Master of Business Administration (MBA)

The University of St. Francis implemented its MBA program in the fall of 1993. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) will prepare you for executive leadership. Today’s employers place an increased emphasis on hiring and retaining employees with advanced degrees. In turn, employees with advanced degrees, on average, earn a higher salary. The MBA program provides strength in the quantitative areas of economics, accounting, and financial management while emphasizing the qualitative areas of management, organizational behavior, and marketing. Students in the MBA program will gain skills in critical thinking, team building, written and oral communications, use of technology to solve business problems, and leading with integrity and a sense of ethics. The MBA graduates will acquired essential managerial skills with a strategic focus on customers in a global market.

Accreditation
The College is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), the leading specialized accreditation association for business education supporting, celebrating, and rewarding teaching excellence. Accreditation is evidence of our commitment to teaching excellence, best practices, and continuous improvement of our programs. There are approximately 2,400 U.S. institutions of higher education that have business-related curricula. More than 400 are members of ACBSP of which 300 have successfully achieved accreditation.

Program Features
Quality— USF strives to provide a quality educational program that fits into the busy lives of adult learners. Students can complete their MBA at their own pace while working. Classes meet one evening a week, on six all-day Saturday sessions, or online during the 14-week semester.

Practical—Courses run three semesters each year (fall, spring, summer) and a student may enter the program during any semester. This nine course program (36 credit hours) can be completed in one to three years. Courses are projected for three years at a time, enabling the student to plan his/her schedule. Credit can also be earned for on-the-job projects.

Flexible— The entire MBA program is offered both onsite and online. Online courses are a viable alternative for professionals with busy personal, work and/or travel schedules. The online courses, their content, requirements, and assignments, as well as the semester calendar, are the same as on-campus courses. Students regularly interact with faculty, who are specially trained to offer a challenging, exciting, and meaningful online course experience, a “classroom” experience that is readily applicable to the everyday business world.

Convenient— Students can complete an MBA at any time, any place through their laptop, home or office computers and an Internet service provider. From admission through graduation, USF also works with its graduate-level students ensuring that all parts of the educational process progress smoothly. USF removes any worry so MBA students can focus on earning their degree.

Real-world Experience— Faculty in the MBA program have both academic credentials and real-world experience. The full-time faculty are active in consulting, research, and professional associations. The adjunct faculty are professionals in the content of the courses they teach. They bring their experiences to the classroom to provide students with immediate, practical application. Students’ assignments, research and projects can frequently be applied to their workplace situations.

Networking— Students in the MBA program are individuals who share the goal of professional growth and development, bringing to the classroom their perspectives and backgrounds as managers. Students network with one another and share knowledge in a wide range of business topics. Class size averages between 15 and 20, providing the opportunity for an exciting interactive learning environment.

The objectives of the curriculum and student outcomes are as follows:

NATIONAL HONORS SOCIETY

The MBA program provides students with the opportunity to be a member of Delta Mu Delta, a national honor society in business administration with a growing membership of 130,000 nation wide. For membership eligibility, students must have completed at least half the requirements for the degree with a minimum cumulative 3.6/4.0 G.P.A and be in the top 20% of their class.

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

To be considered for admission, an applicant must have a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a minimum 2.75 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale and either have two years managerial experience or appropriate GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) scores. Students must submit a transcript to determine which, if any, prerequisites they need.

The University of St. Francis MBA program accepts candidates with undergraduate degrees from any discipline. However, candidates need to show proficiency in fundamental business skills in management, marketing, quantitative methods and statistics, economics, finance and financial accounting. This proficiency can be demonstrated through one of three methods: 1) work experience 2) previous course equivalent to the content required 3) completion of online survey courses in the specific areas listed above.

If the student is required to complete the survey courses, they should be taken as soon as possible because many of the courses are prerequisites for the core courses. Survey courses and core courses may be taken simultaneously, as long as the prerequisite has been completed for the course in which a student is enrolled.

Computer competency in word processing and spread sheets is required.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

Thirty-six to forty-eight semester hours of graduate level courses are required.
Maintenance of a B average (3.0/4.0 GPA) is necessary for advancement to candidacy and graduation.