by our College Data Analytics Team
For this year's Best Business, Management & Marketing Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Great Lakes Region ranking, we looked at 145 colleges that offer a bachelor's in business, management & marketing. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great business, management & marketing programs and a strong support system for non-traditional students.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the business, management & marketing program at the school, affordability, and non-traditional population. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
The business, management & marketing school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools for Non-Traditional Students.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Check out the business, management & marketing programs at these schools if you want to see which ones are the best for non-traditional students.
National Louis University tops the 2021 list of our schools in the Great Lakes Region that are best for non-traditional business, management & marketing students. NLU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
About 1.5% of NLU students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 3,197 students at NLU are exclusively online. 3,114 of NLU students are attending part time.
University of Wisconsin - Madison comes in at #2 in this year's ranking. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a very large student population. UW - Madison did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.2%. Approximately 11,375 students take at least one class online at UW - Madison. 4,683 students are part time.
The #3 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Oakland City University. Located in the distant town of Oakland City, Oakland City is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, Oakland City also did well on our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list. It's in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.4%. There are approximately 187 students at Oakland City that take at least one class online. About 225 of the students at Oakland City are attending part time.
Read full report on Business, Management & Marketing at Oakland City University
Lakeland University landed the #4 spot in our 2021 best business, management & marketing schools for non-traditional students. Lakeland is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Plymouth.
About 1.9% of Lakeland students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 700 students take at least one class online at Lakeland. 1,236 students are part time.
Full Business, Management & Marketing at Lakeland University Report
Marquette University comes in at #5 in this year's ranking. Marquette is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Milwaukee. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, Marquette has also earned the #2 rank in our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.5%. Approximately 2,535 students take at least one class online at Marquette. 1,342 of Marquette students are attending part time.
The #6 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Loyola University Chicago. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population. Loyola Chicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.6%. There are approximately 5,319 students at Loyola Chicago that take at least one class online. About 2,121 of the students at Loyola Chicago are attending part time.
Read full report on Business, Management & Marketing at Loyola University Chicago
Benedictine University earned the #7 spot in our 2021 rankings. Benedictine U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Lisle. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, Benedictine U also did well on our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list. It's in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The student loan default rate at Benedictine U is lower than is typical, just 1.1% of students default in three years. There are approximately 1,732 students at Benedictine U that take at least one class online. About 1,223 of the students at Benedictine U are attending part time.
Ashland University earned the #8 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the fringe town of Ashland, Ashland is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Ashland is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list.
The student loan default rate at Ashland is lower than is typical, just 1.2% of students default in three years. 1,358 of Ashland students are exclusively distance learners. There are roughly 1,993 part time students in attendance at Ashland.
DePaul University comes in at #9 in this year's ranking. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, DePaul has also earned the #8 rank in our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.0%. There are approximately 8,996 students at DePaul that take at least one class online. 3,547 of DePaul students are attending part time.
The #10 spot in this year's ranking belongs to University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. UW - Whitewater is a fairly large public school located in the town of Whitewater. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, UW - Whitewater is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list.
The student loan default rate at UW - Whitewater is lower than is typical, just 1.0% of students default in three years. Approximately 5,785 students take at least one class online at UW - Whitewater. 2,457 students are part time.
The #11 spot in this year's ranking belongs to University of Northwestern Ohio. University of Northwestern Ohio is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Lima.
The student loan default rate at University of Northwestern Ohio is lower than is typical, just 2.5% of students default in three years. 429 students at University of Northwestern Ohio are exclusively online. 178 of University of Northwestern Ohio students are attending part time.
Full Business, Management & Marketing at University of Northwestern Ohio Report
Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #12 spot in our 2021 best business, management & marketing schools for non-traditional students. Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public school with a very large student population. As a testament to the quality of education offered at Ohio State, the school also landed the #4 rank in our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
The student loan default rate at Ohio State is lower than is typical, just 1.2% of students default in three years. There are approximately 42,293 students at Ohio State that take at least one class online. About 8,459 of the students at Ohio State are attending part time.
Read full report on Business, Management & Marketing at Ohio State University - Main Campus
The #13 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Michigan State University. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the small city of East Lansing. As a testament to the quality of education offered at Michigan State, the school also landed the #6 rank in our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
About 0.8% of Michigan State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 33,526 students take at least one class online at Michigan State. 6,517 of Michigan State students are attending part time.
Malone University comes in at #14 in this year's ranking. Malone is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Canton.
The student loan default rate at Malone is lower than is typical, just 3.7% of students default in three years. Approximately 433 students take at least one class online at Malone. About 443 of the students at Malone are attending part time.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earned the #15 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population. UIUC also made our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list, coming in at #7.
The student loan default rate at UIUC is lower than is typical, just 0.6% of students default in three years. Approximately 35,475 students take at least one class online at UIUC. 10,007 students are part time.
The #16 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Indiana University - Bloomington. IU Bloomington is a very large public school located in the small city of Bloomington. IU Bloomington did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.4%. Approximately 18,013 students take at least one class online at IU Bloomington. There are roughly 5,256 part time students in attendance at IU Bloomington.
Read full report on Business, Management & Marketing at Indiana University - Bloomington
The #17 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Illinois State University. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Illinois State is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list.
About 1.7% of Illinois State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 7,464 students at Illinois State that take at least one class online. 2,500 of Illinois State students are attending part time.
Full Business, Management & Marketing at Illinois State University Report
The #18 spot in this year's ranking belongs to University of Cincinnati - Main Campus. UC is a very large public school located in the city of Cincinnati. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, UC also did well on our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list. It's in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
About 1.7% of UC students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 17,465 students at UC that take at least one class online. 10,255 students are part time.
Full Business, Management & Marketing at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Report
University of Dayton landed the #19 spot in our 2021 best business, management & marketing schools for non-traditional students. Located in the medium-sized city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population. UDayton did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list.
About 0.5% of UDayton students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 2,652 students take at least one class online at UDayton. There are roughly 1,171 part time students in attendance at UDayton.
Read full report on Business, Management & Marketing at University of Dayton
Our rankings recognize Central Michigan University as the #20 school in this year's rankings. Central Michigan is a fairly large public school located in the town of Mount Pleasant. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Central Michigan is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list.
The student loan default rate at Central Michigan is lower than is typical, just 1.2% of students default in three years. Approximately 3,727 students take at least one class online at Central Michigan. 3,991 students are part time.
Read full report on Business, Management & Marketing at Central Michigan University
Our rankings recognize Mount Vernon Nazarene University as the #21 school in this year's rankings. MVNU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Mount Vernon. MVNU also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list. It's in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
The student loan default rate at MVNU is lower than is typical, just 0.3% of students default in three years. 704 students at MVNU are exclusively online. About 482 of the students at MVNU are attending part time.
Full Business, Management & Marketing at Mount Vernon Nazarene University Report
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Business, Management & Marketing Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | Ball State University | Muncie, IN |
| 23 | American InterContinental University - Online | Chandler, AZ |
| 24 | Concordia University, Wisconsin | Mequon, WI |
| 25 | Roosevelt University | Chicago, IL |
| 26 | Xavier University | Cincinnati, OH |
| 27 | Lewis University | Romeoville, IL |
| 28 | Grand Valley State University | Allendale, MI |
| 29 | Miami University - Oxford | Oxford, OH |
Explore the best for non-traditional students business, management & marketing colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|
Footnotes
*Avg Cost is for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.
