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- And welcome everyone to today's webinar featuring the MBA here at Oregon State University
in the Executive Leadership track. So today’s presenters are myself--I’m Simona Boucek--and
here with me is David Baldridge from the College of Business.
- And before we move too far ahead, I want to go over what we are going to talk about
today so you know what's on the agenda, and we have about 20 to 30 minutes presentation,
and then we are going to leave you plenty of time at the end for your questions and
will provide you with answers. We will cover a lot of things about Oregon State and we
will get into the MBA program itself, especially the executive leadership track, and of course
some of the big questions around tuition and financial aid and the big question of admissions
process and how to apply for the program. - One thing I want to take note of here is
that this webinar is being recorded and that means all of you who registered will receive
a link to the video and the video will also be posted on our YouTube channel in the playlist
called webinars. And if you need text captions, they are available at the link provided below,
so I will give you a minute here if you need to write that down.
- Let's move forward. Let's start with Oregon State University, in case you’re not familiar
with our institution. We are regionally accredited by the Northwest commission on colleges and
universities. Our main campus is located in Corvallis, Oregon, so for all of you Oregonians,
if you are not sure where Corvallis is located, the easiest is that we are about an hour and
a half out of Portland Oregon. We are a growing institution, and we now have over 28,000 student.
And one thing is that OSU is internationally recognized and we are a public research university
and we have only one of two land, sea, space and sun grant universities in the nation.
What that means to you, is that a lot of research funding goes to this University and our faculty
is asked to do research, which means is a huge benefit to the students who attend Oregon
State, because a lot of that research ends up being used in the courses that you're partaking
in.
- A little bit about Ecampus, in case you are wondering about that. So Ecampus is essentially
the online provider of Oregon State University, so the same degree programs that you receive
on campus, if they are provided online, they are provided through Ecampus. We are the topped
rank 25 online provider, so we are topped rank in the nation under several areas, and
we are now offering more than 30 degree programs. And like I said, we continue to grow and we
have classes in all 50 states and just over 40 countries and as you can see, about 1900
students have now graduated by participating through Ecampus. David Baldridge is here and
he is going to tell you a little bit more about OSU College of business.
- David Baldridge: The College of business at Oregon State is among the oldest in the
country, so oldest College of Business and commerce. We started in 1908, and we have
had an MBA program since 1965. As a school, we are ranked among the best in the West by
Princeton Review and we are AACSB accredited. Only about 25% of business schools have that
AACSB accreditation. I recommend when you're looking at MBA programs, to focus on those
that are AACSB accredited. There are other accreditations, but the AACSB is the gold
standard. - Let's look take a look at the Executive
Leadership program, in particular. The executive leadership program is designed for working
business professionals, so one trend is that increasingly people seeking their MBA, they
don't want to leave the security of their full-time job. The best and brightest have
more to lose by doing so. So we want to target people whose careers are flourishing and they
want to continue education, but want to do so by being able to focus on their education
during the day and pursue their studies at night. This program is what we call hybrid
program, so it lends online education with in-person sessions.
- We will go in more detail in a second, but for now we want to highlight our students.
Because we are focusing on people who are currently working, our students include students
in the timber industry.
We have several pharmacists and military officers and IT managers and a school principal and
people in both for profit organizations and nonprofit organizations, and a wealth of work
experience, ranging from three years to 20 or more years.
- In terms of our program, it is designed to be a 45 credit hour program and that's
for people who have done some undergraduate business coursework. Folks have not done undergraduate
business coursework need some pre-MBA foundation courses, so if you're not sure, we can work
with you to figure out whether or not you would need to take the foundation coursework.
Once you are in an MBA level coursework, it’s 45 credit hours total and it takes people
about two years to complete that degree, taking just two classes per term.
- So here is a pictorial representation of our curriculum, so you see the pre-MBA foundation
courses at the bottom, so some of you might not need any of these, others might need all
four. We determined that on a case-by-case basis. If you have an undergraduate in business
and likely if you had a minor in business, you would not need any of those and go straight
into MBA classes. From there we have a core of 10 general business classes that are common
to all of our MBA programs, so you get that solid foundation, and beyond that, there is
15 credit hours or five classes that comprise the executive leadership track. So the specialized
classes on negotiations, ethics and human resource management, and then there is a year-long
6 credit hour, Capstone project. And the goal here is usually individual or a very small
group that focuses on a real organization, ideally a current employer or perhaps a prospective
future employer, and you try to work on a project of strategic significance with that
organization, and that's kind of the final touch in your MBA, and we use that to help
students attain their career objectives. - So as I mentioned, it’s a hybrid program,
so about 75% of the content is available online and 25% is in person, and we believe very
strongly at Oregon State that the hybrid program is the best format, so the online component
maximizes flexibility for our students and allows us to engage busy successful professionals.
