SDSU Business Dean Gail Naughton was joined in New York City by Qualcomm Chair Irwin Jacobs to announce the school’s new one-year Global Entrepreneurship MBA program.

Change is in the air at local graduate business schools. Next fall, students in SDSU’s new MBA in global entrepreneurship (GEMBA) program will study at universities in four countries. UCSD’s Rady School of Management will be housed in a new building in 2007. This year, online chats in some National University classes involve speaking rather than keyboarding. Some business schools revised coursework; modifications include an emphasis on social responsibility. In addition, some business schools provide professional mentoring for students, and some now offer MBA programs for full-time students.

SDSU’s GEMBA is a one-year program that starts with six weeks of study in San Diego. Students then attend classes for 12 weeks at a university in China, then spend the same amount of time at universities in India and the Middle East. They return to San Diego for their final six weeks of coursework.

“This unprecedented MBA is designed to offer an exciting and full cultural and practical experience for people who want to become global leaders in this rapidly changing business environment,” says Gail Naughton, College of Business Administration dean. She is an entrepreneur and pioneer in the field of tissue engineering. “Students will experience the culture firsthand while learning from both academic and business experts.”

SDSU’s corporate partners are Qualcomm, Invitrogen, Microsoft, Intel and KPMG. Academic partnerships were established with the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (NOIDA campus), University of Hyderabad, United Arab Emirates Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) and American University of Beirut. At press time, SDSU was negotiating partnerships with universities in China. MBA cohorts will be assigned to universities based on academic strengths, student interest and the academic calendar.

“Key executives from our corporate partners will visit classrooms to share their best practices in running and growing a successful global business. These corporate partners are truly global entrepreneurs, and the world is their marketplace,” says Naughton.

Keith Butler, director of operations for the College of Business Administration at CSU San Marcos, likes the new ‘real world’ component of the independent study projects added to the school’s MBA courses. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

At CSU San Marcos, the MBA program for working adults will expand from 48 to 64 units. The change taking effect in fall 2007 reflects the addition of a one-unit independent study project for each course except the master’s project. The independent study project allows students to “take what they learn in the MBA to the real world,” says Keith Butler, director of operations for the College of Business Administration. “We feel we’ve always been a strong program.” He says the revised coursework brings “rigor and relevance.”

Projects are completed outside the classroom and will be based on one of four themes designated when students begin their graduate business studies. The professor will select the specific theme for the class. Butler says an accounting class project might emphasize ethics; an operations management course project could focus on the environment.

Construction is 60 percent complete on UCSD’s 50,000-square foot business school building, says assistant dean JoAnne Starr. Located at the north end of the campus off Torrey Pines Road, the building is expected to be turned over in the spring, she says. There’s tiered seating in classrooms, and balconies on every floor provide ocean views.

The Rady School began its Flex MBA program for working professionals in 2004 and offered the graduate business degree for full-time students the following year. The first Flex MBA class of 58 students graduated last August. “A number of students were promoted internally, three entered venture capital businesses and a couple of entrepreneurial (ventures) look like they’re going to fly,” says Starr. One student, Niall O’Donnell, was named by the Center for Venture Education as one of 30 Kauffman Fellows for 2006. Moreover, Starr says the FlexMBA cohort started an alumni association “before going out the door.”

Although USD just began offering a full-time MBA last fall, enrollees’ high GMAT scores rank the school ‘with some of the best in the nation,’ says Andrew Allen, interim dean of USD’s School of Business Administration. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

USD began offering a full-time MBA degree in the fall, says Andrew Allen, interim dean of the School of Business Administration. He notes that new full- and part-time MBA students have average GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) scores of 646. “That puts us up with some of the best in the nation,” he says.

Furthermore, the university expanded the graduate business programs for the full- and part-time MBA and the International MBA from 49 to 50 units. In addition to business fundamentals, Allen says the program includes nine units of Socially Responsible Leadership Development courses.

