Elaine Worzala is director of a new graduate real estate program at USD, which was crafted by the university and representatives from more than 70 companies. The 32-unit degree program was designed to fill needs of the real estate industry. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

When business schools and businesses collaborate, the results can range from students attending a boot camp at USD to working an SDSU internship at Petco Park — and more. Academics ask for corporate help when developing new graduate degrees like USD’s master of science in real estate and SDSU’s sports business management MBA. These and other partnerships produce a lot of benefits.

“It’s symbiotic,” says Michael Reilly of University of Phoenix. “The business community benefits from working with us; we benefit from working with them.”

At University of Phoenix, a bank vice president may discuss issues from work while teaching an economics class, says Reilly, chair of the Graduate College of Business in San Diego. UOP in Arizona offers 100 degree programs including the revised MBA launched three months ago. Campus deans work with businesses of various sizes to determine local educational needs, says Reilly. Interaction between the academic and business worlds produces degree specializations in such fields as human resources and accounting. Phoenix representatives also work with HR departments to help meet employees’ educational and training needs, says Reilly.

UCSD opened the Rady School of Management last year and classes begin this month for the FlexMBA program aimed at people working in such fields as life and health science, biotechnology and wireless electronics. In the charter class of the executive MBA program, about 40 percent of students have advanced degrees in science or science-driven technology, says JoAnne Starr, assistant dean for MBA programs.

One student, Elaine Weidenhammer, received the first Gray Cary-Athena FlexMBA Scholarship, named for the law firm of Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich and Athena, a university-sponsored organization for women technology executives. Weidenhammer is associate director of business development for Nanogen, a business that supplies molecular diagnostic tests to the medical community and clinical researchers.

Starr says UCSD also schedules professional development seminars. The business school’s executive speakers series continues with a Sept. 15 talk on family wealth.

A week-long boot camp in August kicked off the graduate real estate program at USD. Industry speakers addressed students during the introductory forum for the 32-unit degree program crafted by the university and representatives from more than 70 companies. “They reviewed course curriculum and content,” says program director Elaine Worzala. “I think the MRSE is an example of how USD tries to work with the industry and listen to their needs to try to create programs that will benefit businesses in the real estate industry.”

USD also offers a joint MBA/MSRE degree and an MBA with a real estate concentration. The MSRE degree is a full-time, 11-month program that includes three weekend seminars. Students do “live projects” in two courses. Worzala says projects could range from determining what to do with an empty parking lot to assessing the feasibility of a site. Students may do projects for a business, and industry representatives will be invited to judge projects. Networking is an added benefit.

SDSU developed a sports management MBA after Padres officials approached the College of Business, says Ken Marino, associate dean. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

SDSU developed the sports management MBA after Padres officials approached the business school, says Ken Marino, associate dean of the College of Business. The school created the program working with an advisory board that includes Padres vice president Erik Judson; John Lynch, president of Broadcast Company of the Americas; and Alan Kidd, executive director of the San Diego Hall of Champions. Marino says sports management represents a broad spectrum that includes teams, media, marketing, equipment, sanctioning bodies and school districts.

SDSU’s 18-month program consists of core MBA courses and electives. Classes start in January. Industry experts will be guest speakers and bi-monthly panel discussions are planned on topics suggested by the advisory board. Students will attend school full-time and then serve a four- to six-month internship at the Padres front office and at Petco Park. Other internships may be offered by Callaway Golf, Mighty 1090 and SDSU’s athletics department.

Top business managers comprise the adjunct faculty at Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University, says Thomas Horstmann, dean of the San Diego campus. Professionals are invited to serve on panels that judge capstone projects of graduate business students. At the national level, Keller studies trends and works with businesses when designing degrees and programs, says Horstmann.

Similarly, the San Diego campus of University of Redlands has 30 adjunct faculty who teach part-time. “About 25 of the 30 are full-time employees of organizations that we think have a lot to contribute,” says Jerry Platt, named dean of the School of Business in July.

Platt says Redlands used information from a business survey when redesigning its master of science of information technology degree. His goal is to establish advisory boards at each campus. “What’s structured in San Diego could be different in Burbank,” he says. “The master of arts in management is a good fit”

Mimi Murray is San Diego program manager for Chapman University’s MS program in human resources. The university works with businesses in several ways and launched the Insight Out Forums in 2001. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

Chapman University works with businesses in several ways, says Mimi Murray, San Diego program manager for the MS program in human resources. The Insight Out Forums launched in 2001 represent a “learning and networking partnership” of the university, the American Society for Training and Development’s San Diego chapter and local organizations. Forums are held at sites like the Coronado Island Marriott Resort, where the focus in August was on “Navigating Change.” Murray says forum outcomes include showcasing “various organizations and the best practices they have in place.” Chapman also partners with organizations to provide professional development courses. Since 1994, the university has offered a certificate course for the Society for Human Resource Management. Four years ago, Chapman partnered with NonProfit Solutions for a nonprofit management certificate. During the Red Cross’s local reorganization, undergraduate program manager Bob Hertel brought two Red Cross CEOs to speak to organizational leadership classes.

Students at Alliant International University have worked as interns at a variety of businesses, including Merrill-Lynch, Wells Fargo and Bank of America. These may lead to jobs, but there’s an added benefit for some students. “International students enjoy the internship because they will have some American experience on their resumes,” says Ali Abu-Rahma, acting dean of the business college.

Alliant hires working professionals as adjunct faculty and regularly invites industry leaders as guest speakers. Qualcomm representatives helped design the graduate information and technology management courses.

At CSU San Marcos, the capstone project provides a link to businesses. A student may undertake a work assignment for the capstone project and that sometimes leads to a promotion, says Keith Butler, MBA program director.

Oliver Schlake, assistant professor at National University, says the institution wants to expand the relationship between students and business. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

National University wants to expand the relationship between students and businesses. Assistant professor Oliver Schlake envisions an arrangement similar to that found in his native Germany. Students there act “almost as consultants” for several months, sometimes working to solve problems for businesses. Of the 60 German students advised by Schlake, three-fourths were hired by the companies they helped.

“It’s not an internship in the traditional sense; they’re not forced to copy or file. Students hone their skills on some real project,” says Schlake, National’s lead faculty for e-business. He’s placed some local students in businesses and believes this process could be relevant to MBA students and those studying in areas such as engineering. “If a company has an idea or a project, I will help them formulate (an arrangement) and find students,” says Schlake. He can be reached at (858) 642-8417.

Partnerships between graduate schools and businesses change both for the better. Schools design programs to provide graduates with marketable skills, and business professionals bring relevant work expertise to campuses.