Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit

Whitman School’s iMBA Program grows by 27 percent in 2003-04

Monday, March 29, 2004, By News Staff
Share

Whitman School’s iMBA Program grows by 27 percent in 2003-04March 29, 2004Cynthia J. Moritzcjmoritz@syr.edu

The iMBA, the Martin J. Whitman School of Management’s distance MBA program for midcareer and executive students, has grown by 27 percent in 2003-04, according to recently released figures. Students come from 29 states and 10 countries to take advantage of the program’s mostly online format.

The University uses a credit-hour production calculation to measure growth in academic programs. This year’s target for iMBA was 1,395 credit hours, based on enrollment in 2002-03. The final number for 2003-04, recently communicated by the SU Budget office, is 1,773 credit hours. As of January 2004 there are 166 active students in the iMBA program. Notable growth came from students in the New York City area, women, students from underrepresented minority groups and SU alumni.

“iMBA is really gathering momentum now,” says Paula O’Callaghan, the program’s director. “I credit a lot of this growth to timing. The distance learning market is maturing, leading more of the best MBA students to choose this type of program. The Whitman School has been in the business of distance education for a long time, but now more demand exists for our high-quality product. I’ve experienced prospective iMBA students choosing between us and Duke University. I feel very good about Whitman being in that league.”

But it’s not just good timing that fuels the success of the iMBA program, says O’Callaghan. “A very critical piece of this story is the faculty. Our main task is to keep these far-flung students connected and involved with learning 365 or 366 days per year. The dedicated iMBA faculty are an indispensable part of this winning formula.”

The iMBA program also provides many extras to encourage student connectedness. Students in the program are required to spend three weeks per year at SU; outside of class time the program provides corporate speakers, company visits, roundtable discussions, career advising sessions and international trips. For example, in February a group of iMBA students participated in the Whitman School’s networking event at Lubin House in New York City. A week later, 25 iMBA students traveled to SU’s London Center to take an elective course dealing with managing project teams.

Students like the flexibility of the program. Patricia Beamish, of the American Red Cross in Syracuse, says, “I am a divorced mother with a job that involves up to 50 percent travel, I am a Girl Scout leader and active at my daughter’s school, I attend the gym regularly and have an active family and social life – This program allows me to keep the other parts of my life going, study while traveling or in the evenings and still make a connection with the school and other students.”

The average iMBA student is 35 years old, has 11 years of work experience and earns $82,000 per year. Nearly 20 percent already possess a master’s or higher degree. O’Callaghan says they tend to be picky consumers of MBA programs. “The main criteria that I used in selecting the iMBA were the diversity of the student body, the continued accreditation of the program and the sponsoring corporations and institutions that send their employees to attend the program,” says Dale Callaway of Bristol Myers-Squibb in Syracuse. “The iMBA has a long history of independent thinking and innovation, combined with an exceptional faculty base, all of which have led to the development of a program that is impressive.”

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Christine Stallmann Named University’s Chief Compliance Officer
    Thursday, September 28, 2023, By Jennifer DeMarchi
  • Ian Hosein Awarded New Patent For Process that Generates Energy from Saltwater
    Thursday, September 28, 2023, By Kwami Maranga
  • What to Expect With the Link Hall Renovations
    Thursday, September 28, 2023, By Kwami Maranga
  • New Student Association Leaders Aim to Get More Students Involved
    Thursday, September 28, 2023, By John Boccacino
  • Chancellor Syverud Addresses Athletics, Benefits, Sustainability at University Senate
    Wednesday, September 27, 2023, By News Staff

More In Uncategorized

Syracuse Views Fall 2023

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience using #SyracuseU on social media, fill out a submission…

Phillips Appointed Interim Director at Lender Center for Social Justice; Director Search Committee Named

The Lender Center for Social Justice has familiar leadership for the 2023-24 academic year while a renewed search for a permanent director is conducted. Kendall Phillips, founding co-director of the Lender Center and professor in the Department of Communication and…

Syracuse Views Spring 2023

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. Take a photo and share it with us. We select photos from a variety of sources. Submit photos of your University experience using #SyracuseU on social media, fill out a submission…

Awards of Excellence Honoree: Maxwell has Been ‘a Guiding Hand’ in Public Service Career

Standing before an audience of fellow Maxwell School alumni gathered in Washington, D.C., for the second annual Maxwell Awards of Excellence, CNN anchor Boris Sanchez ’09 shared the motivation behind his work as a journalist. Sanchez emigrated from Cuba as…

NASA Honoring Those Who Were Aboard Space Shuttle Columbia And Other Late Astronauts

Sean O’Keefe, University Professor in the Maxwell School, was interviewed for the USA Today article “Twenty years later, loss of space shuttle Columbia still teaches us lessons.” The article emphasizes how NASA’s Memorial Grove is used to honor late astronauts,…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.