF System Board of Trustees has approved a new Master’s program in Accounting for the Kate Teidemann College of Business. The program, which will enroll its first students in the Spring of 2015, will give students the opportunity to earn a M.Acc. at USFSP and to earn the 30 additional credit hours beyond their undergraduate degree necessary to sit for the CPA exam. The primary focus of the program will be forensics, although students will also be able to complete a concentration in taxation. The latter concentration will be offered in cooperation with USF Tampa.

I wanted to congratulate John Jewell, Gary Patterson and Vivian Fueyo for navigating the sometimes stormy waters to get us to this point. The M.Acc. will allow USFSP to help address a critical work force need in the state of Florida, and indeed the nation.