We always have lunch with the students without the staff present and my first question is simply ‘What do you think
Posted in General on 05. Oct, 2010
“We always have lunch with the students without the staff present, and my first question is simply, ‘What do you think about the programme?’ It’s extremely useful to hear their answers.”The panel also looks at the minutes of the teaching committees to track the actions on things students want changed “We want to make sure these are being acted on,” says Jones. What they’re concerned with is what they’re getting in the classroom and the quality of their assignments.”Although the panel also meets with all the staff of a school at least once, along with the vice chancellor or president of the university, hearing students’ views is equally important, he insists. It’s easy to think of accreditation as a rather dry process of inspecting and box ticking, but there’s much more than it to that, says Martyn Jones, director of Aberystwyth Business School, and a regular member of the Association of MBAs (AMBA) accreditation panels. AMBA approval is thorough, taking up to five years and dictating minimum standards for a wide range of factors, including high admissions criteria for students, a large and varied cohort, a wide curriculum, a sizeable faculty with credible lecturers with good teaching and research profiles, adequate study facilities, and a host of other factors, including the extent to which student feedback is taken into account in course design and improvement. I realise that an MBA is not an instant passport to a better job or bigger salary but I believe it will help me move to something different.In the last six months of the course, I – and my fellow students – realised that it might take longer to find a job than we anticipated.
I’m now looking for one, especially as I have a new baby, but I am in a fortunate position financially, so I’m not going to rush in and take the wrong thing.. I wanted to become more commercially aware and so an MBA seemed like the best thing for me It has been incredibly hard work but definitely worth it I loved working in teams. I’m originally from South Africa, but had been in the British Army for a number of years and then moved into operations in investment banking. I was absolutely focused and single-minded and it has paid off.CASE STUDY – JUSTIN GRYLLS Justin Grylls recently completed the full-time MBA course at Cranfield School of Management and is still looking for a job but he remains optimistic about his prospects. I know that in the past you could swagger into interviews with an MBA and take your pick of jobs It’s not like that now.
An MBA was the best way of broadening my skills and getting a board level position.Imperial was the most down to earth college I looked at and the then head of school, David Norburn, was really inspirational, so I opted for it.Getting a job was my main priority. I was working for Kimberly Clark and a few of us were pushing for a director’s role but you don’t reach director level unless you really understand finance and operations. We look at the whole picture and help students to understand their strengths and weaknesses. And if they’re interested in becoming entrepreneurs, they can choose the Small Business Consulting elective which allows them to work on a business idea with MBS’s Incubator which was launched to turn good business ideas into reality.”CASE STUDY – DANNY ADAMSONDanny Adamson has just finished a full-time MBA at Imperial College London and has started work as commercial director for coffee and tea company, Gala.My decision to do an MBA was prompted partly by frustration.
Jeanette Purcell, Chief Executive, Association of MBAs, says, “Increasingly, MBA programmes provide a range of opportunities for students to apply their learning to practical situations in a business environment. The MBA, far from being classroom-based, is concerned with combining the benefits of on-the-job experience with other forms of learning.”Imperial, for example, encourages its MBA students to get involved in the university’s spin-off companies; Empresa also fosters an entrepreneurial spirit and last year 24 new companies were created by its graduates.Dr Jokyeong Kang, director of Manchester Business School’s full-time MBA programme says, “We’ve introduced ’softer’ skills such as leadership and negotiation as part of the core courses offered. We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of students taking projects in order to find a way into a company.”However, Ms Edmonds says that students remain optimistic and many are not accepting offers straightaway but are holding out for what they want.”I am consistently proud of Manchester Business School students turning down poor offers in the face of financial pressure and tough markets,” she says.To make their graduates more attractive to employers, business schools are focusing on new areas. “A few years ago, students would often do an MBA to help them change career. In today’s economic situation, companies want someone who can do the job from day one, so making that switch is more difficult.”Alison Edmonds, director of career management services at Manchester Business School has observed a recent trend.”We’ve found progress slower this year with a small reduction in the numbers reporting job successes at this time of year.