We just finalized our fall schedule for events, and I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was when I saw the entire season out in front of me. In addition to our normal “informational events” where we educate prospective students about our Executive MBA program we have philanthropic events (to support pediatric cancer research through our partnership with Dance Marathon), events celebrating “Women in Business” through our partnership with PINK Magazine, and events designed to help our vast alumni network connect after work at one of our many networking events. All in all, it’s a busy schedule - but one that will make the holiday season and our December 19th, 2008 early application deadline come fast. To learn more about our events visit our website www.smealemba.com!
One question that I get quite often with people is “what does my diploma have on it when I graduate?” The answer for us is simple - Masters in Business Administration from The Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of Business. With the Smeal EMBA the “E” refers to our delivery format, not our degree. With Smeal you get Smeal’s University Park faculty - a faculty recognized at top 20 in the world, and top 10 in the United States. With Smeal you get Penn State’s University Park degree - a degree that is ranked and recognized as a top MBA by every major MBA ranking publication. If you are looking to earn a degree that is ranked, recognized and respected the Smeal EMBA offers you one - in suburban Philadelphia, on weekends. Visit our website at www.smealemba.com to learn more.
What differentiates your program?
I love that question when I get it from prospective students - mainly because the answer is so simple - faculty. Faculty not only differentiates the Smeal program - it (faculty) is what makes any program, and ought to be one of the first things you look at when thinking about joining an executive MBA (any executive MBA). Sure, the Smeal EMBA program offers an unparalleled out of class room experience (networking, executive & career coaching, in-residence Friday’s with faculty/staff), but I would contend that it is the faculty have the biggest impact on your learning, and ought to be the lead of any discussion on the quality of the school. As an EMBA student at Smeal you can bet on one thing - at you will be taught by one of the best MBA faculty in the country.
In fact, at Smeal you get full time faculty members who have the academic credentials, teaching experience, and the real-world consulting experience you need to get a broad based up to date education. The mix of these three items (credential, teaching history, consulting) provide the student an education that can not be matched by programs who use faculty that sometimes hold full time jobs in addition to teaching or are retired executives who use personal experience to teach, or in some cases may even be less experienced than members of the student base.
If you have doubts about the quality of faculty and wonder whether faculty really make difference consider sitting in on a class to take a “test drive” of the class room environment. At Smeal you can sit in on a class as you your schedule allows, no matter what class is in session - we have only the best, and are proud to offer you a few minutes in the class to see for yourself.
One thing that always impresses me when I interview candidates is the level of engagement they have with philanthropic causes. “Giving Back” is something that differentiates the Smeal EMBA program, and as we look at multiple candidates we always try to establish if the Smeal program is a cultural fit for someone. And, it turns out that those who engage with their community by giving their time, talent or treasures to the community tend to be a good fit for Smeal.
Why? Because Smeal EMBA’s have been giving back to their community since the inception of the program. The inaugural class of 2004 donated $50,000 to the construction of the 200,000 square foot building that is now the home of the Smeal College at University Park. And, since 2006 the Smeal EMBA’s have joined all Penn State students and campuses in giving through Dance Marathon to the Four Diamonds Fund - a fund dedicated to providing care to, and finding a cure for pediatric cancer. Last year the Smeal EMBA raised more than $12,000 for this great cause in various ways. The EMBA program, students and for that matter Penn State students in general, have a culture of giving that is unparalleled. In 2007/2008, through Dance Marathon, the students of Penn State raised $6.6 million to help cure pediatric cancer.
You can only imagine my pride this past week when while planning for our annual “Dance Marathon” event we received a volunteer from every class (current & alum) to serve on the planning committee. Not only did we receive volunteers to serve, we started getting RSVP’s before we even sent the invitation! To quote Joe Paterno, “This (Dance Marathon) is what we mean when we say – We Are! Penn State!”
I enjoy wine, and I enjoy chocolate - in moderation. I never had thought, however, that these two things could be paired for an amazing taste experience. That all changed this past Friday when Traci Gentry, Director of Global Chocolate Innovation at The Hershey Company taught our students how to formally taste chocolate, how to describe the flavor nuances like a professional, and how to pair premium chocolate with readily available wines. The tasting included chocolates from Hershey’s extensive brand portfolio, including Cacao Reserve, Scharffen Berger, and Dagoba. My favorite was the “Raging Bull Zinfandel & Dagoba” pairing. Dagoba, an organic dark chocolate had (of all things) a chili pepper finish to it that was a very pleasant surprise and a great match to the spicy of zinfandel. For our students it was another experience and an example of the learning that happens outside of the class room on Friday nights when you are enrolled in the Smeal EMBA program.
