Mohsen Anvari, dean of USD’s School of Business Administration, says the university’s graduate degree in global leadership is popular with the Navy and Marine Corps. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

The executive pondering a business school will soon have more choices about where to earn an MBA. In August, the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business will launch a two-year Executive MBA (EMBA) degree program in San Diego County. Although a site for the local center hasn’t been chosen, USC is looking in the North County, says Cherie Scricca, EMBA program associate dean.

The EMBA program is divided into themes so that a student isn’t graded on any individual course. Just as a job evaluation is based on overall performance, executives are graded on multiple courses. Classes will be held every other week on Fridays and Saturdays.

That scheduling, which allows professionals to maintain busy work schedules, is fairly typical of EMBA programs. Some schools offer all-inclusive packages that include food and books. Some programs consist of online instruction; National University provides a Spanish-language executive program. Some schools design executive degrees for specific professions. Other campuses provide relevant courses that complement the general MBA degree.

With all of those variables, how do business professionals know if they’re ready for an EMBA degree? Some schools base admission on employment, setting a requirement for number of years of management experience. Moreover, a person’s career objectives could determine the type of degree sought.

The traditional MBA generally draws someone changing careers, says Scricca. The average age of full-time students is 28. The average age of part-time MBA students is in the low 30s. Some of these students want to advance at their current jobs; others want to work somewhere else. Executives have generally been employed about 10 years. Those in upper management are being groomed for senior management. If in a senior position, the person is interested in a top-level job title. Executives are not looking for “radical career changes,” says Scricca.

She adds that USC’s move to San Diego is part of the university’s mission to grow and serve Southern California. A number of USC alums live in the county, and the opportunity to serve businesses and industry also drew the university. In addition to the EMBA program, USC will offer executive education courses.

SDSU is the veteran campus for local executive programs. The business school matriculates its 17th class in August, says Karen Courtney, EMBA program director. The average student is 40 and has 17 and a half years of professional work experience, with 11 years in management.

Courses are held every other Friday and Saturday. The all-inclusive cost includes meals, coffee and fresh fruit breaks in the afternoon. During the first year, students learn the fundamentals. The second year brings instruction in areas like leadership and entrepreneurship with guest speakers like Ralph Rubio and Leonard Lavin, the 85-year-old founder of the Alberto-Culver Co. Furthermore, Courtney is organizing a May field trip to Beijing and Bangkok.

UCSD’s Flex MBA program is for working professionals who plan to be in leadership roles, says JoAnne Starr, assistant dean for the Rady School of Management. The two-year degree is designed for professionals working in life sciences, biotech and information technology. Starr says students have an average of eight and a half years of work experience. Some are presidents; others run or own their companies.

Benefits of the program, says Starr, include the electives, the executive mentoring program and the camaraderie and networking that develop among students. She says the business school uses the FlexMBA to prepare people for their next jobs. “Their organizations believe there is tremendous value; graduate work is an investment by an organization.”

University of Phoenix’s executive MBA is an online, 10-course program, says Michael Reilly, chair of the College of Graduate and Business Management for San Diego campuses. The 60-week course of study follows problem-based learning. Students review problems in terms of a nine-step decision model. For a hypothetical example, university administrators see a weakness in the market for MBA programs, says Reilly. “The solution is to create an MBA program. It’s not just what problem is solved, but how does the solution align itself with the organization’s goals and expectations? How does it foster new opportunities, and what does it bring to the organization?”

He adds that Phoenix graduate business students have access to a fully electronic library with millions of articles and books. Materials include podcasts of topics like how to organize a research paper and instruction in one of the nine steps. These lessons are five-minute presentations with professional actors and graphics.

National University offers executive programs in English and Spanish. The English-language EMBA consists of 12 courses taken over 13 months, says Muhammad El-Mefleh, lead faculty for the program.

The Spanish-language EMBA is offered online, says Ramon Corona, lead faculty for the program targeted at the Latino population in the United States and students in Spanish-speaking countries. Last year was the pilot study for the degree program that starts this month. Students take eight core courses and four classes related to globalization. Each course is a month long. Coursework includes group work and threaded discussions. “It’s really exciting,” says Corona. We believe we are the first in California to offer the program entirely in Spanish and entirely online.”

USD has two graduate degrees oriented to executives. The master’s in executive leadership is similar to the executive MBA, says Mohsen Anvari, School of Business Administration dean. The 22-month program is offered in conjunction with The Ken Blanchard Cos. Anvari notes that outstanding graduates include Gary Ridge, CEO of WD-40. The dean says that the graduate degree in global leadership is popular with the Navy and Marine Corps. Topics covered in the 31-unit program include ethical issues and resolving conflicts.

Scheduling for both graduate programs is flexible with classes on alternate Fridays and Saturdays or every other week. Services for executives include providing books and parking so that students don’t have to run around the campus, says Anvari.

University of Redlands may redesign its two-year MBA program into a more accelerated degree, says Keith Roberts, associate business school dean. The program could be shortened to 15 months. It would be open to students with an appropriate undergraduate background such as a business degree, says Roberts. He notes that Redlands’ MBA is designed for working adults. Currently, graduate business students have the option of earning an emphasis in information systems, global business, finance or geographic information systems. Each emphasis consists of four Web-enhanced courses. Three sessions of each course are held Saturdays at a center in Orange County. The remaining three sessions are conducted online.

Keller Graduate School of DeVry University has an MBA program as well as graduate degrees in accounting and financial management, human resource management, information systems management, networking and communications management, project management and public administration. Within degree programs, students can take a four-course concentration. In addition, students can take classes to earn a professional certificate.

Warren L. Henderson Jr., dean of the Keller Graduate School of DeVry University, says its MBA program has several concentrations, among them accounting, finance, international business, information systems management and human resources. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

Warren L. Henderson Jr., Keller center dean, says concentrations in the MBA program include: accounting, finance, international business, health services, project management, information security, marketing, network and communications management, information systems management, hospitality management, general management, electronic commerce management and human resources.

The master of accounting and financial management features a Certified Public Accountant track, Chartered Financial Analyst track and a Certified Fraud Examiner emphasis.

Brad Johnson, assistant director of admissions, says that deployed military students appreciate the ability to transfer to another Keller campus or study online.

CSU San Marcos’ general graduate business program is not the traditional MBA offering, says Keith Butler, director of college operations. “We believe we have the best of both worlds,” he says. “The average work experience (of students) is about eight years. We have seasoned working professionals in our program, yet the cost is the same as a traditional state-supported MBA program. Our program is geared toward the working person who realizes the MBA is the key to moving up in an organization, and we do a great job with that.”

At Alliant University, MBA courses for working professionals are held in the evenings and some Saturdays, says Ali Abu-Rahma, associate dean of the Business and Management Division of the California School of Business and Organizational Studies.

Chapman University’s master’s in organizational leadership draws students from the corporate world, the nonprofit and public administration arenas and the military, says Mimi Murray, academic adviser for Chapman’s San Diego campus. “Our students are working professionals who understand that lifelong learning helps them build successful careers while adding value to their organizations,” she says. The program’s “award-winning approach focuses on a leader’s challenges in these competitive and sometimes turbulent times. The curriculum is grounded in both theory and practice, and its focus on the development of people and conceptual skills help the students to make a powerful and positive difference in their world of work.”

Whether a professional undertakes an EMBA or an MBA, there’s another benefit that can be taken back to the office. Students “learn as much from classmates as they learn from academicians,” says Courtney of SDSU.