Even in challenging economic times, the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree holds its value as a tool for job security and career advancement.

“The MBA gives you an edge, both on your resume and on your ability to do the Job,” says Edgewood College MBA graduate Neil Fauerbach, partner and director of Business Development and Marketing for Middleton-based accounting firm Smith & Gesteland.
The value of an MBA is validated in a recent Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) 2008 Alumni Perspective Survey that indicates 2008 grads had on average 2.7 job offers and reported a median salary increase from those working for the same employer of 21% after graduation. Those who earned their MBA in the year 2000 today report an average annual salary (including additional compensation) of $145,000.

Even in challenging economic times, the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree holds its value as a tool for job security and career advancement. “The MBA gives you an edge, both on your resume and on your ability to do the Job,” says Edgewood College MBA graduate Neil Fauerbach, partner and director of Business Development and Marketing for Middleton-based accounting firm Smith & Gesteland.

The value of an MBA is validated in a recent Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) 2008 Alumni Perspective Survey that indicates 2008 grads had on average 2.7 job offers and reported a median salary increase from those working for the same employer of 21% after graduation. Those who earned their MBA in the year 2000 today report an average annual salary (including additional compensation) of $145,000.

According to a GMAC 2008 Application Trends Survey, the number of MBA applications taken in 2008 increased by 10% over 2007, with especially strong increases in full-time programs.

“It makes sense with full-time programs, that people may opt out of their job, leave for a couple years and come back with a stronger economy and better credentials,” says Dr. Jeanne Simmons, associate dean of the College of Business Administration at Marquette University.

Whether it’s future or current job security, many business professionals are willing to invest time and dollars for an MBA. According to the Trends Survey, 77% of the institutions surveyed report application increases – the highest level in five years.

“Going to business school is one of the best ways to improve your marketability and expand your options anytime – but especially in this challenging economic climate,” said Dave Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC. “The dramatic increase in applications for slots in graduate business programs that is reflected in our survey is a sure sign that people recognize the value of investing in an MBA. The ROI on an MBA continues to be strong.”

Choices

Wisconsin MBA programs today are structured to accommodate the busy schedules of working professionals. Programs are more specialized, with a focus on international issues and ethics education. Customization is the trend in most programs.

Executives pursuing an MBA today can choose from full-time, part-time or executive programs. They can take classes on campus, online or a combination. They may opt for a general MBA or choose from a range of specialization.

Perhaps the ultimate in customization is found at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s new Manager’s Program, part of the school’s Enterprise MBA Programs, along with its evening and executive MBA.

“Our Managers Program is our most innovative and newest offering. It is actually a customized executive MBA created in tandem with a corporate partner for their employees,” states Deborah Mitchell, executive director of UW- Madison’s Enterprise MBA Programs.

The Manager’s Program debuted in January 2008 with corporate partner Kohl’s Corp. in Menomonie Falls. Along with core leadership courses are industry and company-focused examples and cases, reports Mitchell. “Everything we do with the managers program is applicable. They can take it right back to their jobs the next day and use it. It is very hands-on learning, relevant to the work place.”

Corporate partners in the Manager’s Program view this as a recruiting and retention tool, says Mitchell. “It is a way for them to differentiate themselves in going after and keeping top talent, by saying, ‘here you have access to an executive MBA from a premium business school. It is just one sign of our commitment to developing our people.’”

Students participating in the Manager’s Program enjoy convenient access to courses conducted by UW-Madison faculty two nights a week onsite at the Kohl’s Corporate Headquarters.

“People can go to work in the morning and at the end of the day, have a break and go right into the classroom. It’s seamless,” states Mitchell.

UW-Madison is in the process of recruiting for its next cohort for the Managers Program.

Mitchell also reports very strong interest and demand in the evening and executive MBA programs, though she anticipates possible decline in employer sponsorship.

“We haven’t seen a big drop off, but we are watching that closely. We know that with the economy there will be some companies potentially that will be affected and may not be in a position to provide as much support as they have in the past.”

Some employees regroup

Lakeland College has seen an increase across the board for all of its graduate programs, reports Erin Kohl, director of Lakeland’s Green Bay Center.

“We’ve found that in tough economic times adults returning to school tends to increase,” says Kohl.

Lakeland offers several options for its MBA students, including a general MBA and an MBA with concentration in accounting, finance, project management and health care management.

