Getting to the Top Union MBA gives the edge |
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Getting to the Top Union MBA gives the edge |
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| For Steve Arendall, getting a Master of Business Administration degree was the next
logical step in his progression to becoming a college professor and part-time consultant
for industry. Once into the program at the University of Memphis, Arendall says, "A
light came on for me when I realized you could really use this stuff. It was definitely my
most enjoyable degree." Arendall went on to receive his doctorate from the University
of Tennessee in corpo-rate strategy and organizational psychology. Lately that light has been coming on more often and for more students. In the past 20 years, the number of schools in the United States offering the MBA has grown from 389 in 1974 to more than 700 by 1996. Union began its own MBA program in 1994 through the university's McAfee School of Business Administration. Arendall began teaching at Union in 1990. In 1997 he became the Director of the MBA program on Union's Germantown, Tenn. campus. Arendall claims the attractiveness of the MBA degree is two-fold. The most popular aspect of the degree is its prom-ise of helping its graduates move up the corporate ladder. Both Arendall and Barbara Perry, director of the MBA program on the Jackson campus, cite statistics that point to rapid promotion for MBA graduates. Within two years about 50 percent of MBA graduates are promoted. Of that number 50 percent are promoted two levels, they say. But not everyone is looking for a promotion; some just crave more knowledge about business and management, Arendall says. Whatever the reason, most MBA programs are designed to help corporate employees become or prepare to become more proficient managers in their various fields. Cindy Binkley, a current Union MBA-Jackson student, says she enrolled in the program looking for advancement. "I realized if I wanted to continue to move up, I would have to get an MBA. Not only does it give me the knowledge to manage well, but it also puts more authority behind my name," says Binkley, who is the systems and procedures project coordinator at Komatsu. Binkley claims she picked Union's program because of its customer-friendly philosophy. "As a single parent, I needed something that would work with the demands of my home life and full-time job," she explains.
But it's more than just convenient hours that keep students at Union, according to Perry. Professors make a concerted effort to give them the individual attention that larger universities sometimes don't. They often deliver textbooks straight to the classroom, instead of requiring their working students to dash to the campus bookstore in between meetings or on lunch break. "With a small school, the quality of their educational experience is better,"Arendall agrees. "No one has to fight a bureaucracy at Union." Interested students shouldn't think academic quality is sacrificed for convenience, Perry points out. She calls the program accelerated but not diluted. Union's MBA students are immersed in the fundamentals of business administration such as finance, economics and management. The program even throws in a twist with its ethical management course. Arendall says more MBA schools are starting to do the same, but only recently. Arendall believes the Union program offers the best of both worlds. Definite theoretical components are taught. Students are then asked to apply those theories to real-world case studies. Balance is the key, Arendall claims. "If an academic program becomes too applied, it becomes a trade school. You always need a base of theory." What's next for the Union MBA? |
Perry and Arendall believe the convenience of the program is what
draws more students each year. With Union's cohort structure, students are enrolled in the
MBA program in groups of about 25. They then make their way together, one course at a
time, one night a week for 18 months. Having to be away from home only one night a week
makes all the difference, Binkley says.