Executive MBA Program fills need for many professionals returning to school
By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor 217-244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu
When Rita Schulte, membership director at WILL-AM-FM-TV, was considering returning to school to earn a master’s of business administration degree after a hiatus from the classroom of more than 30 years, she had some trepidation. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in college and I was thinking, ‘Am I going to be able to study? Am I going to be able to remember this?’ ” said Schulte, who had earned her master’s degree in library science in the early 1970s and a bachelor’s degree in history with minors in biology and philosophy before that. But Schulte’s fears were allayed by a representative of the UI’s Executive MBA program when she impulsively decided to attend an information session at the Champaign Country Club one night. “One of the people I spoke with said, ‘Oh, yeah? So you think all 18-year-olds have got focus?’” That was in April 2004. Last fall, Schulte began the program and is loving it. The EMBA program is an accelerated curriculum that enables seasoned managers and professionals to earn a master’s of business administration degree after completing 18 courses.
The program is structured so that busy professionals can earn their MBA degrees with minimal disruption to their careers. Classes meet every other weekend for two full days – Fridays and Saturdays – at the Illini Center in downtown Chicago. Classes begin in mid-September with a four-day residential session in which students participate in orientation activities and begin taking foundation-level courses. During a second residential session in the spring at the Urbana campus, students visit with leaders in the Champaign business community in addition to taking core-level courses that include simulation exercises. Every summer, students have a one-month break during August, and they complete the program in April – 20 months after they started it. The curriculum is a “lock-step curriculum”: People start and end the program with the same classmates. At the outset, students develop competence in critical disciplines such as accounting, marketing and quantitative and statistical methods. Once that foundation is laid, the curriculum focuses on the tools and concepts of cross-functional and enterprise-level problem solving, strategic thinking, leadership and international business. The international business module engages student teams consultatively with non-U.S. executives of global companies to analyze problems and opportunities faced by their organizations. Students present their recommendations to the organizations’ leaders during a 10-day European trip, which is a degree requirement. “In past years, students have worked on issues ranging from new product positioning in the international automotive market to e-commerce for a major consumer goods manufacturer,” said Robert van der Hooning, director of executive education. “Of course, presenting a solution to European operating executives in the boardroom of a foreign company where English is the second or third language is a challenge our students never forget.” To help students hone their teambuilding and leadership skills – and help them balance the demands of the program with their busy professional and personal lives – instructors divide each cohort into study groups, ensuring that each group comprises members with an array of professional expertise and experience.
Students typically spend at least 15-20 hours each week on assignments, including classroom work and computer and research work, some of which they complete independently and some in collaboration with their study groups in person or by teleconference or computer. “I enjoyed the fact that it is a program that is intensively taught, giving a broad brush of all the business disciplines, but you’re in the program with seasoned professionals – that is really what makes it,” said Rich Vogen, a recent graduate of the program who is coordinator of resource and data planning in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. “It was challenging, particularly in terms of balancing work life and family life with the academic program, but that’s what made it fun.” Schulte agreed: “It’s long days, but it’s really worth it. Each week, it’s something different. It’s enjoyable to take yourself out of the day-to-day routine, and it’s exciting to be with the people in the program who are fun, but still very serious people, winners and achievers.” Most students have 15 years’ or more professional experience, which enriches discussions in and out of the classroom. Moreover, renowned leaders from the business community, politics and the nonprofit sector speak to classes and lead discussions on a variety of applicable topics. Vogen said that the program’s structure fosters a “fairly intimate environment, so there’s a lot of interchange between students and professors.” Schulte also gave high marks to the program’s faculty members and administrators. “They have worked very hard to make this a valuable experience for everybody, so that people get everything they possibly can from every minute,” Schulte said. “There have been a couple of times that I’ve called them and said, ‘I just don’t get it,’ and their response was, ‘Come here. Sit down and tell me what you don’t get.’” Since the program aims to complement students’ professional lives by preparing them to tackle greater management responsibilities – or bolster the success of entrepreneur’s enterprises – many students’ tuition and fees are partially or fully sponsored by their employers. Total tuition for the program is $74,000, which includes meals, books, a laptop computer and lodging on Thursday nights for students who travel more than 100 miles to attend. The EMBA program, which was founded in 1975, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. In November 2004, the Financial Times ranked the program at No. 11 in the U.S. and No. 25 among EMBA programs worldwide. However, Schulte said some people are puzzled by her tackling the program at this point in her career. She has been employed at WILL for 24 years and is responsible for raising approximately $2 million annually to support the station and its programs. “People are baffled a little bit. They ask, ‘Why would you want to do that now?’ ” Schulte said. “Well, because it’s a chance to make yourself better and what you do better. Everybody around you is going to benefit. I think that the fundraising I do here supports people that do some very valuable things. I have a responsibility to see that I do it well, do it faster, cheaper and more effectively.”
Provost funds one scholarship The Office of the Provost will fund one two-year scholarship to an applicant from the Urbana campus who is accepted into the FY06 Executive MBA program. Details about the scholarship and application deadlines. Application information Information sessions During information sessions, prospective students can meet current students, alumni, faculty and staff members. RSVP: emba@illinois.edu or 312-575-0900. Upcoming sessions: Thursday, April 21 at 5 p.m. Hyatt Regency at Woodfield 1800 Golf Road, Schaumburg Tuesday, April 26 at 5 p.m. Hyatt Lisle 1400 Corporetum Drive, Lisle Tuesday, May 3 at 5:30 p.m. Hyatt Deerfield 1750 Lake Cooke Road, Deerfield Friday, May 6 at 4 p.m. Illini Center, 4th floor 200 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago
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