News

As MBA students arrived this fall to begin the school year, a pioneering approach was introduced by the School of Business Administration (SBA) at Portland State University that will change what students learn, and how they learn, to be future business leaders.

The “MBA+” program, so called for its expanded skill set curriculum, is unique regionally if not nationally, according to the School. Its two-fold vision: to significantly enhance the professional skills and managerial competency of each MBA student and to offer employers a graduate pool with broader leadership training, enhanced management capabilities and real-world experiences.

It is a radical approach to training the next generation of business professionals. Focusing on a combination of skill sets that the marketplace is demanding, MBA+ injects a thread of “soft” skills (leadership development, management of innovation training, communications and a focus on the regional economy) into the “hard” skills courses traditionally found in core business school curriculums. “Soft” skills are typically scheduled as electives; at PSU, students will be proficient in them.

Students will have the advantage of one-on-one coaching, access to a new graduate career placement center, and participation in solving real-world business problems. They must also demonstrate proficiency in a dozen managerial competencies over the course of obtaining their graduate business degree. According to School of Business Administration Dean Scott Dawson, employers are looking for employees with these combined skills.

“Many schools teach leadership and management of innovation skills—but they have not integrated them into their core classes. We expect our students to be competent in both the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills, thereby creating a higher quality of employable graduates for the marketplace,” said Scott Dawson, dean. “We believe that the School of Business Administration at Portland State University is the only MBA program in the region and perhaps the nation to effectively integrate these concepts throughout its curriculum.”

Like the majority of MBA programs in the country, the School will continue to develop student expertise in the technical areas typically found in graduate business programs: accounting, finance, management and marketing. MBA+’s added value is the development of equivalent competencies in new areas: interpersonal communications, management of innovation, and strategic and conceptual thinking in the larger context of the regional economy.

The novel approach is the product of an SBA task force of regional businesses and faculty. Knowing that prevalent criticisms target business schools for not adequately preparing students for today’s and tomorrow’s business demands, the task force identified a dozen key areas of knowledge and skills found in some of the world’s most successful organizations and individuals. Key areas of leadership, communications and interpersonal skills were deemed just as important as the technical side of the traditional MBA.

“MBA+ will enhance our students’ experience. With their increased skills, our MBA grads will be both more employable and more productive once employed,” said Carolyn McKnight, the new director of MBA programs for the School. “There is no doubt that our MBA+ graduates will contribute to local, regional and global economies with higher competencies and broader skill sets.”

The School of Business Administration at Portland State University, the largest business school in the Pacific Northwest, offers top caliber programs and nationally recognized faculty to its more than 400 graduate students. Additional options in Management of Innovation and Technology; Master of International Management (MIM); and Master of Science in Financial Analysis (MSFA), and a certificate in Food Marketing and Logistics are also available in addition to an online eMBA. The School is also home to the Center of Professional Integrity, the nationally recognized Food Industry Leadership Center and the Interdisciplinary Center for Law and Entrepreneurship.

Sources:
Scott Dawson, School of Business Administration Dean (503-725-3757)
Rodney Rogers, Associate Dean (503-725-8308)
Carolyn McKnight, MBA Programs Director (503-725-8080)