Editor: Keith Davis Writers: Alex Dippold, Dave Maley Publisher: Office of Public Information Volume 22, No. 6   November 1, 1999

College Prepares to Offer M.B.A. Program Pending approval by the New York State Education Department, the Ithaca College School of Business could admit its first class of students in a new master of business administration degree program in the fall of next year. The program has been designed to provide a broad view of organizational performance from the perspective of general management. It is geared primarily to students who have earned their undergraduate degree from Ithaca College, though not necessarily from the School of Business. "One in three college-educated workers in the United States has a graduate degree, and according to a recent survey of our own students, nearly two-thirds of them report that they plan to go on for an M.B.A.," says School of Business dean Robert Ullrich. "Most M.B.A. programs are structured in a way that limits the options of applicants. They can quit work and study full-time, attend classes part-time two nights a week for five or six years while managing a career and family, or attend classes weekends in an executive program. We are offering a fourth option: to remain at Ithaca College for an additional year to complete the graduate degree before launching a career." The program will consist of 30 credit hours of study, offered in a single academic year. Candidates will complete seven required courses, five of which are in the functional areas of accounting, finance, management, marketing, and operations management. remaining two required courses address the challenge of managing in a global economy and the integration of functional knowledge in strategic decision making. Students will complete the program by taking three additional courses in an elective track. While intended primarily for full-time students, courses will be scheduled in late afternoon and early evening to permit enrollment of a limited number of part-time students. The program will be available to four-year college graduates, regardless of baccalaureate major. Applicants from Ithaca College must have completed, at a minimum, the new 24-credit hour management minor (as well as five prerequisite courses) along with either the Public Communication or Business and Professional Communication course. Equivalent preparatory courses will be required of graduates of other colleges and universities. Typically, students will apply to the program in their senior year of undergraduate study. Students may also apply as juniors and be guaranteed admission to the program upon graduation, contingent upon satisfactory completion of remaining degree requirements and maintenance of an appropriate grade point average. Ullrich points out that it is not typical of M.B.A. programs to enroll candidates immediately following their completion of undergraduate study. "Many programs require students to have worked for several years before resuming their studies, though professions such as law, medicine, and engineering encourage students to complete their graduate professional studies immediately after college. That is what we intend to do." The application form for the program will include biographical information, an essay, official transcripts of all course work undertaken at Ithaca College and elsewhere, GMAT scores, and letters of recommendation. Applications will be reviewed to determine whether the M.B.A. program will be compatible with the prospective student’s career interests, how the student will contribute to the learning experience of other students enrolled in the program, and whether the applicant has demonstrated requisite communication skills. Students who require financial aid should apply for assistance at the time they apply for admission to the program. Tuition waivers in the amount of one-quarter, one-half, and full tuition will be granted on the basis of relative academic merit and, to a lesser extent, financial need. Recipients of tuition waivers, regardless of the amount of the waiver, will be expected to work approximately 10 hours per week each semester under faculty supervision on research or administrative tasks.