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The Executive Look in MBA Programs
In these tough economic times, many of the jobless have
decided to go back to school full time. Applications to graduate
schools
have zoomed. Also in these tough times, those wanting to keep
their jobs might also choose to go to back to school, but part-time,
on nights and weekends.
An alternative to such catch-as-catch can classes are the executive
MBA programs. In the Philadelphia and New Jersey area, they usually
take two years to complete and cost a total of from $50,000 to
$115,000.
The more expensive programs include some room and board charges and
meet every other weekend, on Fridays and Saturdays, with an overnight
stay required.
When Penn State’s Smeal College of Business launches its first
executive
MBA program on Philadelphia’s Main Line next fall, it will use this
schedule. Other programs schedule classes every Friday, or alternate
Fridays and Saturdays. Most programs require at least a week of
international
travel.
Classes are small, and students generally move together through the
program — so they have a bonding experience. An important part
of many traditional full-time MBA programs are the assignments to
be completed as a team, and to be able to work with the same people
in your class would be an advantage. Because entrance requirements
are strict — most require the students to have regular jobs and
have from five to ten years of business experience — students
are as likely to learn from their peers as from their professor.
If the cost seems expensive, consider that many students in these
executive MBA programs are sponsored by their employers. That is one
reason why all the costs — residential weeks, all meals and
snacks,
trips, books, materials, and even parking fees — are bundled into
the tuition package.
Some might consider it a disadvantage that many executive MBA programs
require everyone to take the basic core courses, such as accounting,
marketing, finance, and management. They have little or no opportunity
to specialize in one area. But other programs offer a choice during
the second year.
The Penn State Smeal Executive MBA program will start next fall
at the Gregg Conference Center in Bryn Mawr, the Main Line suburb
of Philadelphia (814-863-8512, www.psuemba.org). An open house was
held in Princeton last week, and another reception is scheduled for
Tuesday, April 30, at 6:30 p.m. in the Pyramid Club in Philadelphia
at 17th and Market streets. Graham Spanier, the university president,
and Judy Olian, dean of the Smeal College of Business, will attend.
Another open house will be at the site where the class takes place,
the Gregg Conference Center, which is part of American College, on
Thursday, May 2, at 6 p.m.
Cost: $75,000 for the two-year program. Dennis Sheehan teaches finance
at the Penn State’s State College campus and is the contact person.
A graduate of Georgetown, Class of ’73, with a PhD from the University
of California at Berkeley, he has been on the faculty at the
University
of Rochester, Purdue, the University of Chicago, and in Bern,
Switzerland.
Smeal’s State College professors will teach in the 22-month program.
With the third largest undergraduate business program in the country,
Smeal has seven academic departments and 10 research centers and
institutes.
In addition to traditional subject areas — marketing, management,
finance, real estate, accounting and information systems — it
offers courses in such areas as converging economies, supply chain
management, E-business, and entrepreneurship.
For the companies that sponsor their employees, the payback will be
substantial, says Sheehan. “The students will learn skills and
gain insights from world thought leaders that are immediately
applicable
on the job.” Students will work with faculty members on a
strategic
audit of the firm and also do strategy development for the most
critical
challenges identified.
Sponsoring companies will also benefit from the retention of their
best talent and better succession planning, says Sheehan. “Not
only does the company gain a more energized and motivated employee,
but it also receives the opportunity to network with other leading
firms participating in the program.”
Sheehan has taught under each of the possible schedules and much
prefers
the two-day overnight. “With one day a week, it feels like a job
— you go nine to five and you don’t quite get the feeling of being
in a campus setting. The residential component clearly adds $15,000
to $20,000 to the cost, but the students get more involved.”
Faculty
members join the students for the overnight stay, and even a student
who lives close by must participate. They love it, says Sheehan:
“I
never found a person who wanted to go home on Friday night.”
