Iona College’s School of Business has announced a new “fast-tracked” MBA program, which will begin in Fall 2018.
Iona College is a private, Catholic education institute that was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in New Rochelle, New York. Located 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan in suburban Westchester County, it has a sprawling 45-acre campus.
Dr William Lamb, dean of the business school, told the Ionian, the School’s student-run newspaper, that the new program cuts the number of credits a graduate student must obtain from 57 to 39 credits.
It will make the program both cheaper and faster to complete for students wishing to pursue an MBA, he said in an email interview.
Dr Lamb said prospective students now have a choice of completing the MBA in 12 months of full-time study or taking up a job right after graduation and complete the MBA at Iona in less than two years—no matter which undergraduate major they had pursued.
The change in credits makes the program 30% cheaper for students, he said. The program now requires 24 core credits and 15 elective credits, according to Iona’s website.
While in the old program, a student could waive up to 24 credits if they received good grades in 8 core courses, such a waiver will not be part of the revised program.
A student was required to pick a concentration under the previous MBA program. Students can still choose one of seven concentrations, such as Marketing, Accounting, Information Systems or one of the multiple management concentrations.
“We created the new program so that it would be more attractive than what many other schools are offering—and more appealing to today’s students,” Lamb said. “Compared to the old program, it offers faster completion time, lower cost, more flexibility, and the same great faculty and courses we’ve always had.”
The program also does not require the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) scores. The process of introducing the new program began in the fall semester. The proposal had to be approved by the School of Business and the Committee on Academic Affairs.
Students will have the flexibility to complete the program at their own pace. Full-time students take 9-12 credits per term and typically complete the degree in 12 months. Part-time students typically take 6 credits per term and can complete the degree in 20 months.
The program has a rolling admission system. Students will be able to enter the program at any of five terms during the year – June, July, August, November or February.
Applicants should fill up the online application form. They should submit Official transcripts from all the colleges they had attended. One professional letter of recommendation also needs to be submitted.
International Students have to comply with additional requirements in the form of NACES evaluation of the transcripts and official IELTS or TOEFL scores.
The program offers 7 MBA concentration that provides students with an opportunity to focus on a specialized area of interest.
The Human Resource Management concentration prepares students to face the challenges that come with managing people. It provides insights into how people can be supported, developed, and more effectively managed along their career path.
Financial Management concentration would enable students to improve their ability to make financial decisions, even when faced with risk and uncertainty. It provides a theoretical base to examine real-world situations.
The concentration can include courses related to the operation of the financial system, financial strategy, investments, fixed income, derivatives, and international finance, among others.
Health Care Management concentration provides specialized content for those working in healthcare and those who wish to enter the healthcare industry. Courses in this concentration include healthcare industry analysis, health care management, health care finance, public health administration, long-term care services and ambulatory care management. Students will also take a selection of healthcare courses within your elective set.
The Management concentration provides the conceptual, analytical and creative skills needed in the management of private or public organizations. In this concentration, courses in organization theory and design, leadership, change management, human resource management, and social innovation, are on offer, among others.
The Human Resource Management concentration prepares students to face the challenges that come with managing people. It provides insights into how people can be supported, developed, and more effectively managed along their career path.
Students in this concentration can take courses in human resources management, compensation, training and development, HRM in health care, and collective bargaining, among others.
The Marketing concentration is designed to make students marketing-literate by offering courses which represent the current state of the field. These courses are intended to challenge and stimulate thought and decision-making processes and to contribute to the students’ transformation into successful marketing decision-makers and business executives.
The Public Accounting concentration provides students who have an accounting undergraduate degree with the competencies and knowledge they need to qualify for the CPA exam.
It is designed to prepare them to function effectively in the accounting profession. The courses include accounting research, auditing, ethics & fraud examination
and international financial management, among others.The Information Systems concentration is designed to help students develop the skills necessary to analyze, design and evaluate an organization’s information and decision systems.(Image Source: wikipedia.org)