The in person component is critical in terms of building bonds between students and faculty
and with students and faculty, and that creates a strong network for people. So I personally
would not recommend an MBA program that does not have an in person component because that
network and that bonding is so important. The in person session are also critical for
developing interpersonal skills. So we like to think of our program as blending the best
of both worlds, using online when it's the best resource, and in person for content that's
best delivered that way. Our in person sessions are in Portland, specifically Portland South
Waterfront. So if you are from Portland and you can picture the tram, we are located at
the base of the tram in the OHSU Center for health and healing, and when the new multipurpose
building opens up next-door then we will be in that building.
- Simona Boucek: I'm going to talk a little bit about the faculty that are a part of the
MBA program, and one of the things prospective students ask about is who are you going to
be learning from and what is their background and credentials. Our faculty for the MBA program
are all dedicated to educational excellence and career success. Most hold a Masters Degree
or PhD and bring the real-world experience into the classroom. And on the side you have
a listing of the faculty that are currently teaching, and David Baldridge is a faculty
member so maybe he can highlight a few of these faculty members and get some insight
as to who you be learning from. David Baldridge: Thank you. I am a faculty
member and teach the leadership and negotiation courses, and I'm the director of off campus
MBA program, and one of my jobs is recruiting faculty to serve in this particular program
and I'm really excited about the faculty what we brought together, so I truly feel like
we've recruited the best of our regular on-campus faculty, and as Simona mentioned, all the
faculty teaching these courses have at least a Masters degree and or a PhD in their area
of expertise. Beyond that, 85% of them are the course coordinators, and what that means
is that the faculty member that oversees that particular course for the whole University,
so these are the people who designed not this particular course, or this particular section,
but the course at the University as a whole.
And a third of them are also the current or former discipline director, meaning that they
are in charge of their particular discipline, such as management, global analogy, strategy,and
entrepreneurship. And we've also seen a good balance of what
I called researchers and practitioners, or primary researchers and primary practitioners,
and I will talk about a couple of examples there.
- So Ken Crangle received his MBA from The University of Chicago and he is a 28 year
veteran in the technology industry. So he is an example of research, but he is really
an experienced practitioner. He was instrumental in several successful startups like Hewlett-Packard,
inkjet printing business, and Polycom's, Halo, videoconferencing and cloud services. During
his career at HP, he served as career control supply chain manager and general manager and
vice president. So Ken brings wealth of real world experience to our classes.
On the more research oriented side, would be John Becker-Blease. He received his PhD
in Finance at the University of Oregon, and his research has been featured in local and
national media outlets, including The Oregonian, business week, Forbes, US news and world report,
NPR, ABC News and Wall Street Journal, Washington Post. John was also recognized as a rising
star by the Heisman Institute so he is a great researcher and great teacher and you will
see a balance of people on the practitioner and research side on his courses.
Simona Boucek: One thing I want to find out about the courses, is a really is no difference
between the on-campus course and online course. The learning objectives for those courses
are essentially the same type of education as you would get by coming to campus this
degree program online and in person session in Portland. The only difference is that we
may be more flexible and more accessible to you, especially for the business professional
in the Portland area. - A big question always around tuition fees
to help you plan out as you pursue this degree program. So listed on the screen right now
is the current tuition rates for 2013-2014, and just know they are adjusted each year,
so this is just to help you plan. Right now the graduate level courses are $761
per credit is a typical course about three credits so if you do the math is just around
$2200 per course. Ecampus students are working professionals and tend to take two courses
per term. You will want to take note of when it comes to tuition fees, that not to forget
that there are associated fees that can come with the course, so when doing your research,
make sure to also look into that as well or keep that in mind.
- And being a degree seeking student, you do qualify for financial aid, so we have provided
a link to our financial aid office and also the phone number to kind of look into what
is available to you as a degree seeking student. I believe in order to qualify for financial
aid, you need to be pursuing at least 6 to 9 credits per term, so keep that in mind.
Financial Aid offices will be able to answer those questions and tell you which forms to
fill those out. There's also a scholarship available to each student. There’s an Academic
Merit scholarship, essentially to higher caliber students within the program, and of course,
even if you are pursuing this through Ecampus, you still do qualify and are considered for
this scholarship. David, do you know how the scholarship is being determined, as far as
how, what kind of qualities they are looking for in a student?
