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St. Cloud State University
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Business program expands
By Nick Hanson
Published:
Monday, March 24, 2003
St. Cloud is expanding its horizons by bringing its nationally accredited MBA program to Maple Grove.
MnSCU gave SCSU permission to open the MBA Maple Grove program early this March.
"We are beginning to start our enrollment campaign and create awareness in the Twin Cities," program director of the SCSU MBA program, Michael Pesch said.
The program is unique in that it offers people with obligations such as full time work and families the convenience of the city, Pesch said. Prior obligations can lead Twin Cities residents to be daunted by everyday travel to the SCSU campus. This program is an excellent solution, he said.
"The benefits that we will offer include accessibility, convenience and PhD faculty," he said.
Faculty will commute from the SCSU campus to the Maple Grove location.
"The students that we serve are very busy people," he said. "The audience that we want to reach work full time and will attend classes one night a week."
Students will attend four-and-a-half hour classes one night per week. In total, there are 11 courses that will take approximately 26 months to complete to receive an MBA degree.
The classes are modeled in a cohort fashion, meaning that the same group of students will run through the entire duration of the program together.
"We have relatively small class sizes, typically running about 25 students," Pesch said."
Course costs will be steeper than those on the SCSU campus. Class prices will range between $500 and $600 per credit. The cost, however, is comparable to other prestigious MBA schools such as Carlson or St. Thomas, Pesch said.
"There are extra costs involved," he said. "It's a special program for students with work experience. We intend to have this offered in a work environment."
An added benefit students receive is provided materials. Texts and handouts are given on the first day of class.
"There is a niche for us to be down there; we will be the second AACSB accredited business program in the Twin Cities area," Pesch said. "It is very hard to be accredited."
Other than the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Business, St. Cloud is the only MBA program in the state to receive national accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
There are many standards in order acquire AACSB accreditation. Some include: the program's curriculum, high faculty credentials, performance in teaching and research, student admissions criteria, degree requirements and overall professional and intellectual climate.
Founder and CEO of Data Recognition Corporation and SCSU alum, Russ Hagen, will be holding the classes at Data Recognition Corporation's facilities. The company is located at the intersection of Bass Lake Road and Interstate 494 in Maple Grove.
Classes are tentatively scheduled to begin this fall in late August or early September.
