The main College of Business building at MMC. Photo courtesy of FIU via Creative Commons’ flickr.
Madeline Noda/Staff Writer
Applications for part-time and flexible programs, such as executive M.B.A programs, are down, according to the annual survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council; the Council oversees the Graduate Management Admission Test standardized entrance exam for many business schools.
The global recession of 2007 took a toll on the global economy, including M.B.A. programs, said the National Bureau of Economic Research.
But since 2009, programs worldwide have reported stable or increasing applications for the first time. The University’s Chapman Graduate School of Business has seen stability in both applications and enrollment.
During the recession, the school has offered more M.B.A. programs with much more flexibility so students can pursue their education at their own pace.
“Almost always when there is some kind of downturn in the economy, schools see an uprise in applications. People may not have the ideal job scenario and turn to school as an option to get back on their career trajectory,” said Erin Dowd, associate director of Recruitment and Marketing and M.B.A. programs.
“Many of the M.B.A. programs implemented since the recession are more flexible and geared towards students who want to go to school in conjunction with earning a paycheck,” Dowd said.
The school of business currently offers eight M.B.A. programs and 11 specialized masters programs. There are three professional M.B.A. programs, which are offered to those with a couple years of work experience and two Healthcare M.B.A programs which are offered, both in-class and online.
“The healthcare industry is one of the registries that really resonated within the market. So our healthcare program has grown really strong since its beginning in 2010,” said Dowd.
The corporate M.B.A. program is one of the new programs that was added to the school in 2010 and it is offered fully online.
“It was designed for folks who are balancing personal commitment via family or work commitment. So we have seen steady enrollment beginning 2011 with 600 plus student year in just the corporate M.B.A. program alone,” said Dowd.
The professional M.B.A. Flex program is another successful program that was implemented in 2011. It allows students to alternate from a classroom setting to the online component. The enrollment and applications number have increased significantly during the recession with this new and flexible program.
Also, there is the international M.B.A. program, which is the full-time program that has been around for quite a while and along with the Executive M.B.A program that’s been running for more than 15 years.
“We have had a steady enrollment of around 3000 students for a couple years now. Even through the economic depression, MBA programs are still flourishing here at FIU. In fact we are enrolling more MBA students than any other program in South Florida,” Dowd said.
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