What a great week! Tuesday we had an alumni networking event hosted by KPMG at their world headquarters in Manhattan, and Friday we we had an event at the Ace Center, a few miles outside of Philadelphia. On Saturday the members of the Smeal EMBA class of 2008 celebrated their completion of their MBA’s with friends, family and faculty in State College.At each of the networking events we had more than 50 attendees - from multiple years and multiple disciplines. At the celebration we had more than 400 attendees to support the graduating class of 50 students. Joe Paterno spoke briefly, congratulating the graduates and welcoming their families. Connections to the past and the future were “happening” everywhere and I, while tired from traveling and attending all the events, was proud once again to be a Penn Stater!
I get that question almost every week. And my answer is always the same - yes! But I always follow up with this - but it depends mostly on your own personal calculations for investment and how you want to calculate return. For most, the concept of ROI comes down to tuition cost versus increases in salary. For those people I provide this - 40% of our students report a salary increase of more than 10% (annually) since they received their MBA’s from Smeal. This is pretty substantial, when you consider that the Hay Group reported that US salary increases in 2007 were a mere 1.7%.
I tend to think that when looking at ROI there is more to the “I” than salary - just as I think the real investment in an executive MBA is more than the tuition (think time & effort). Our students agree, and when asked what they cite alternate items on the “R” side of the equation they add things like promotions, new opportunities, confidence to perform better or start new ventures, increased ability to lead, or an increased ability to give back to society.
What would you cite as an alternative to salary to measure ROI on an executive MBA?
I was pretty excited during an interview with a candidate this week when I asked him what has made him so successful, and his first answer was integrity. Later that night I went through my notes of my interviews for the week and found that while most of the prospective students I spoke with counted integrity as something that made them successful, no one led with it.
I found that exciting for a number of reasons, but mainly because it is further evidence to me that integrity is making a come back. Not only is it making a comeback in corporate america - it is becoming a focus at business school across the nation. But no where is that focus larger than at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business where since 2006 our MBA students and EMBA students have been signing an honor code - agreeing to integrate honesty, integrity, and accountability as foundational elements of the Smeal MBA experience. Today, as new MBA and EMBA students enter the program, they pledge to adhere to the tenets of the Smeal Honor Code and to hold their classmates accountable, too. To learn more about honor and integrity at Smeal click here.
One of the things I often hear from people I meet is how they have wanted to pursue an MBA for years but haven’t because of a whole host of reasons Are you one of those people? If you are, you are not alone.
In fact, if you are one of the people who has been thinking about getting an MBA for more than three years you are in the norm. In a recent survey our students indicated that they had been thinking about getting an MBA on average for three years. The range Smeal EMBA had been thinking of getting an MBA ranged from one year to thirty years. WOW! Thirty years…imagine not finding the time do something for thirty years, and then having the drive and determination to follow through! Or imagine thinking about an MBA for one year, and then having the ability to pull the trigger and do it!
My follow up question to all of our respondents was “what finally made you do it?” What we found was interesting, and we added a page to our website to capture their sentiment. It’s called “Too Busy?” and can be seen by clicking here.
My question for you is how long have you wanted to pursue an MBA? I guess my second question is - how much longer are you going to wait?
This is the first blog entry for the Smeal Executive MBA team. My name is Jake Ray and I am the Managing Director of the Smeal EMBA program. In addition to having the honor of working for the Smeal College of Business I am also a graduate of the Smeal College. In fact I was in the first graduating class of the executive MBA program in 2004. At the time I was workign in the steel industry - living in Florida, on assignment in Portland, Oregon and commuting to Philadelphia on weekends for class. It was a busy time for me, but I wouldn’t trade my experience, network and learning for anything. The Smeal EMBA program changed my life – at work, and at home, and as the Director of the program I invite you to learn more about the program and the many offerings we have that help students accomplish their goals. If you have a moment read through the posts or visit our website (www.smealemba.com) to learn more. If you want, call me at 866 999 3622 to learn why I believe this EMBA program is truly one of the best in the region.