OSWEGO — SUNY Oswego’s online MBA ranks 26th best among comparable degree programs at more than 200 colleges and universities nationwide, according to U.S. News’ 2013 “Best Online Graduate Business Programs” rankings.

The U.S. News survey weighed faculty credentials and training, student services and technology, student engagement, admissions selectivity and peer reputation. Oswego’s ranking puts it in the top 12 percent nationally of the 213 schools with online MBA programs responding to the U.S. News questionnaire.

U.S. News published numerical rankings for the top 148 institutions on the list. Washington State University’s program ranked No. 1.

New York has five institutions in the top 50. In addition to Oswego, they are Clarkson University, Marist College, Syracuse University and Rochester Institute of Technology.

“I am very pleased to see our ranking among schools offering online MBAs,” said Richard Skolnik, dean of the School of Business at SUNY Oswego. “However, what is more satisfying about it is the quality of students and quality of education we have in our online MBA program.”

Skolnik pointed to the rich mix of students in the online courses: students in a variety of occupations seeking the convenience of a setting whose time and location are not fixed, those who would find it difficult to leave careers and families for a residential MBA, along with students in traditional, classroom-based MBA programs.

“The rigor of the program is the same as courses held in a traditional classroom,” he said. “It requires a significant amount of time and attention for the students and faculty.”

Oswego ranked near the top in the U.S. News survey in terms of faculty credentials and training.

Full-time faculty members teach many of the online MBA courses, Skolnik said.

“The quality of the online program speaks to the investment SUNY Oswego has made in online education,” Skolnik said.

He credited instructional designers, campus technology personnel and the SUNY Learning Network for the online MBA program’s success, as well as faculty and students. “There’s a lot of support and feedback throughout the entire process and that helps create a quality experience,” he said.

For the complete U.S. News rankings, see http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/mba/rankings.

Oswego, the first comprehensive college in the SUNY system to offer an MBA, starting in 1997, has increased the options for obtaining the degree.

For more information on Oswego’s MBA programs, which are accredited by the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business, visit oswego.edu/mba or call 315-312-2911.