- David Baldridge we have some common denominators, and one would be the GMAT is very important,
and we also look at undergraduate GPA. - Simona Boucek: Gotcha! Which is a great
Segway of how do you get into the program. So here are the requirements. GPA requirement
is 3.0 plus, from a regionally accredited college or university within the US, and this
is for a four-year baccalaureate degree. If you're GPA happens to be below 3.0, please
contact the MBA office as soon as possible and they will work with you to determine your
eligibility, so there are some ways around 3.0 GPA. The next one is a GMAC requirement.
The minimum is 500 overall. We've listed where your score needs to be. With that said, keep
in mind that you can be admitted into this program without the GMAC, but you must complete
the minimums, at least within nine credits of your MBA degree, so that means three courses
in. - David Baldridge: So to explain a little
bit, particularly busy working professionals, they want to get started sometimes before
completing the GMAT, so we do what we call a provisional admission to the program, and
you can take the foundation courses and you can take up to, as Simona mentioned, nine
credit hours of MBA courses, and at that point you stop and you need to complete the GMAT.
- Simona Boucek: So this adds some flexibility into your schedule get that into your program.
- A little bit more about tuition requirements. This is particular to international applicants.
There are English requirements as far as making sure you are competent in order to participate
in this program. So you will need to complete the TOEFL exam and reach those minimum scores
that are listed on the screen. David, can you tell us why that English competency is
such a big part of this program? - David Baldridge: In business and in the
study of business, communication is really important. We feel it's important to have
the minimum standards for international students so they can contribute fully in the coursework
and that is what these TOEFL standards establish for us.
- Simona Boucek: Great! I want to talk about the application process, starting with the
online application form. So everybody that is applying it to the MBA program applies
to the main University. Get a lot of questions about doing this through Ecampus and the administration
process for Ecampus and on-campus is the same. We listed out where you start first with the
admissions and there is a $60 nonrefundable application fee and let me back out of this
presentation and show you once you get into the online application, what to look for.
Let me escape, go here. - This is what you get what you log into the
online application, so just keep in mind when you're ready to apply, you will need to create
a login account. This is just to help track your progress and save it so that when you
start the application and need to finish at a later time, you can do that. What you get
your login and sign in, this is what you see is an application checklist.
The area I want to point out is right here, called the planned course of study. When you
select that, you get this beautiful tech-based screen and the thing you want to make sure
to select if you are applying for the executive leadership track that is offered through Ecampus.
You want to go to business administration, MBA Ecampus online, and select that as you plan your course of
study and proceed with the application. I want to point that out when you get to the
application in case it wasn't clear. - Back to the slides. So here it is planned
course of studies, select business administration Ecampus online. After that, you will have
to submit supplemental materials. Official transcript from all academic work that you
have done. Statement of objective and three letters a professional reference and a current
resume. David can you tell the students what they should be looking for in a statement
of objectives? What is the University looking for in a statement of objectives? Should it
be from their former work or personal life? What are you looking for?
- David Baldridge: Particularly for your references, we want to be seeing evidence of your ability
to complete the program and to be productive alumni for us, so we want to make sure the
program is a good fit for you. And in the statement we want to understand how you see
this degree fitting into your career development and career aspirations, and see if it's a
good fit and how it fits for you and demonstrate your ability to be in our program. Also, at
the bottom of the screen you see our website, the business@OregonState.edu/MBAadmissions.
If you go to that link, we offer a lot of detail on exactly what you need to do to apply
for the program and her email address is there also, so you can email us and we will help
guide you to the process. It is possible to start winter term, although if you're interested,
I suggest emailing us today or as soon as you can. One thing to keep in mind, if you
don't have an undergraduate degree in business and you need some of that foundation coursework,
one of the critical courses is being offered this winter, BA 515 on finance and accounting.
If you're hoping to start sometime this year and you don't have an undergraduate degree
in business, I really encourage you to think about starting with that course this winter.
Simply put, if you think about starting this winter, please email us so that we know that
you are thinking about us can start working with you immediately.
