Who are the Most Important Female Leaders in Business School Today?
Being a woman in business isn’t easy. While the industry works to improve gender equality, there is still a long way to go. Currently, women only hold 18.1 percent of directorships at publicly held companies. According to the latest report from MSCI, a research and analytics firm for investors, it could be until 2027 before women fill 30 percent of those roles.
And women in business school face similar struggles. Just five years ago, only three of the top 25 schools in the United States had 40 percent or more women enrolled in its MBA programs. And while, currently, nearly half have reached that mark, gender parity is still a ways off. Part of the struggle has to do with female leaders in business school. Currently, there’s only one female dean at a top-tier business school, and there are few other women who’ve made it to the top of their business schools as deans.
The challenges faced by female business school leaders are myriad, which is why we felt it was so important to recognize those women who’ve become prominent leaders in business schools around the world. Continue reading…
What are the Best Healthcare MBAs You Can Find in New York City?
New York City is not only home to a number of the finest business schools in the world—it’s also where you can find some of the best healthcare programs this country has to offer. Continue reading…
How Fast Can You Earn an MBA?
The process of earning an MBA is an exciting and often transformational time in someone’s life—and for some people, the faster you can get through it, the better.
The benefits of earning an MBA, such as increased post-graduate salary, career advancement potentials, and development of a strong business network, remain true regardless of how long it takes to complete your degree program. Completing your degree quickly just means reaping the benefits faster, while limiting the amount of time without an income.
MBA graduates are a diverse group—not only are they rising business leaders, but they are also parents, community organizers, and working professionals. With so many different types of MBA programs available, such as Online or Accelerated MBAs, students can choose the best program for their busy life and time constraints.
The average time it takes to complete your MBA can vary depending on the school, program, and type of degree. Below, we’ve rounded up the most important information regarding the average program length and schedule for a variety of MBA programs throughout and beyond the United States.
How Fast You Can Earn a Full-Time MBA?
With so many options to truncate the amount of time it takes to complete an MBA, it may seem strange that someone would still choose to pursue a full-time degree. Nevertheless, there are still numerous benefits to pursuing your MBA full time. Among these benefits is the increased opportunity for full-time students to get fully involved in the goings on of their university and business school. From student organizations to case competitions to hands-on experiences, full-time students have committed their full schedule to their business education and most certainly reap the benefits when it comes to skills and network development. Furthermore, taking time off of work to pursue your degree full-time leaves you open for more opportunities- such as traveling for study abroad, business plan competitions or corporate visits- that likely wouldn’t be possible for someone working while they’re in school.
The average full-time MBA degree today typically require around 30-60 credit hours, with variation depending on the program. With the typical course load asking students to take three courses (nine credits) per semester, the average full-time MBA can be expected to be completed in two full years. Most full-time programs begin in August or September and take four semesters for students to complete their required work, earning their degree by May or June of the second year.
Since the number of credits required by a particular program can vary, some full-time MBAs may be able to be completed faster than two years. Whereas programs like the full-time MBA at NYU’s Stern School of Business takes two years and requires 60 credits, a program like the full-time MBA at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business can be completed in as few as 16 months.
How Fast You Can Earn a Part-Time MBA?
A part-time MBA is the perfect option for someone who doesn’t want to put their career on hold while they earn a degree. With a flexible and often self-paced schedule, students are able to complete their degree in a time frame that works best for them, with classes typically offered at night or on the weekends.
While the benefits of a flexible schedule are enormous, one downside is that taking less courses each semester will ultimately extend the amount of time it takes to complete your degree. Typically, students pursuing their MBA part-time will earn their degree in three years, but this can vary significantly—not just depending on the program, but the person! For example, the top part-time MBA program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management can take anywhere from 1.25 to five years to complete.
What About an Accelerated MBA?
It’s right there in the name—the Accelerated MBA is all about earning a quality business education quickly and jumping right back into work. Most accelerated MBA programs can be completed in just twelve months if pursued full-time, or twenty-four months on a part-time schedule.