The university started an internship program for full-time students to match students with assignments related to their career paths. For example, Allen says a student with U.S. and Russian citizenship is studying for a joint MBA/law degree. She’s interested in the area of international adoption. “We paired her with one of the best in Southern California,” he says.

The field of graduate business schools expanded in September when USC began classes for its executive MBA (EMBA) program at La Costa Resort and Spa. The first class consists of 59 students, says Cherie Scricca, EMBA associate dean for the Marshall School of Business. She says the university is looking into ways to involve the local business community. CEOs in the San Diego area may be asked to speak to classes or at special dinners, she says.

Students at Point Loma Nazarene’s Fermanian School of Business now take a “Leading with Integrity” course in each semester of the two-year MBA program, says Maggie Bailey, MBA program director. A group of 10 to 12 students meets twice each semester with a faculty mentor to tackle issues such as leadership, social entrepreneurship, community and ethics. Mentors include Randy Newcomb, vice president of the Omidyar Network. The network started by eBay founders Pam and Pierre Omidyar, features a humanitarian-based investment group.

The school is also exploring the involvement of MBA students in service opportunities and social entrepreneurship. This year, PLNU will probably serve Restore International. The humanitarian agency started by professor Bob Goff rescues children from slavery. The university will soon introduce a mentoring program that connects a senior executive with an MBA student.

This fall, Alliant Interna-tional University’s Marshall Goldsmith School of Management added a graduate concentration in sustainable business. It consists of three courses: Sustainable Management, Environmental Management Reporting and Sustainable Marketing. “This is particularly important in San Diego, which has little water, 10 percent locally, and not much locally produced energy,” says David Bainbridge, the associate professor serving as lead faculty for the concentration.

The employment outlook is promising for people with experience and education in sustainable business, says Bainbridge. He notes that former students started a company that works with hotels and motels on energy conservation. “Management is adapting to change,” he says.

At National University, students wear headsets and speak into microphones to participate in online chats, says Don Schwartz, interim dean of the School of Business and Management. While instructors are required to offer at least one online weekly session, student participation is optional.

Sessions are recorded and can be reviewed by a student who missed a session. Participating in chats accounts for 8 percent of the course grade. Students who choose not to chat watch the recording and write a one-page summary about what they learned.

Some instructors schedule two weekly sessions, and chats usually last 90 minutes. Some are two hours with time at the end for students to stay after class to talk to the teacher. National uses iLinc software, which allows the online display of items like documents, spreadsheets and tax returns. Instructors and students can modify the online material.

Schwartz anticipates that schools will provide more online offerings or use more technology in the future. He notes that 8 percent of business students took online courses when National began offering them five years ago. Now 42 percent of students are enrolled in e-courses.

Last July, Shelly Neal, came on board as Chapman University College’s community outreach and marketing coordinator. Her goals include partnering with businesses to provide on-site training and development. Neal’s outreach includes presentations about Chapman’s “special pricing to honor those working in law enforcement.” The rate applies to the graduate criminal justice degree.

Neal is promoting “Mastering Supervision,” Chapman’s 12-week leadership development certificate program. Aimed at supervisors and entry-level managers, the program starts Feb. 2 at Chapman’s Mission Valley campus. A two-hour information session is scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 8. To RVSP or for information, call Neal at (760) 688-6077.

University of Phoenix began offering an MS degree in accounting this month and will launch a graduate program in finance in February, says Michael Reilly, campus college chair of the College of Graduate Business and Management. The MS series will continue with several more degrees in the future, he says. The programs are 60 weeks, and all but the accounting degree consist of a common core of 10 courses. The accounting coursework includes preparation for the California CPA exam, with instruction available for people who didn’t receive it as undergraduates.

Keller Graduate School of DeVry University offers an MBA degree as well as graduate programs in accounting and financial management, human resource management, information systems management, networking and communications management, project management and public administration.