UWRF expands Masters program

The UW-River Falls College of Business and Economics will roll out a new full-time Masters of Business Administration program next fall.

The college has seen rising interest in its evening program taught at the UWRF Hudson Center and the full-time program will offer an 18-month plan on the UWRF campus.
“The evening program has been around for over 10 years, it’s extremely successful,” said George Dierberger, Director of the MBA program. “We have around 128 active students and we are getting at capacity.”

Dierberger also said that the evening MBA program is aimed towards working individuals who have been working for at least two years, while the new full-time program is targeted toward recent college graduates.

“The full-time program is targeted at accounting majors, finance majors and Agriculture majors that want to gain a competitive advantage in the workforce,” Dierberger said.
While the program is aimed at some particular majors, Glenn Potts, dean of the College of Business and Economics, said that it is open to more than just a few.

“Students from any major will be eligible to apply for this,” Potts said. “It is extremely helpful for students who are worried about the job market at graduation and looking to take another step.”

The program, which Dierberger expects to have a lot of interest, will be limited to just 25 students. This gives the department flexibility to focus on the classes in the program and keeps the class size down.

“There will be several hundred that are interested, but we have to limit that number to a size that we feel comfortable with,” Dierberger said.

Potts said the program is a tremendous value for students looking for an MBA in the Twin Cities area.

“It is a high quality academic program that is [Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)] accredited and that accreditation exists for just 5 percent of business programs worldwide,” Potts said.

According to the AACSB website, the association has been around since 1916 and was first established as a membership organization for business schools. Today its accreditation provides benefits to its accredited schools by attracting high quality students, providing research, and allowing for global recognition.

The full-time program in the College of Business and Economics is something both Dierberger and Potts hope prospective MBA students look at before its other competitors.
“Our MBA for the 18 months will probably cost around $23,000, while the similar program at St. Thomas is over $55,000 and at the University of Minnesota its close to $70,000,” Dierberger said.

The College of Business and Economics is also hoping to bring in international students with this full-time option as well because of the global recognition of the AACSB accreditation and the value of UWRF.

Applications are now being accepted for the full-time program and Dierberger hopes to have all 25 spots filled by the end of March.

More information of the College of Business and Economics Master of Business Administration program can be found at uwrf.edu/CBE/.