The MaineMBA: The MBA Your Way
Alexandra Skinner speaks to Dr. Norm O’Reilly, Dean of the graduate school of business at the University of Maine
Q. Your MBA offering has enjoyed tremendous success in a relatively short period of time. To what do you attribute this success?
A. Meeting high-calibre business students where they are (literally and academically) with an exceptionally high-calibre faculty and high-touch MBA program. The MaineMBA, which resulted from a merger of the University of Maine (a top-tier public research R1 Carnegie Classification) and the University of Southern Maine’s programs to create an AACSB accredited MBA program, has been met with high-level interest from students in Maine, across the United States and globally. I attribute the success to three key factors. First, our faculty. We have world-class professors from six continents who have that rare balance of teaching with a passion for student connection while also leading in cutting-edge research and scholarship. Second, our curriculum is a STEM-based MBA program with a challenging analytical core and 12 concentrations – or specializations – that students can choose from to customize their MBA. Finally, like many MBA programs today, we are fully flexible in our offerings and meet students online and with flexible scheduling. The MaineMBA offers every possible option – with courses available in 8-week intensive formats from wherever you are, synchronous, asynchronous and hybrid. We offer an array of student choice. Our students, especially our many full-time executives, love the fact they can control their MBA sequence to balance their demanding schedules.
Q. The MaineMBA is offered on-campus and online; are the programmes identical in terms of curriculum, electives, pace, and pricing?
A. Yes. We are very proud of the fact that the MaineMBA can be taken online or in-person, and from Maine, from across the United States or from anywhere in the world at the same price, with the same professors, and with the same course options. We like to say “it is the MBA your way.” We know that our professors, and access to them, is a big asset as compared with programs that may rely on teaching or research assistants, for example.
Read the full article here!
