8A
Friday, December 8, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
MBA degree is everyone's business Program's design broadens options for students in liberal arts
By Beth Behrens Kansan staff writer
When students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are thinking about commencement, Ronna Robertson is letting them know that another two years in school could open doors to corporate America.
Robertson, assistant dean of business, said the master's of business administration program was to top-heavy with applications from undergraduates in the business school. She said students know the option was open to them, especially if they didn't have an undergraduate degree in business.
"The program at KU was originally designed for people with no business background," she said. She went on to mention these people in liberal arts.
"Say that you have a degree in history and you don't want to teach. With an MBA, you can get into marketing, finance, human resources or any other job you like. You can go into a firm and not start out with a sales-level salary."
Because the degree is designed for students without a business background, many of the core courses are background information courses that duplicate undergraduate courses. Students must be bachelor's degree in business are allowed to waive a maximum of three courses, Robertson said.
For each course waived, she said, the minimum number of required courses was reduced by one, making it possible to graduate degrees in business to graduate one semester early from the two-year program.
The difference in prerequisites is one of the ways the program is targeted at students without a business background. To be accepted in the undergraduate program, a student must complete two semesters of calculus. For the graduate program, only college algebra is required.
Robertson said the difference was because of the emphasis of the programs.
She said that the graduate program was directed toward application and that the undergraduate program was based on learning more detail, some of which required more math.
Another difference is that some of the undergraduate courses are repeated at the graduate level to give graduate students background material.
Graduate standards
But lower requirements don't make acceptance to the graduate program easier than acceptance to the undergraduate program
John Garland, director of the undergraduate business program, said that about 60 percent of the applicants to the undergraduate program were accepted each year. Robertson said only between 35 and 40 percent were accepted to the graduate program. She said that most students applied each year, but that a few were admitted to the Lawrence campus and 80 to the Regents Center in Overland Park.
Robertson said that most of those students chose to receive a general management degree, but a student would choose a concentration in one area.
"Some faculty strongly recommend a concentration because it will target you more for that first job," she said. "But there are a lot of other ramifications. You are stuck in that concentration then.
"Other faculty members argue that a student shouldn't concentrate unless they know specifically what they want to get into. Typically, the student will be using all aspects of the general MBA program at some time or another, so generally, I don't suggest a concentration unless they are sure that's what they want to do."
The MBA typically is known as a high-paying fast track into corporate America, and statistics show MBA salaries almost $10,000 higher than business undergraduate salaries.
Based on the results of a School of Business survey of Spring 1889 graduates entering the job market, those KU graduates with an undergraduate degree in business reported an average salary of $22,388. Those with a non-technical undergraduate degree with an MBA reported an average salary of $32,163, and those with an MBA and a technical undergraduate degree, $32,411.
Degree decisions
Henry Schwaller, a student working on his MBA, said that the comparison of salaries should not encourage students with an bachelor's degree in business to come back for a master's degree.
"From what I understand, you may have a higher initial salary with an MBA than with a bachelor's degree, but if you're a good employee, you'll make that much anyway.
"An MBA will take two years out of your life, so the money is the same in the rough sense because you have to consider that you've lost income, that you're not making enough fees instead of making money and that you've lost work experience."
Schwaller, Hays graduate student, said he decided to return to KU to complete his undergraduate business degree by earning a MBA.
"I felt that in my undergrad degree, I missed out," he said. "Maybe it's the business school's fault or maybe it is my own fault in this class, but I've learned more in the last than in all of my undergrad years."
Dana Fox, Winona, Minn., graduate student, also came back to KU to add to her undergraduate business degree. She said her parents were the only ones who supported her decision to continue her education in business.
"Everyone told me I shouldn't get two degrees in the same subject, but I didn't listen," she said. "Personally, I wanted more. When I was here as an undergrad, on the first day of class, the professors would say, 'We're only going to cover this much material. If this were a graduate level course we would develop this more.' But I wanted to know not only how the system worked but why it worked.
"My undergrad was very good, but I didn't feel confident in my abilities. It was more a personal decision than professional."
Robertson said that when students who were interested in applying to the master's program did not know why they wanted to work on the degree, she sometimes would suggest that they get some business experience before they returned to school.
"In many respects, no matter what, part of the applications in the master's program won't be apparent unless they've seen it in practice," she said. "Part of it is the maturation process.
"Sometimes students haven't experienced enough to get the best out of the program that we have to offer. People who have gone out to real life applications. Students are at a higher experience back into the program."
Diane Mielek, assistant director of placement, said that the MBA was a tool to provide opportunities rather than answers.
"The thing about the MBA is that students still have to decide what they want to do," she said. "The MBA is supposed to open doors, but the person still has to focus on what is needed." The MBA program began to take stock of their strengths and weaknesses will still have the same problems.
"It's important for people to know that it's not going to give them all the answers. They need to make some decisions for themselves first."
Cross Grain
extra heavyweight cotton fleece!
soon to be available at the Kansas and Burge Unions Bookstores!
Class Countdown 1 2 3 4 5 6
Tonite
Christmas Cheer Party
PIZZZ! 901 Miss.
749-7511
Mon. PRE-STOP DAY PARTY 50¢ off all drinks
Make your plans now for Bringing in the New Year ticket price includes: Hats, party favors a bottle of Spumanti & Breakfast Tickets go on sale Dec. 10
CASH for BOOKS
Dec.11-22nd 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Kansas Union Gallery level 4
Burge Union level 2
Receive a holiday shopping discount
coupon and enter our drawing for free textbooks for the spring semester