Md. MBA programs get entrepreneurial to meet new demands

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), May 19, 2006 by Joe Bacchus

The global business climate has shifted to the point where a simple knowledge of the basics is likely not enough to succeed.

Maryland universities have responded by tweaking their MBA offerings, which they say will give graduates core business knowledge while also providing the diverse skill set necessary to separate themselves from the MBA-wielding hordes.

Christine Morris, director of new program development at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said the university has gained approval for a professional master's program that can act as a template for new, specialized programs. That will dramatically cut down on the lengthy process of creating a new MBA program and having it accredited.

Industry often complains that higher education institutions are - slow to respond, and this is a way to respond to needs, Morris said.

For example, UMBC is modifying its engineering management program and developing a certificate program that concentrates on leadership skills, Morris said. The goal is to create students with all-around ability as well as business acumen.

William Agresti, co-director of The Johns Hopkins University's business programs, said the university has worked with the business community to determine exactly what skills they want in future workers. The answer? As many as possible.

As such, Hopkins offers dual MBA programs that provide traditional business lessons as well as instruction in fields such as public health and nursing.

All these specialties have their own body of knowledge, Agresti said. The more we do to understand all the range of issues gives our graduates the ability to hit the ground running.

He said Hopkins focuses on the sciences because of its own strengths - it has one of the top medical schools in the country - and because of Maryland's efforts to develop into a technology and biotechnology powerhouse.

The biosciences are just exploding, and we find there is a tremendous amount of talent both in science and in business, Agresti said. We're trying to bring those two together.

The University of Maryland, College Park has carved out its niche by marketing itself to business veterans who want the chance to become even more. Students in the university's executive MBA program have an average of 13 years of business experience, said Sharon R. Johnson, associate director of executive MBA recruitment and enrollment management.

You have a lot of individuals who have worked their way up the ranks, but don't have the skills to take it to the next level, Johnson said.

Johnson said the 18-month program - shorter than most MBAs - meets on weekends so students can continue with their regular jobs. The program also focuses on leadership and communication skills, with a series of group learning projects where students develop consulting programs for their actual companies.

Lee Dahringer, dean of the Sellinger School of Business and Management at Loyola College of Maryland, said the university has developed a 12-week, non-degree program called MBA Essentials. He said the mini-MBA program concentrates on a variety of business topics and is designed for people who do not necessarily have a lot of training in business.

The Catholic Jesuit school also places a major focus on business values and ethics, he said. Dahringer said the school believes the stress on social responsibility will produce business men and women who work not just toward the good of a company, but toward the good of society. The two need not be mutually exclusive, he said.