Lakeland currently has 511 MBA students across seven centers. Its MBA program is very student driven, offering flexibility in the number of classes students take each semester. Students also have a unique option called BlendEd.

“With BlendEd, a person gets to choose week to week, if they want to attend class in person or online,” explains Kohl. “So if they have a sick child, a work meeting, or they are traveling, they have another option rather than just missing class and missing the material that is covered. We are the only school that offers this.”

Lakeland regularly seeks input from the business community in planning its curriculum. Most recently it sought input in developing its health care management concentration.

“We have folks at our main campus in Sheboygan who worked with health care providers in different regions in the state to determine what they felt was needed in the curriculum,” says Kohl. “That really helped build the coursework that would be relevant in the workplace.”

Meeting unique needs

Marquette University in Milwaukee offers a 17-month executive MBA program with full day Friday and Saturday courses that meet bi-weekly.

“That schedule tends to work for people who have to travel a lot,” says Dr. Simmons of the Marquette Graduate School of Management.

Students also have two periods of residency: an initial Immersion Week and an eight-day international trip.

“Our program is really geared toward people who are working full time and want to get it done quickly,” adds Simmons.
Marquette’s regular MBA is offered in a flexible format.

“You don’t have to declare that you want to be full time or part time. Especially in today’s economy, that has been useful,” says Simmons. “Students who find they are out of a job, but were part way through the MBA program, can now go full time, finish it and get back into the workforce with an MBA.”

Simmons stresses that businesses sending employees through the MBA program feel the benefits not just at the end of the program.

“Students are learning from the faculty and from each other, trying things out in their company, bringing it back and getting feedback from others. It helps them to be a little more innovative in their thinking, to think broader than what their original focus was. So they are seeing beyond their own job – a little more strategic thinking.”

Marquette has 532 students enrolled in its MBA program across its campuses in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Kohler and two off-site locations. Eighty-five percent of Marquette students work full time and go to school part time.

“The program at Marquette has really rounded me out as a professional. A lot of individuals, myself included, view this advanced degree and going through this MBA program as creating an opportunity either for further career opportunities or for mobility,” says current Marquette MBA student Joe Damm.

Complemented by work experience

Edgewood College MBA graduate Luella Schmidt says she waited the exact amount of time before seeking her MBA.

“So I had the right amount of work experience to really make a lot of the classes relevant,” says Schmidt, founder and owner of Madison-based Fine Point Consulting, provider of part-time CFO and controller services for small businesses.

The business plan Schmidt wrote as a requirement for a capstone course on strategic management became the blueprint for the business she started a few years later.

“To me the MBA program was really helpful, because I don’t know if I would have gotten to this point without it,” notes Schmidt.

Edgewood College was the first in the Madison area to offer an evening MBA program, which started in the mid 1980s.

“At that point we had a fairly generic curriculum that was broad based. That was what the marketplace needed. Now with so many [MBA programs] coming into this marketplace – including online, for-profit, other types of institutions using satellite – we really felt the need to communicate how distinct we are,” says Scott Campbell, School of Graduate and Professional Studies dean at Edgewood College.

The increased competition has impacted Edgewood’s enrollment, which has decreased from 300 a decade ago to 200 in 2008. Competition has also led to program changes.

“We knew that we were priced at the premium end. We knew we had to drop the price or add value, and we have really done some things to add value, including a global immergence trip.”

Edgewood also added internship programs and an Executive Speaker Series that connects students with area business leaders.
“And we’ve started a student-managed investment fund with our eyes on developing an applied securities program that would prepare people for a financial planning career path,” adds Campbell.

Campbell notes that while some businesses may be pulling back tuition benefits, others are becoming more aggressive.

“We met with some in the insurance industry that are very concerned about the brain drain that is going to happen in that industry in the next 10 years, and they really need their workforce to be retooled.”

An MBA benefits both the employer and the business professional. Edgewood grad Fauerbach, whose company, Smith & Gesteland, sponsor’s Edgewood’s Speaker Series, attests, “There wasn’t a single class I took that I didn’t find something that I could apply the next day, whether that was strategic planning, leadership, business development – every single class I had from ethics to accounting to strategic management, marketing or organizational development – there was something I could apply immediately.”

By Leah Call

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