NEWS
RSU competency-based MBA helps prepare business professionals to lead in their organizations
RSU is offering a new competency-based education (CBE) Master of Business Administration (MBA) program designed to help prepare business professionals with industry experience to lead in their organizations faster.
Today’s business leaders must act swiftly to support the needs of organizations within a constantly changing global business environment. The competency-based MBA aims to equip graduates with advanced business skills to use in the workplace in approximately 12 months.
Instead of measuring comprehension through written assignments, the competency-based MBA assesses knowledge of real-world skills through theoretical analysis aligned to the work of current MBA professionals, such as creating sustainable organizational competitive advantages and developing value-creation global strategies, among other key leadership responsibilities.
“The competency-based MBA is ideal for the mid-level professional who can leverage their experience and knowledge in business to demonstrate competencies to help lead their organization during these unprecedented times,” Wilhelmsen said. “The program is structured to help prepare professionals for leadership roles within their organization, and at a faster pace.”
In addition to learning skills that can be applied immediately, graduates will have the ability to build a digital portfolio that includes coursework materials that demonstrate knowledge of workplace skills they’ve performed throughout the program. Portfolio materials could include examples of analyzing global supply chain management processes or examining statistical patterns to highlight performance and drive strategic planning.
The program is structured with working professionals in mind, enabling students to pursue their degree while having more flexibility to balance life and school. The CBE MBA is modeled around a self-governed learning structure that allows students to progress through the competencies at their own pace within the program’s structure.
Through the guidance of practitioner faculty, students can work on completing courses concurrently, doing a bit of work on each at a time, or can opt to pursue content in a more focused manner, competency-by-competency. Faculty provide learning opportunities with interactive learning components related to each competency.
Throughout the program, students will have regular and substantive interaction with practitioner faculty, who are subject matter experts with professional experience in the field in which they are teaching and advising students. Faculty will provide performance-based assessment of competencies and learning outcomes to monitor the professional business skills students know and can perform. Credits are earned by demonstrating to faculty an acceptable level of proficiency and understanding of a core competency.
To aid successful progression through each of the four 16-week blocks, each student will be assigned a faculty mentor, who will contact students weekly to provide support. Students will also have access to University resources, such as career coaches and University-organized networking opportunities and employer career fairs.
Qualified applicants must possess an undergraduate degree or higher in business or business management, a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher and a minimum of three years of experience in a business environment.