In the Ohio University Integrated Master of Business Administration (MBA) Program, students work on teams with professional staff from the Voinovich School's Appalachian Regional Entrepreneurship Group (AREG) to apply business models they are learning in the classroom and provide consulting services to solve problems for businesses in the region.
The full-time, Integrated MBA program at the Ohio University College of Business integrates its core curriculum with Voinovich School projects. The program is unique in that it offers students opportunities for practical application of business models and concepts. Students work with Appalachian Regional Entrepreneurship Group staff at the Voinovich School to acquire consulting experience. They put their new skills to work for Appalachian businesses that often don’t have easy or affordable access to such services.
The partnership between the College of Business and the Voinovich School accomplishes two main goals. First, it allows students to gain real-world business experience and makes the MBA program more attractive to employers and potential students. Ninety percent of Ohio University’s Integrated MBA students have little prior work experience, but in 13 months at the school, they compile two or three years’ worth of experience. In the process, the students are exposed to a variety of industries and solve various business problems.
In 2006-07, all 42 MBA students put their skills to work for more than 400 regional businesses during their time at Ohio University. Free services to entrepreneurs included business plan development, finance and accounting, marketing, organizational development, manufacturing and technology and process improvement. Students spent 12 hours a week at the Voinovich School in addition to their regular coursework and received grades for their efforts.
Last year, the first fully integrated year of the program, a group of MBA students helped regional businesses secure an excess of $20 million in loans, $30 million in new government contracts and nearly $1.5 million from individual investors.
»Visit the Integrated Master of Business Administration Web site.