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Students at GSU’s Alpharetta Center bring plenty of management experience to the classroom. (click for larger version) | |
July 28, 2008
Georgia State University's Professional MBA program focuses on creating business leaders who will work and currently are working in a global economy, said Angela Raub, director of the program.
Active business people are in the classroom, all coming in from different points of management and with different experience levels. Each has at least four years of management experience. The program uses a cross-function curriculum so each student can gleam more from studies.
By staying with the same group, students get a deeply rich network built and established over two years.
"Not only do you learn from your world-class faculty, but you learn from all diverse backgrounds, cultures and educational degrees that are in that classroom," Raub said.
The students bring an average of seven years' management experience with them to participate in a curriculum rated No. 5 in the country, she said.
"They are definitely working full time," she said.
"I think many people are going back for their MBA because the MBA degree now is what the undergrad degree was 20 years ago. If they really want to get to the next rung on the corporate ladder, they need to get their MBA or some form of master's degree," Raub said.
"It's not for the faint of heart, but it's definitely designed for working professionals," Raub said.
She said the benefits are great, with 100 percent of the students in GSU's inaugural Alpharetta group receiving pay and title increases during the two years they were in the program, all prior to graduation.
"You get a Mercedes education at Robinson for a Toyota price," she said.
A look at other top 10 ranked schools shows an average cost of $90,000. Raub said GSU's program costs approximately $30,000 for a Georgia resident.
Classes are held every Thursday, from 5:45 to 9:45 p.m., and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. every other week. It is a 24-month, 2-year lock step program. Raub said if a student starts in the MBA program at Alpharetta in January 2009 (the next time a program starts at the center), that person will stay with the same group for two years. The downtown and Henry County campuses start classes in the program in the fall.
GSU offers MBA flexibility
The Alpharetta center has more than the Professional MBA program. It also offers the Flexible MBA program, which has been ranked in the top 5 in the country for the past 13 years.
In the Flex program, students have three to five years to complete their studies, and can attend full or part time – hence the flexibility for the student.
Four years ago, GSU surveyed the Alpharetta area for market research, finding that students who had been admitted to the school's MBA program did not complete their studies. The good news for GSU was that the students did not move to another business school as they could not find a place that fit their schedule. From that research in Alpharetta came the start of GSU's Flexible MBA program.
"They actually designed their own format based on that research," Raub said.
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