Monday, November 14, 2011

Which MBA's have the most impact? from Economist

Nov 8th 2011, 16:23 by J.L.H.D | ATLANTA
As marketing brochures go, a recent publication by the Thunderbird School of Global Management has an intriguing premise: it is a “Global Impact Report”.
It makes one wonder how to get a better grip on that mushy concept, “impact”. Business schools would love to understand how they affect the world around them. But it is a tricky thing to measure. Part of the problem is that impact and reputation, while related, are not the same thing. A lesser-known school, for example, might churn out interesting ideas on the quiet, while a well-known one could contribute less, but more loudly. Equally, star professors can have a small effect on many individuals, through their books, while their junior peers do more teaching and thus have a larger effect on students. Even faculty contribution can be a thorny topic. Which contributes more to Thunderbird’s impact: a textbook written by a professor at the school, or the Twitter feed of school president, Ángel Cabrera?

For the full article please go here.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

To Help Boost Economy, Obama Moves to Ease Student Debt Burden from EDweek.org

The Obama administration unveiled a plan to make it easier, and cheaper, for students to repay their student loans—all as part of a broader strategy to hammer on Congressional Republicans for failing to enact his jobs plan.

Using his executive authority, President Obama plans to accelerate an income-based loan repayment plan Congress approved in 2010. Currently, the plan would cap loan repayments at 10 percent of discretionary income beginning in 2014. Obama will start the 10 percent cap in 2012. (Anyone who takes out a loan in 2012 would be eligible.) Administration officials estimate this will lower payments for 1.6 million borrowers.
"These are real savings that will help these graduates get started on their careers," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a conference call today with reporters announcing the initiative.

For the full article please go here. 

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Ich spreche kein MBA? Languages all business students should know. From The Econimist

Oct 18th 2011, 16:32 by S.H.

SPEAKING three languages wasn’t enough for Lenka Menden. When it came to choosing where to study for an MBA, she wanted a chance to absorb a new culture and learn yet another tongue. “My first language is Czech, I studied for a degree in business administration in Germany and I went on to take an MSc in Prague,” she explains. “I then worked for three-and-a-half years as an analyst at Morgan Stanley in Canary Wharf.”
Ms Menden turned down the chance of studying at London Business School, instead choosing IESE in Barcelona, because she thought it would open new doors. “Staying in London I would have been in the same environment and there wouldn’t be that many challenges. So I learned a new language alongside my MBA because Spanish is a very important language of business. I have extended my personal network to include people from Mexico, Spain and the Philippines. I can now work anywhere in Europe or in an emerging economy,” she says.

For the full article please go here. 

New signs of economic recovery seen in recent enrollments from MBA 4 Sucess

University of Chicago Booth School of Business sees 28% increase in registrations this quarter and plans to expand offerings at London campus.

Due to the continued growth and success of the Executive MBA programme in Europe, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the first top American school to establish its own campus in Europe, is to expand its executive education programmes in London.  “Based on the success of our Executive MBA programme and positive experiences with some major European companies, the School has decided to make a major investment in ramping up our operations,” said Arnold Longboy, Managing Director of Executive Education at the London campus.

In 2009, as the economic downturn set in, the School launched its first major open enrolment programme in London, the 15-day Accelerated Development Programme (ADP), with nearly all participants entirely funded by their companies.  “It was probably the worse time to launch this open enrolment programme, but we’ve now had three successful runs and each offering has subsequently seen increases in enrolments,” Longboy said.

The increase in enrollment is an indicator that companies are now in a better position to invest more resources in executive education for their employees, a sure sign of economic growth. 

For the full article please go here.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Top MBA programs turning to Online format from US News

For-profit schools, particularly large online colleges like the University of Phoenix and Kaplan University, have garnered a tremendous amount of attention in recent years. As the schools seek to reach more students through aggressive advertising campaigns—University of Phoenix has a $154 million naming rights deal for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals' stadium—and politicians continue to push for more stringent industry regulations, efforts made by other schools in the online sector can go seemingly unnoticed. For-profit schools are not accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), which is regarded as the benchmark for business school quality among the academic community, experts say. For the full article please go here.