Misericordia University will offer a unique Master of Business Administration program beginning in the fall that blends the traditional MBA curriculum with soft skills that address the ethical and human sides of business today.

The Misericordia MBA also offers students two different opportunities to earn the advanced degree. Traditional Misericordia students can pursue the degree as a fifth-year component of a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree curriculum in a full-time day class format — the only program in the region that can be completed by taking daytime classes. Through the Center for Adult and Continuing Education at Misericordia, working professionals can attain their MBA in a convenient part-time, 14-week night format and complete it in as little as 17 months.

Both formats offer students a distinct advantage in the ever-changing marketplace. The Misericordia MBA is unique because it requires students to supplement their studies with experiential learning, and ethics, psychology, sociology, philosophy and communications courses. It also places a larger emphasis on the human side of management- and leadership-based business courses for future leaders of organizations where people matter.

“Graduating in as little as five years with both a bachelor and an MBA will increase the marketability of our graduates in the ever-changing, fast-paced business environment,’’ said Corina N. Mihai, MBA, assistant professor and director of the MBA and organizational management graduate programs at Misericordia. “Our curriculum focuses on the human side of management and leadership skills that will greatly benefit the future leaders of local, national and global businesses. Misericordia’s MBA will train students to become the future leaders of organizations where people matter.’’

The Pennsylvania Department of Education recently approved Misericordia’s MBA program. The beginning of the new graduate program is also expected to coincide with the four-year, liberal arts institution officially becoming a university at the beginning of the new academic year in August.

Misericordia University is the natural byproduct of unprecedented growth in student enrollment, and graduate and undergraduate programs over the last six years. Becoming a university allows Misericordia to better meet the challenges of the future and reflects the realities of the organization today. “The new MBA at Misericordia is designed for both traditional college-aged and adult audiences. It is, but one more example, of how the institution is providing opportunities for students,’’ said Michael A. MacDowell, president of Misericordia University. “We are particularly pleased that this new MBA will carry on Misericordia’s traditions of providing rigorous academics, superb career preparation and developing within each student the desire to serve.

“Managing as if people matter is the guiding principle of Misericordia’s new MBA,’’ he said.

Misericordia has a successful track record with five-year programs in which students earn both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. The institution currently offers similar five-year programs in physical and occupational therapy and speech-language pathology.

Graduate education at Misericordia emphasizes academic excellence and critical thinking, while preparing students for productive careers and continued professional growth. Graduate faculty foster a climate conducive to academic growth, intellectual discourse, critical thinking and decision-making. The goals of the graduate programs are to provide comprehensive education in special fields, offer instruction in the methods of independent investigation and foster a spirit of research.

Misericordia’s MBA program enables its graduates to compete in today’s competitive and expanding job market. According to a recent survey of corporate recruiters by Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the need and demand for MBA graduates is on the rise.

Employers expected to hire 22.1 percent more MBA graduates in 2007 compared to last year, according to “Job Outlook 2007,’’ published by the National Association of College and Employers (NACE). An improved economy, business growth and employee retirement were the reasons cited for job expansion.

In the future, the NACE survey projects a 32.4 percent increase in projected hires from 2005-06 to 2006-07 in the manufacturing industry and a 15.4 percent increase in the service industry. Regionally, the survey says that employers in the northeastern part of the United States are planning a 14.6 percent hike in MBA hiring.

Newly minted MBAs also command high average starting salaries, the GMAC survey says. The average starting salary for an MBA graduate for 2006 is $80,809, up 3.5 percent from 2005. In the northeast, the new professional hires from MBA programs earn an average of $77,438.

Fred Croop, associate professor and chair of the department of business at Misericordia, is the dean of the College of Professional Studies and Social Sciences. The veteran educator and certified public accountant believes the strong demand for MBA professionals is a reflection of questionable past business practices and the expanding global economy.

“Over the last few decades, we have seen extremes in business trends and philosophies,’’ Croop said. “We have also seen national boundaries dissolve into a fiercely competitive global economy where information and communications technologies have given everyone access to almost every other person in the world and vast amounts of previously unavailable information.

“There is a demand for individuals in business leadership who can transcend the extremes, make decisions that balance corporate profitability with the needs of society, and possess the skills to keep pace with a dynamic technology-charged, global business environment. The world is looking to the MBA professional to fill that demand and Misericordia’s program is designed to produce that type of individual,’’ he added.

To register for the MBA program at Misericordia, contact Larree Brown, assistant director, Center for Adult and Continuing Education, at (570) 674-6451 or lbrown@misericordia.edu. For more information, call Mihai at (570) 674-8022 or by e-mail at cmihai@misericordia.edu.

Mailing Address
Misericordia University
301 Lake St.
Dallas, PA 18612
E-Mail Address
info@misericordia.edu
more info click here

Category: Graduate-Master, United States