Impact of the Graduate Major Field Test in Business: Jacksonville University

This is a follow-up article that addresses the findings of an earlier article on the analysis of the Graduate Major Field Test in Business at Jacksonville University in 2012 [1]. The Graduate Major Field Tests in Business (GMFT-B) is an evaluation tool for MBA students given nationally by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton NJ. This test is administered to over 400 MBA programs in major Universities in the United States for the purpose of measuring student academic achievement and growth, as well as to assess educational outcomes in business. At Jacksonville University (JU) the test is given in the last class of the MBA program known as the capstone course, Business Strategy and Policy. This course accounts for ten percent of their grade in MGT 545, the Business Strategy and Policy course. A total of six years of data (2006 to 2011) was collected for analysis in the initial article by Arbogast and Thornton, professors in the graduate JU program. These scores were important for accreditation by the Association for the Advancement of Colleges and Schools of Business (AACSB). AACSB uses these scores to determine the standing of a business college compared to other peer and aspirational business colleges in the United States. At JU the following MBA programs are evaluated: the Executive MBA, evening MBA (also known as flex MBA) and daytime (accelerated) MBA classes. This article updates the initial findings of JU’s graduate programs. In summary, from 2018 to 2024 both JU MBA Programs continued to fare well with scores in the mid-250 range and well above the national average of 248 (out of 300). The Executive MBA student grades were even higher with an average of 264 over the same period of time.