Master of Business Administration

The MBA program is designed for individuals who wish to advance their careers or for those students who want to begin a career in business. The program employs a collaborative, team-based approach to learning. Within Endicott’s cohort model, groups of students progress through their programs of study together, learning from and supporting one another.

Program Goals

The MBA program seeks to:

•    Provide knowledge for managing effectively in a dynamic, global environment;
•    Develop problem-solving and communication skills;
•    Enhance leadership skills and inspire commitment to ethically sound business practices; and
•    Foster cross-cultural understanding and demonstrate its relevance in today’s business environment.

Program Options
Program requirements for the MBA may be completed using various options:
•    Full-time, daytime study through an academic year
•    Part-time, evening courses offered over 24 months
•    Online/on-campus option offered over 24 months.

MBA Online

Endicott’s online option uses a web-based learning platform that combines on-campus class time with online study. Students attend classes for two sessions a month and complete four weeks of online study per course. The program is completed over 24 months.

Program Tracks
The Van Loan School of Graduate and Professional Studies offers the MBA degree in three different tracks:
•    Track I: The MBA for the Experienced Professional. This option is a part-time program for working professionals. The classes are offered once a week from 6–10 pm. The program, comprised of 42 credits, takes approximately 20–22 months to complete.
•    Track II: The MBA for the Early Career Professional. This option is also a part-time program for those who have recently entered the work force. Classes are offered twice a week from 5–8 pm. The program consists of 45 credits and takes approximately 20–22 months to complete.
•    Track III: The Full Time MBA. This option is a one-year, daytime full-time course of study designed for those who have just completed a Bachelor degree in Business Administration (non-business majors may be provisionally accepted subject to additional pre-requisite coursework). This is a 60-credit program, though up to 24 credits maybe waived if the student can demonstrate completion of prerequisite courses at the undergraduate level with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

All MBA tracks utilize the cohort learning model whereby a group of students enter the program together, progress through as a cohesive group, and complete the program at the same time. Peer exchange and practical application are central themes of all tracks. Faculty who have extensive experience in business and management infuse the classroom with a dynamic, hands-on approach to real world problem solving. The global environment, the technological environment, and the ethical dimensions of managerial decisions pervade the MBA program.

MBA Admission Requirements

•    An interview with Program Director and/or Vice President of the Van Loan School;
•    Completed application with $50.00 application fee;
•    A current resume;
•    Two letters of recommendation – one from applicant’s immediate supervisor;
•    Official transcript with a preferable GPA of 3.0;
•    Essay of 250–500 words on motivations for graduate study and career goals;
•    GMAT Test; preferable score of 50th percentile or higher (GMAT codes: full- time MBA Program is MX5-DT-21 and part-time   MBA Program is MX5-DT-91);
•    TOEFL if applicable; 79 is minimum score for iBT; 550 for pen and paper test.

International Transcript Review

Internationally educated applicants whose educational documents are in a foreign language are required to have their credentials translated into English. Endicott reserves the right to require that internationally educated applicants have their credentials evaluated by an approved external agency. This agency will certify the validity of the documents and determine if and how the potential transfer credits apply within the United States educational system.

Transfer Credits

A maximum of six (6) credits may be transferred into a student’s MBA course of study if the student has successfully completed applicable graduate coursework within the last five (5) years from an accredited institution. An official transcript and course descriptions must be furnished.

Evaluation

All of the courses in the curriculum employ some combination of the following assignments:
          • Individual oral presentation;
          • Group oral presentation;
          • Individual written project; and/or
          • Group written projects.

The philosophy of the program is that traditional “tests” are less relevant to MBA study. To foster deeper management and business understanding, projects, cases, examples, and illustrations are used as a way to examine and learn. There are no multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank type of examinations.

Distinguished Leaders Symposium

The Distinguished Leaders Symposium is an integrative activity in the curriculum. MBA students and faculty convene in a community event to listen to and interact with a leading local business person who addresses the group. The Distinguished Leaders Symposium links theory and practice, informed and framed by an outside business leader. The Symposium is designed to expose students to a variety of perspectives as well as to stimulate application of the MBA curriculum. It is also a rich networking opportunity.

Corporate Advisory Panel

The Corporate Advisory Panel is a core group of business leaders who convene on campus quarterly in an effort to enhance the programs’ links to the business community, and vice versa. The Panel is a forum for the business leaders’ input on the issues, challenges, and trends managers are experiencing in the business community. This partnership between the private sector business community and advanced management education is a critical underlying philosophy of the Endicott MBA program.

Track I: The MBA for the Experienced Professional

Overview

The Endicott College MBA for the Experienced Professional is a 42-credit program designed for working professionals who are seeking to further their professional and personal growth, and energize their careers. The MBA for the Experienced Professional is for those who have a minimum of five years of relevant work experience. The program employs an accelerated model that allows for completion in approximately 20–22 months, with classes meeting once a week. Key features of the program include:
          • Focus on collaborative, peer learning;
          • Projects that directly relate to the students’ professions;
          • Pervasive ethics component;
          • Examination on the technological environment; and
          • Individual research project (Master’s Thesis).

Students progress through each of the 13 three-credit courses (which meet once a week in a class from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.). Each course is comprised of six sessions. In addition, all students are required to register for three one-credit Business Research Seminars (one in-class meeting each, interspersed across the curriculum as part of the completion of the Master’s Thesis).

Master’s Thesis

The Master’s Thesis is a major component of the MBA program. Students conduct action-oriented research around a specific business problem or issue. Spanning 12 months of the MBA curriculum, the Master’s Thesis is designed to make the MBA experience more meaningful by integrating all the courses and topics that comprise the course of study. The Master’s Thesis adds value to the Endicott MBA experience, as students develop strong problem-solving skills.

Research is explored with a focus on problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning in organizations. This is an “action research project” designed to provide practical, valuable, and relevant solutions to an organization facing a specific challenge.

Accelerated Collaborative Learning Model: 4+4+4

It is important to note that each course employs a 4+4+4 model; that is, each course requires:
          • Four hours of in-class instruction;
          • Four hours of out-of-class collaboration among students and their sub-groups
        (of usually four to five students); and
          • Four hours of individual preparation.
The 4+4+4 model represents a minimum guideline. Individuals in groups may need to devote more time and energy to satisfy the course requirements.
The four hours of out-of-class, sub-group collaboration is essential to this accelerated learning approach. With each course spanning just six weeks, it is critical that students engage in learning outside of the classroom. How the four hours of out-of-class time is accomplished is at the group’s discretion. Students working together in their sub-groups are often resourceful and creative, employing a combination of face-to-face, phone, email, and fax as methods of interaction, communication and collaboration. Students are required to certify that they have engaged in the required hours of collaboration outside the class.