Questrom Dean Discusses Future of Business Education
In a recent article in BostInno, Boston University’s Questrom School of Business dean Ken Freeman discussed the future of business education and how BU is adapting to the future of the business world. According to the article, “Approximately 50 percent of what business schools teach is out of date within two years of graduation,” said Freeman. In order to keep up with changing trends in business and to help students enrolled in the Questrom MBA program, the school has started to develop new opportunities for students to bridge the gap between what current students are learning and what employers know now.
BU Digital Learning Initiative Looks to Expand MOOC Offerings for BU Credit
Boston University first launched its Digital Learning Initiative in 2013. Two years later, the team of BU faculty led by Questrom School of Business professor of information systems, Chrysanthos Dellarocas, have launched their first set of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The team is now looking to expand the digital outreach of BU. The university has planned to offer MOOCs for a minimal fee that will give course participants credit if they enroll in a Boston University program after completion of the online course.
These course will be designed for professionals who are looking to build upon their current knowledge and skills in a particular industry. The first of these courses, designed for practicing lawyers, will debut in October. The course is titled “Legal Risk Management Strategy for Multinational Enterprises.” The course is open to any qualifying professional, in any country around the world, just as a regular MOOC would be.
Questrom Welcomes Dr. Howard Thomas as Visiting Professor
The Questrom School of Business at Boston University will welcome Dr. Howard Thomas, Ph. D. as the Ahmass Fakahany Distinguished Visiting Professor for the 2015-2016 academic year. Dr. Thomas, a strategic management and management education author and scholar, will help to advance and expand the global education programs at Questrom. The initiatives that Dr. Thomas will aid with include hosting focused Jam sessions within major global conferences and developing webinars to address specific Jam findings in praetorship with the Financial Times.
The Jam is a series of 10 discussion forums, held over 60 hours, that features live discussions and comment postings by VIP guests and forum participants. Dr. Thomas will also help to develop research on how deans use the Jam as a platform for leading discussion on strategic options and how educators can close the gap between industry and academia. The next online global conversation that will focus on shaping global business education is planned to be held in the first half of 2016.
Questrom EMBA Ranked No. 1 in New England
The Executive MBA program at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business has been ranked no. 1 in New England by The Economist. The program was also ranked no. 49 in the country by the same publication. These rankings are the second of the bi-annual rankings of EMBA programs done by The Economist. The Economist ranks programs on personal development/educational experience and career development.
In order to complete the rankings, schools with EMBA programs classified their own programs as EMBA. A program can be classified as an Executive MBA program if it is a part-time program that is designed for students who have significantly more work experience than those who are completing their full-time MBAs.
The rankings were based on data that was collected through web-based surveys. One questionnaire was filled out by business schools. These surveys included questions on the details of students and faculty, the number of overseas assignments required and statistics on alumni. The second survey was given to current students and alumni from the last three graduating classes of the surveyed schools. Seven thousand questionnaires were completed.
The Executive MBA program at the Questrom School of Business is an 18-month part-time program that begins in January. Students in the program have an average of 15 years of work experience and 9 years of managerial experience. The EMBA program at Questrom is focused around five different modules. The modules cover topics that range from financial accounting, marketing and data analysis to business law and ethics, technology, international business and entrepreneurship. The program also features case discussions, team-based learning and an international residential session.
More information on the Questrom School of Business and other top ranked business schools in the Boston area can be found at metromba.com.
Questrom Joins School of Law for Accelerated JD/MBA Program
The Questrom School of Business and the Boston University School of Law will launch a new, accelerated JD/MBA program beginning this fall. Students can complete this new dual-degree program can be completed in three years rather than the five years it would take to complete each degree separately.
Students in the program will complete a mix of law and business courses throughout the entirety of the program, including a full load of courses during the summer of the first year. In the summer of the second year, students will be free to take on internships in law firms or other settings.
BU Alumni Gift Renames School of Management
Boston University has announced that the Boston University School of Management has been renamed the Questrom School of Business in honor of alumnus Allen Questrom and his wife Kelli. The couple recently donated a gift of $50 million to the School through their Allen and Kelli Questrom Foundation. The gift will go to the endowment of 10 faculty chairs and enable planning to establish a new graduate program facility. The gift is the largest gift in the University’s history.
The new graduate program facility will be an addition of new 60,000-square-foot classroom space that will connect to its existing building. James Post, emeritus professor of markets, public policy and law, calls the donation shows that the Questroms recognized that physical space shapes an organization’s culture. “We cannot be the kind of school we aspire to be without the necessary square footage,” said Post.