LaSalle University launched its technology-focusedExecutiveMBA program for medical, science, and technology professionals twoyears ago. Applicants must have a degree in engineering, computerscience, or the natural sciences plus seven years work experiencewith at least five years of that in management. Housed at the BucksCounty campus in Newtown, Pennsylvania, the 20-month program meetsalternating Fridays and Saturdays in Newtown. The cost for thecomplete48-credit program is $48,000, including books, meals, an orientationweekend at Princeton’s Doral Forrestal, the 12-day seminar in Europe— and a Pentium-class laptop (215-951-5113, www.lasalle.edu/emba).To emphasize the team approach, the five-semester program is plannedin the “lock-step” style, with a cohort group of 24-28students.The first year’s schedule includes statistics, financial andmanagerialaccounting, management and leadership, IT operational informationsystems, and business economics. Later courses include financialmarkets,marketing management, financial performance (control and measurement),financial statement analysis, competing in a global market, operationsand supply chain management, E-business, and evaluating emergingtechnologies.The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School also usesthe overnight program and requires its students to stay on campus(215-898-3430, www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba). One of the most selectivebusiness schools, it accepted only 25 percent of applicants in 2001.If the $114,900 tuition seems expensive, consider that the averagesalary of a Wharton EMBA student is $174,000, with the range from$53,000 to $4 million. Average increase in salary at the end of theprogram is 33.5 percent. Tuition includes the ground expenses fora week’s international study, but students pay their own airfare.Tuition at another overnight program, Villanova’s Collegeof Commerce and Finance is $70,000 (610-519-6443). The averagestudent is 36 years old and earns $130,000 a year. Applicationdeadlineis May 15 and school begins in mid August. Classes are held everyother weekend, from Friday at 9 a.m. to Saturday at 3:30 p.m., andstudents are required to stay on campus overnight. In the spring ofthe first year, students have a weeklong “internationalexperience.’Top Of PageOther ProgramsSt. Joseph’s Haub School of Business offers two executiveMBA options that alternate between Fridays and Saturdays(610-660-1692,www.sju.edu/emba). A one-year, 30-credit weekend program is for thosewho already have an undergraduate business degree; it costs $31,500and starts May 2. A 21-month, 48-credit, five-semester weekend programis $41,500 and starts August 26. This price includes tuition, meals(breakfast, lunch, snack), books, parking, and costs of anin-residencesession every semester plus an international travel week in thespring.Each classroom in Mandeville Hall, at 54th Street and City Avenuein Philadelphia, offers Internet access at every seat. Classes arevideotaped so students can review material they missed. All studentstake the same classes.Students are admitted on “rolling” basis (no particulardeadline)and last year approximately 74 percent of applicants were accepted.Maximum class size is 30, and there are 50 students in the twoclasses,with the average age 35. Fourteen percent are from the nonprofitsector,11 percent have advanced degrees, and three percent are titledpresident,CEO, or chairman.An open house will be held on Saturday, April 20 for theRutgersExecutive MBA program in the Graduate School of Management inNewark(973-353-5015, www.emba.rutgers.edu). Application deadline is June5. Classes meet all day on alternate Fridays and Saturdays at theschool’s Newark campus. Tuition for the 20-month program is $53,724for New Jersey residents and $63,896 for non-residents and is allinclusive, including meals and one in-residence per semester at theAT&T Learning Center in Basking Ridge. “All they do is show up,and we hand them for everything,” says the program administrator.Each class has about 50 people. Sixty-two percent of 2001 applicantswere accepted for the program, and 60 percent of them already holdadvanced degrees, while 90 percent of applicants live within 45 miles.This June the first-year students will go for 12 days to England,Poland, and Germany. This trip, conducted in association withCambridgeUniversity, costs $4,000 and is optional now but will soon bemandatory.Students vote on the electives to be offered in the second year. Thisyear’s second year curriculum offers international trade, advancedfinancial management, entrepreneurship, investment analysis, corporatemarketing/product innovation, managerial E-commerce, marketingstrategy,and debt instruments.Though most executive MBA programs require work experience, usuallyfive years, the Rutgers program requires 10 years of