Many students who graduate from the College of Arts and Sciences campus of Baker University often say one of the things they miss most when they leave is the campus itself.
For those wanting to enroll in an MBA program through Baker, they might not have to leave the Baldwin City campus to do so starting June 2012.
The Educational Programs and Curriculum Committee endorsed the new MBA program to be consistent with the mission of the university and the mission of the College of Arts and Sciences, and to have a required rigor to be a part of the college.
The program is designed to provide students with an early career opportunity after they graduate.
Gary Irick, chair of business and economics department, is expecting around 10-20 students to pursue the program when it begins, but he hopes the number grows to 25-30 students in the future.
The School of Professional and Graduate Studies campuses in Kansas City, Mo., Lee’s Summit, Mo., Topeka, Wichita and Overland Park also offer MBA programs through Baker, but Baldwin City will offer a program unique from those campuses.
The Baldwin City program will allow students to live on, or close to, campus without having to move to the area around one of the other campuses.
Many of the students in the program will be 22 or 23 years old and could remain on the Baldwin City campus after being undergraduates.
Those students would benefit from enrolling at one of the other campuses to experience what is it like to no longer live on a college campus. One negative aspect is that it might be difficult to find housing for those students on the Baldwin City campus, unless Joliffe Hall re-opens.
Since most of the students will be focusing solely on the program, and not a job as well, they will be able to be more interactive with the faculty when working on their respective projects.
The first two weeks of the program might not be as rigorous as its name says it is. The first stage of the program is called the Academic Boot Camp, in order to prepare students for the six modules.
The program’s six modules are expected to span more than 49 weeks, and should be beneficial for students to learn a lot of information in a short amount of time.
Concern exists among faculty as to if this program will be able to succeed at a liberal arts school, but one of the most popular majors among the students at the College of Arts and Sciences campus is business.
The students will be able to adapt to the job environment with the content they learn about various aspects of business. There might be 25-30 students in the program after a few years, but they will have a great opportunity to stay around the Baldwin City area and learn valuable information about their future career.