- Simona Boucek: That's an excellent point. One of the things that David mentioned is
a key foundation courses. If you don't have a business background or a minor business
this is a foundation course only offered in the winter. So like you said if you want to
start this year, this is a key part of what we would suggest if you're interested and
you know you don't have that business background, email osumba@oregonstate.edu, so we can start
helping you into the program. There are four start times of year for those of you who do
have a business background and have bachelors in business or a business minor, you can start
up to four times of year, Winter is next one that is coming up, which is January 6th. And
technically for the graduate school, the deadline was December 1st. However with the MBA program,
if you can get all of your materials in, all of your statements of objectives and your
transcripts and three letters of reference, and fill out the online application no later
than two weeks prior to the start winter term, we can probably work with that and get you
into the program. Otherwise start term would be spring, which is March 31 is the first
day of classes, so again we advise you try to get your materials and well in advance
so that you have a smooth start into the program. - For international applicants, that's about
90 days ahead because of the international process and getting a little more of that
test course done. - With that said, we get to the question portion,
so if you do have a question, you will notice a box on the right-hand side is answer questions.
So write your questions in the box. If it's a personal question to you, I will not say
it out loud in a public format but we will respond to you by email or phone call after
this webinar. Go ahead and put any question you have about the program, just know the
ones that apply to the whole group, I will read and answer out loud, but the personal
ones we will answer in a private forum.
- Go ahead and start typing them in. David, I have a question for you that I get a lot
from prospective students. Once they are in the course, if they've not done an online
course and not familiar with an online program, what would that look like. This is dead week
for Oregon State, and some of your students are doing presentations. Can you talk a little
bit about how they participate in class? - David Baldridge: First I would say that
probably for most of our students, these are the first online or hybrid courses, so if
it's new to you, you will not be alone. Students after a session or two get comfortable with
it. The courses are set up in blackboard, kind of a familiar framework. We do a variety
of things, so you will watch video lectures that are available and you will have small
group discussions in a chat format or we use technology, such as for using right now, GoToMeeting.
Or sometimes students I Google hang out. They use that to create more of a personalized
experience for students. So it’s very much like an experience made more personable so
the students know when and where to participate. - Simona Boucek: What's the time commitment?
These are busy working professionals. Say a three credit course, what is the typical
amount of time that you would suggest students plan for?
- David Baldridge: So the planning rule is nine hours per week or a three credit hour
course. It varies a lot from student to student, so some get by with less, particularly if
it's a class they are very familiar with or if as an accounting class that's new to you,
it may take more time than that. Particularly if you are very meticulous and like to get
100% on everything, then that will take more time. In general, I tell people need to budget
nine or 10 hours per week for each of the three credit hour courses. In terms of the
in person commitment, it varies by course. We want the in person component to match the
learning objectives for that particular course, but in general, courses have two in person
sessions, one near the beginning of the course to kind of kick things off so people can get
to know one another, and then one at the end of the course to help conclude that particular
course. So in person, it can vary but you can plan on two in person meetings or a 10
week term for each course. - Simona Boucek: One question is around some
of the support and benefits of participating in completing an Oregon State MBA. There's
a long history of on-campus but maybe you could share some insight into now that you
have this network of alumni across the nation, essentially one of the perks is the networking.
Can you share a little bit about career advantages of being an Oregon State graduate?
- David Baldridge: Sure, this is very specific, but at the last football game I had a chance
to be in the skybox because one of our alumni is an executive and another alumni an executive
with Starbucks and others for smaller companies that don't have the same name appeals as regions
or Starbucks, but when you get an MBA, part of what you're doing is joining that universities
alumni network and that is very valuable to you. We work hard and that was one example
of how we are trying to keep our alumni engaged in the program, and we also have students
there so that they have a chance to meet these alumni. We also bring in guest speakers, so
Oregon executive state Secretary of State, the commanding general at [indiscernible]n
Washington has come to visit my class and good Samaritan, we are constantly looking at ways to bring alumni and business professionals
in to give our students a chance to meet them. - Simona Boucek: I know the college of business
has a lot of outreach in the Portland area. I always see you hosting events there and
I know it's a great alumni network and a huge benefit to students.
- David Baldridge: That's right. A lot of events are up in Corvallis, but a lot of it
is up in Portland now, and of course this program is very Portland focused.
- Simona Boucek: I'm not seeing any other questions. Let me forward the slide. If you
still need some additional resources, I provided a few links to kind of look into as you are
doing your research and try to determine which program to go into about Oregon state or another
institution. I provided a collection of links to help you links to help you out with your
research. Don't worry about scribbling these down, again because we will provide a video
of this presentation to you.
- If you have further questions with us, feel free to follow up at ecampus.oregonstate.edu or ecampus.oregonstate.edu/mba,
so either one of those, we will get your questions answered. Again, this video will be emailed
to you, and unless you have any other questions, we are going to go ahead and end today's program.
Thank you for attending and we look forward to talking to you about this program and you
becoming a future student. Thank you!