Jones Graduate School of Business

-This was an academically rigorous, high quality program. The professors were excellent. This was really not a part-time program, but a full-time program offered in the evening. In the second year, there was little separation between the programs, and full-time and evening students were mixed in classes. Rice does a great job of fostering community, which may be difficult in a program where many students are busy working and commuting. I have made some lifelong friends and great network contacts! I would definitely, and already have, recommended this program to trusted friends and colleagues.

-More consistency is needed between the different types of part-time programs offered (Rice offers a "weeknight" and a "weekend" option, but the classes offered can be quite different).

-Rice provides a high quality education with definite networking potential and great career prospects due to the Rice reputation.

-I would have liked a better business government class. The professor for this class was an adjunct professor and a lobbyist, which was interesting but would have preferred a full time teacher. Same for the program Capstone class, although the adjunct professor works in the field I would have preferred a full time professor.

-If they wanted to stay in Houston, then Rice MBA to me is the best option...by far. I believe you should go to school near the place where you want to work in order to take advantage of the networking and on-campus recruiting.

-Increase the selectivity of students into the program and raise the tuition amount to offset the loss of revenue from those students. This program is worth more than the amount I paid in tuition.

-Despite being a "professional" program, the experience felt like I was genuinely part of the school and the education and experience of the professors was unmatched.

-The Career Management Center was helpful, but I think they should act more like a recruiting/search firm. In other words, if I want to work at Google, they should help facilitate that by contacting Google on my behalf, like a job recruiter might do. Otherwise, I think the program is great. Perhaps they should spend more money on hiring better adjunct/visiting faculty, but there were only a couple bad apples.

-I would recommend that anyone wanting a professional MBA attend Rice over any other school. The class time is longer and more courses are offered. You are a full student and can take any class as a student or even as an alumnus.

-One main area that Rice can continue to improve is the size of its alumni base. Being a somewhat newer program, the amount of Rice MBA alumnus in the workplace is smaller than other major programs but the network is more tightly connected.

-Yes I would, especially Rice's program because it does a great job with improving the "soft-skills" that are good for any industry or job function, not only business. These skills include Communications/Presentations, Leadership, and Change Management. Great job with this!

-More focus on career management. The career management center should have worked more closely with us from an earlier period. They were very focused on the full time students even though there are people assigned specifically to the professional and executive students.

-Rice is the only school in the Houston area that allows part-time students to choose from many different electives and is still highly respected in the region.

-It seemed like although we were part of the "Evening Program," we seemed to be there an awful lot of Fridays and Saturdays for classes. I believe they are changing to schedule to include a second year immersion week so that many of these Saturdays throughout the school year will be eliminated.

-I had an extremely fulfilling experience from the moment I decided to apply. The staff and faculty were very responsive to all requests for help and easily accessible. The best part of the program is the prestige of the school brand in the community and the high-caliber speakers and professors it attracts. Also, alumni tend to stay very engaged and help current students through mentoring or finding jobs.

-It was expensive. I'm not sure I would have been willing to absorb the cost if paying fully out of my own pocket (particularly since I was not looking for a career change).

-Best return on investment of any program in town, the other ones seemed to be far-fetched, going to hotels, and not being able to have access to proper facilities, club programs, and other benefits that only a campus can offer.

-The quality of the program, whether my friends are searching for a new company/career, or planning on staying with their current employer... The Rice MBA program offers fantastic networking opportunities, top quality faculty, and a Career guidance center that is willing to work with those who are seeking advancement within their current company.