For Immediate Release November 8, 2007
Contact: Cristi Allen
callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 817-640-6166

Arlington, Texas – UT-Arlington was ranked as the “best value for the money” among the 13 major graduate business schools located in the North Texas area, according to a recent Decision Analyst survey of over 900 adults living in 27 North Texas counties. The University of North Texas came in a close second. All survey participants were either planning to attend graduate business school and/or were already college graduates. The survey asked a number of different questions about the “brand image” of different graduate business schools in North Texas. One of the questions was, “Which one of the following graduate business schools in North Texas offers the best value for the money.” The results:

Graduate Business Schools
Percent Choosing Each School As Offering Best Value
For The Money (First Choice Plus Second Choice)


(Total adds to 200% because each person chose two universities, first choice and second choice).

“UT-Arlington, the University of North Texas, and UT-Dallas clearly rank above the other graduate business schools in best value for the money,” according to Jerry W. Thomas, President/Ceo of Decision Analyst. “These three major state-assisted universities stand alone in perceived value for the money. Of course, value perceptions are shaped not only by the cost, but by the expected quality of the education itself. The way the question was asked tends to penalize the schools with lower awareness. That is, if a respondent knew little about a school, it�s not likely that he/she would choose that school as a good value. That bias is the reality of the marketplace, however.”

“The purpose of the survey is to help graduate business schools in North Texas learn how to better manage, position, and market their MBA programs and other graduate business offerings. The Dallas/Fort Worth area is one of the great economic centers within the U.S., and improving the performance of graduate business schools would upgrade the talent pool in North Texas, provide highly trained business executives for companies located in North Texas, and help attract corporate headquarters to the D/FW area. All of this would stimulate economic growth in the North Texas area over time. There are opportunities for each graduate business school to do better, and improve its positioning, marketing, and advertising,” according to Thomas.

Methodology

Over 900 adults ( aged 19+) living in the North Texas area (defined as the 27 counties ranging north to the Red River, south to Waco, east to Van Zandt County, and west to Palo Pinto County) were surveyed online. The sample was carefully balanced by gender, age, and geography to accurately represent the adult (aged 19+) population of North Texas area. The sample was then screened to identify those planning to attend graduate business school in the next five years, and to identify college graduates living in the area (both of these groups were included in the survey). The survey was conducted in late July and August 2007. The sampling error on the total sample is approximately 3.0%, plus or minus, depending on the level of confidence.

About Decision Analyst

Decision Analyst (www.decisionanalyst.com) is a leading marketing research and marketing consulting firm specializing in advertising testing, strategy research, new product development, and advanced modeling for marketing decision optimization. The firm delivers competitive advantage to clients throughout the world in the consumer packaged goods, telecommunications, retail, high technology, medical and pharmaceutical, utilities, and e-commerce industries. Decision Analyst operates American Consumer Opinion® online, one of the world’s largest Internet-based consumer-opinion panels, with more than seven million members.

For additional information contact:
Cristi Allen
Publicity
Email: callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 1.800.ANALYSIS (262.5974)
Address: 604 Avenue H East
Arlington, TX 76011

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