Of course, completing a degree in this length of time takes an impressive commitment. Unlike other programs that have winter and summer breaks between the semesters, many Accelerated MBA programs have shortened vacation periods and will require students to continue working throughout the summer.
Not every school offers a One Year or Accelerated MBA options, but those that do take these programs seriously and ensure that the same quality education received in a full-time degree program can be provided to students in just one year. Programs like the One Year MBA at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School boast impressive statistics, such as a 5:1 student to faculty ratio and a 93 percent success rate for graduates receiving employment within three months of completing their degree.
Is An Online MBA a Faster Option?
The world of Online MBAs is a diverse one with a wide array of options to choose from. Really, the only commonality between all online programs is where the classes take place—online! These programs provide for maximum flexibility where students can pursue their education from the comfort of their own homes—or wherever the world may take them.
Online MBAs come in all shapes and sizes, but typically require an average of around 30 credit hours. Depending on the university schedule, this can take up to two years to complete. At Temple University’s Fox School of Business, for example, the Online MBA program can be completed in 20 months, and includes a one week long opening residency. Some schools may also offer their part-time or Accelerated MBA programs in an online format. At the Kogod School of Business at American University, their AACSB-accredited online MBA involves 48 total credits but can be completed in just one year.
What About an Executive MBA?
The Executive MBA is a program designed for professionals with several years of work experience under the belt, who are looking for an MBA education to enrich their professional experience and open new career opportunities. Since this degree is targeted towards working professionals, it is typically structured so that students can keep working full-time, taking classes in the evenings and weekends.
On average, Executive MBA programs will take up to two years to complete, though this is typically a very part-time schedule. One of the top ranked EMBA programs in the country is the Executive MBA at Fordham University Gabelli School of Business, which can be completed in 22 months by attending class for one three-day weekend per month.
From your first day of classes to graduation, a world-class business education is typically no more than two years away. However, the flexibility of many programs put the power in the student’s hands: important factors like your schedule, finances, and the impact of taking time off of work should all factor into your decision about what type of MBA to pursue.
Caught: Why Business Schools Might Lie to Improve Rankings
School rankings from sites like Forbes or U.S. News & World Report are often a crucial factor for students before they decide where they should pursue a degree. Using a combination of rankings, standardized test scores, job placement after graduation, and tuition costs, among other crucial factors, a school ranking a quick and succinct look at the relative merits and weaknesses of MBA programs throughout the country—and the world.
There is a lot riding on these rankings: not only do perspective MBAs often make decisions about where to pursue their degree based on these reviews, but graduates can use these rankings to demonstrate the quality of their degree to future employers. With such high stakes, organizations like U.S. News that compile these rankings rely on the accurate reporting of data from each business school.
So, what happens if the information is inaccurate, or worse? Data like student satisfaction and post-graduate salary—which can be so crucial in informing a prospective MBAs choice of school or program—is reported directly from the business schools, which often presents a conflict of interest potential. With so much at stake, would a school ever lie to increase their spot in the ranking?
Unfortunately, it seems the answer is yes. Just last week, the Online MBA program at Temple University’s Fox School of Business—a program that was consistently ranked in the top spot in U.S. News’ Online MBA ranking—vanished from the list. According to the initial announcement, new information had revealed that just 20 percent of Fox students in the Online MBA program had actually submitted test scores, a number that had initially been reported at a perfect 100 percent. Since the formula used by U.S. News weighs test score averages more if over 75 percent of students have submitted them, this inaccurate reporting from Temple Fox would have given the program an undeserved boost in the school ranking.
In the wake of Temple’s removal, questions continue to arise about the lengths schools go for good rankings/Photo via PhillyMag.
In the days since the initial announcement of Temple’s removal from the ranking, even more questions came out regarding the accuracy of Fox’s data. Further investigation found that Temple had reported 100 percent of students taking standardized admissions test for every year since 2014—a suspicious jump from the 25 and 33 percent that had been reported in the years prior. Since the test scores data submitted turned out to be inaccurate, it seems wholly possible that the data had also been misreported for the three years prior; the same years that Temple Fox held the top ranking for Online MBA programs.