experience.Nearlyhalf of the students (48 percent) had their program paid for by theiremployers, and their after-degree salaries rose by 11.7 percent.Tuition for the executive MBA program at Temple University’sFox School of Business and Management is $43,000. Classes are heldone day a week, on alternate Fridays and Saturdays (215-204-4335,www.sbm.temple.edu/emba). The application deadline was April1. Eighty-two percent of applicants are accepted, and their averageage is 37. Eighty-eight percent of students live within 45 miles ofthe school. Twelve percent are from organizations with fewer than100 employees, and 25 percent are titled president, CEO, or chairman.There are approximately 30 students in each class, and they progressas a group through the entire program. At orientation, each studentis assigned to a regional team that remains intact throughout theprogram, meeting in person, or exchanging information via phone, fax,E-mail, or groupware.At Drexel University’s Lebow School of Business , tuitionfor the executive MBA program is $45,000 (215-895-2115,www.drexel.edu).Students may choose from an online, evening, or weekend schedule.The Fairleigh Dickinson University Silberman College ofBusiness Administration offers two executive MBA programs in Teaneck(201-692-2000, www.fdu.edu). A two-year 48-credit basic”managementMBA for executives” program is for those with at least seven yearsof management level experience.The application deadline is August 15 for the fall semester, andsessionsmeet on Fridays or Saturdays. An MBA for health systems executivesrequires five years of management experience. Both cost $42,750 andinclude everything, including a two-week seminar at Wroxton Collegein England. FDU has other master’s degrees, including an unusual MBAin pharmaceutical and chemical studies that can be taken in theevenings.Stevens Institute of Technology (201-216-5074) offersan Executive Masters of Technology Management at two locations —Piscataway and Morristown. Classes run Monday or Tuesday, 3:30 to9 p.m. The program runs six semesters and costs about $7,000 persemester.There is no residential component, but two Saturdays per semesterare spent on campus. Five years management experience is required.There is rolling admissions, but May applications are preferred.Top Of PageThree Years at NightIn addition to executive MBA programs, many area schoolsoffer part-time MBA programs. Among the most popular options is athree-year, part-time, evening schedule. Seton Hall University,Rutgers/Camden,Rowan University, Ramapo College, Rider University, the New JerseyInstitute of Technology, Monmouth University, and Georgian CourtCollegeall offer this option.Rider University’s part-time evening MBA costs $520 percredit hour (609-896-5036, www.rider.edu). Most students takingeveningand weekend courses complete the MBA in three years. Concentrationsare available in finance, marketing, global business, healthcare,and management. About 450 students are studying part-time, and about50 are going full time.New Jersey Institute of Technology School of Management’sMBA program in Newark costs $434 per credit for state residents, $597per credit for everyone else. That amounts to an overall fee of about$16,000 for residents, $22,600 for non-residents, plus $1,500 forother fees (973-596-3300, www.management.njit.edu/Rutgers University School of Business at Camden(856-225-6452,www.camden-sbc.rutgers.edu) costs $428.75 per credit for stateresidents,$640.75 for out of state. MBA tracks include international business,E-commerce, finance, management, and marketing. A joint degree programwith the law school offers an MBA/JD. Most students here take classespart-time, and classes are also offered in Atlantic County.Rowan University College of Business in Glassboro(856-256-4024,www.rowan.edu/mba) costs $295 and $472 per credit hour for stateresidentsand non-residents respectively. Overall program tuition is about$11,000for residents and about $17,000 for non residents.Seton Hall University ‘s Stillman School of Business inSouth Orange (973-761-9262, www.business.shu.edu) charges$646 per credit for part-time MBA courses. Master’s degrees are alsoavailable in law, international studies, health administration, andnursing.Georgian Court University in Lakewood (732-364-2200,extension660, www.georgian.edu) costs $340 per credit or $22,050 for theprogram.Monmouth University in West Long Branch (732-571-3434,www.monmouth.edu) costs $523 per credit. Up to 18 credits can bewaived.Programs include the general MBA, accounting, and healthcare, andeach requires a different number of credits, from 30 to 54.Ramapo College in Mahway (201-684-7080, www.ramapo.edu)charges $329 per credit hour for residents, $372 for non-residents.It is known for its cooperative education program.Previous StoryNext StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
