YSU ‘reinvents’ MBA program

Staff report

youngstown

Youngstown State University has restructured its MBA program at the Williamson College of Business Administration and revised the program’s admission criteria to attract experienced business professionals.

“We have more than revised the Williamson MBA program; we have reinvented it,” said Patrick J. Bateman, the new program director and associate professor of management. “Our focus is on the needs of working professionals — providing value through quality knowledge that will lead to career advancement and success. But we also considered the importance of timely and flexible delivery for working professionals.”

The MBA program is designed to develop a core set of capabilities needed to be successful in the workplace, he said, including leadership, decision-making, management and strategic thinking. Under the restructured program, courses are offered in a business-friendly, concentrated format, meeting one evening per week for eight weeks or fewer.

Bateman said the MBA’s new admission criteria aims to attract more professionals who possess valuable business experience. Full-time business professionals can apply for a waiver to the standardized test — GMAT/GRE equivalent — that previously has been required for admission to the Williamson MBA program.

The program is accredited by AACSB International — the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business — a mark of excellence that less than 5 percent of all business schools worldwide have earned.

The Williamson MBA will be offered on campus, online and, starting in January 2015, off-campus in Lorain County. For more details, attend the MBA information session set for 5:45 p.m. today at Williamson Hall, or contact the Williamson MBA program at mba@ysu.edu or 330-941-3069.