This isn’t the first time it’s been discovered that business schools and even undergraduate programs have falsified or reported inaccurate data to boost its rankings. In 2013, Forbes was forced to remove four schools from its ranking of “America’s Best Colleges” due to inaccurate reporting: doctored SAT results from Bucknell University, false acceptance and graduation rates from Iona College, among others. In 2012, George Washington University lost its ranking on U.S. News’ “Best Colleges” list when it was discovered they were inflating the high school grades of their incoming students.
GWU was one of several schools in the past few years to submit false data for a rankings boost/via Huffington Post.
The problem may be even more far-reaching than some may suspect. In 2013, a survey of 576 college admissions officers found that 91 percent believed other colleges to be guilty of falsely reporting their admissions data. Even the school ranking creators themselves are shocked by this trend. In 2013, U.S. News editor Brian Kelly commented, “The integrity of data is important to everybody … I find it incredible to contemplate that institutions based on ethical behavior would be doing this.”
In 2005, the Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business (AACSB) took a deep look into this trend to examine why the issue of falsifying business school data might be so widespread. “Because rankings of full-time MBA programs are commonly presented under the label of ‘best b-schools,’ the public has developed a narrow definition about the breadth and value of business education,” the report states. Since most media rankings don’t consider factors like faculty research or doctoral education, MBA programs have become more likely to invest in more visible aspects of the program, such as facilities and marketing campaigns, which don’t actually deal with the quality of the degree. As a result, even high-quality programs may earn a lower media rank than they deserve based on the factors considered, adding pressure to do what it takes to earn a school ranking that matches what they perceive as the quality of the degree.
“Plenty of people apply to a school because it has reached the summit of a ‘best-of’ ranking, just as many people will see a movie or buy a book after it wins an award. That’s human nature,” Columbia Business School dean Glenn Hubbard told Fortune. “We want to experience the best.”
Whether or not placement in a school ranking truly represents the quality of a degree, it’s easy to see why the pressure is on for many admissions departments. A better school ranking can increase the number of applicants, providing for a more competitive, and diverse applicant pool, which creates a better quality admitted class. The cycle continues: success of these graduates can improve the possibility of future funding, providing more resources for the program and encouraging even more applicants to apply down the line.
“Rankings have become omnipresent in higher education, and they have enhanced the competition among institutions,” said Terry W. Hartle, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, in 2013. “And in any highly competitive environment, there is always a temptation to cut corners.”
For now, the Fox School of Business has been removed from the U.S. News Online MBA ranking. Concerns about false data continue to be evaluated, as organizations like AACSB continue to seek solutions and make recommendations for best practices when it comes to the collection and reporting of admissions data. In 2017, the AACSB publication “On Academic Rankings, Unacceptable Methods, and the Social Obligations of Business Schools,” suggested that schools and organizing bodies work together to find a method of data collection that includes “transparency, interpretability, and the empowerment of individual decision makers by whatever criteria truly suits their individual needs.”
For prospective students, its important to acknowledge this troubling but widespread trend as they make important decisions about where to earn a degree. While school ranking remains an easy way to compare programs against each other, students should consider not just the accuracy of the data but also the kind of factors reported in media rankings. While it seems possible that the number one program in a media ranking may not truly deserve that position, the real top program- the best for each individual’s needs and career goals—will always deserve first place.
Dr. Shanan Gibson Named New Dean of Commerce College of Business
The Texas A&M University – Commerce College of Business has recently named Dr. Shanan Gwaltney Gibson as the school’s new dean. Gibson comes to this new role from East Carolina University, where she served as the Associate Dean for Student & Faculty Development.
Rady School Continues Its AACSB Accreditation
Since being one of the youngest business schools to receive the AACSB accreditation in 2011, the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego has continued its commitment to advancing innovation and entrepreneurship. Thanks to that commitment, the Rady School earned an extension of its accreditation after a meticulous internal review and evaluation process. Continue reading…
