2021 Best Business, Management & Marketing Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Great Lakes Region
145Colleges
56,310Bachelor's Degrees
$31,023Avg Cost*
Finding the Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools for Non-Traditional Students
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.
2021 Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools for Non-Traditional Students in the Great Lakes Region
Check out the business, management & marketing programs at these schools if you want to see which ones are the best for non-traditional students.
Top 15% Best Business, Management & Marketing Schools 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 medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
The student loan default rate at NLU is lower than is typical, just 1.5% of students default in three years. 3,197 of NLU students are exclusively distance learners. 3,114 students are part time.
University of Wisconsin - Madison comes in at #2 in this year's ranking. Located in the large 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%. There are approximately 11,375 students at UW - Madison that take at least one class online. 4,683 students are part time.
The #3 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Oakland City University. Located in the 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.
About 1.4% of Oakland City students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 187 students at Oakland City that take at least one class online. 225 students are part time.
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. There are roughly 1,236 part time students in attendance at Lakeland.
Marquette University comes in at #5 in this year's ranking. Marquette is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the 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 student loan default rate at Marquette is lower than is typical, just 0.5% of students default in three years. Approximately 2,535 students take at least one class online at Marquette. About 1,342 of the students at Marquette are attending part time.
The #6 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Loyola University Chicago. Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit college 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 student loan default rate at Loyola Chicago is lower than is typical, just 0.6% of students default in three years. There are approximately 5,319 students at Loyola Chicago that take at least one class online. There are roughly 2,121 part time students in attendance at Loyola Chicago.
Benedictine University earned the #7 spot in our 2021 rankings. Benedictine U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the 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 school has a low student loan default rate of 1.1%. Approximately 1,732 students take at least one class online at Benedictine U. 1,223 of Benedictine U students are attending part time.
Ashland University earned the #8 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the town of Ashland, Ashland is a private not-for-profit college 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. About 1,993 of the students at Ashland are attending part time.
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 school with a very 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 student loan default rate at DePaul is lower than is typical, just 1.0% of students default in three years. Approximately 8,996 students take at least one class online at DePaul. There are roughly 3,547 part time students in attendance at DePaul.
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.
About 1.0% of UW - Whitewater students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 5,785 students take at least one class online at UW - Whitewater. About 2,457 of the students at UW - Whitewater are attending 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 small suburb of Lima.
About 2.5% of University of Northwestern Ohio students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 429 of University of Northwestern Ohio students are exclusively distance learners. There are roughly 178 part time students in attendance at University of Northwestern Ohio.
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 college 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.
About 1.2% of Ohio State students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 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.
The #13 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Michigan State University. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the 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.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.8%. 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 school has a low student loan default rate of 3.7%. 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 city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population. UIUC also made our Best Colleges for Business, Management & Marketing in the Great Lakes Region list, coming in at #7.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.6%. There are approximately 35,475 students at UIUC that take at least one class online. 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 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 student loan default rate at IU Bloomington is lower than is typical, just 1.4% of students default in three years. There are approximately 18,013 students at IU Bloomington that take at least one class online. There are roughly 5,256 part time students in attendance at IU 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.
The student loan default rate at Illinois State is lower than is typical, just 1.7% of students default in three years. Approximately 7,464 students take at least one class online at Illinois State. There are roughly 2,500 part time students in attendance at Illinois State.
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 large 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. Approximately 17,465 students take at least one class online at UC. 10,255 students are part time.
University of Dayton landed the #19 spot in our 2021 best business, management & marketing schools for non-traditional students. Located in the city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit school with a 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. There are approximately 2,652 students at UDayton that take at least one class online. 1,171 of UDayton students are attending part time.
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 of Central Michigan students are attending part time.
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 distant 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.
About 0.3% of MVNU students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 704 students at MVNU are exclusively online. About 482 of the students at MVNU are attending part time.
Rest of the Top Schools for Best Business, Management & Marketing Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Great Lakes Region
Additional Noteworthy Schools
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.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
