BusinessTN

Tennessee’s future economic prowess depends not only on improving its education programs for today’s students but also on boosting the educational levels and skill sets of its white collar workforce. Similarly, businesses large and small must educate their employees to prepare for tomorrow’s demands and opportunities. The Volunteer State is home to at least 19 MBA programs that offer a variety of options and are ready and willing to fulfill any postgraduate need.

Universities and colleges throughout the state afford opportunities to those looking to gain business acumen before entering the workforce as well as to employed workers seeking additional training or knowledge for professional growth. However, while many programs accept college seniors, most prefer a few years of work experience, and some, like Belmont University in Nashville and King College in Bristol, actually require professional experience for admission. William Teng, director of the School of Business and Economics at King College, says King College’s MBA is an accelerated, 19-month program in which the average student is 36 years old.

“Work experience allows students to relate so much faster,” Teng says. “For example, many of our MBA students are mid-level managers, so when we teach them management theory, they pick it up right away because they practice it every day.

These days, more B-school students opt for one of a growing number of part-time programs, so they can maintain jobs and avoid debt. As a result, most Tennessee schools offer some sort of part-time option, along with evening, weekend or online classes.

While students can choose to pursue a general MBA, which typically offers instruction in business principles and practices such as accounting, finance and marketing, many colleges and universities also offer specific emphases within their programs. At Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, which launched its MBA program about two years ago, students choose between leadership (which, beginning in August, will be offered online) and accounting tracks. The university says each track is designed not only to develop “strong, perceptive organizational leaders with an advanced understanding of how organizations compete in an ever-changing corporate, technological and economic climate,” but also to provide “higher levels of specialized insight and skill not available through a general MBA degree.

“We think there is a sufficient economic need to provide an option for this business skill set, and because our focus is on Christian character, we think there is a strong enough demand in the business community we serve for an ethics-based philosophy, whether you are a particular religion or not,” says Ray Eldridge, dean of the School of Business at FHU, which is located about 20 miles from Jackson and affiliated with the Church of Christ.

Several schools, such as Vanderbilt University, Tennessee State Univer- sity, Southern Adventist University, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and King College, also offer health care-related MBA programs or emphases to serve Tennessee’s booming health care industry.

Last fall, King College, which has had several students from the Mountain States Health Alliance and the Holston Valley Medical Center graduate from its general MBA program, launched its health care emphasis, which includes the general MBA curriculum and five additional months for health care administration classes.

“We did it in response to a market survey that found tremendous demand from the health care industry for a health care degree,” Teng says. “The mission is to prepare the managers of today to be the effective strategic leaders of tomorrow.”

UT-Knoxville, the University of Memphis and Vanderbilt offer executive MBA programs that are tailored to working managers and executives. Tami Fassinger, associate dean of executive programs for Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management, says the average age of students who attend Vanderbilt’s 21-month, two-weekend/month EMBA program is 36. The program, she says, is designed for students who have reached a certain level of distinction within their companies and possess the ability to implement change.

“Our goal is to take people already in positions of management and decision-making influence and give them the tools that will allow them to be better stewards of running their businesses,” she says.

Gaylord and Schneider Electric are companies that regularly send employees to Vanderbilt’s program, which has been around since 1978. But corporate employees aren’t the only ones who benefit from MBA programs.

For example, TSU, which offers a general MBA and the opportunity to specialize in four concentrations (accounting, health care management, supply chain management and management of information systems) often has Tennessee government employees, particularly those who work in auditing or budgeting, in its MBA program.

“Many promotional opportunities in government depend on an advanced degree,” says Raoul Russell, director of graduate studies for TSU’s College of Business. “The majority of the people in our program are moving up in their chosen profession and looking either to increase their opportunities within their company or find something else in their career path.

Evening classes and TSU’s downtown Nashville campus, which is undergoing a renovation that will be complete in the next few months, allow easy access and convenience for government employees and company executives.

Whether you’re an employee or an employer, take some time to explore the MBA options Tennessee colleges and universities have to offer. Chances are there’s one out there that suits your needs.