An MBA For The NBA - Poets&Quants

Harvard Business School Professor Anita Elberse is leading a new program that pairs NBA players with MBA student mentors to help young athletes up their business game

An MBA For The NBA

Who is the newest star student at Harvard Business School?

Try NBA star Kyrie Irving.

Sports Illustrated reports that the Celtics guard is taking part in Harvard Business School’s “Crossover Into Business” program.

A Mentorship Program Catered To Professional Athletes

The semester-long program is catered to professional athletes seeking to develop their business skills by working with MBA student mentors.

“These mentors help the athletes develop their business acumen and empower them to make better business decisions, all in a way that fits the athletes’ busy lives, is tailored to their interests, and leverages the acclaimed Harvard Business School case method,” according to Harvard’s website.

While the program is catered to be flexible towards athletes’ schedules, participants are expected to analyze a case study with their mentors every two to three weeks.

This year, participating athletes include former NFL tight end Martellus Bennett; NBA players Paul Millsap, Zaza Pachulia and Spencer Dinwiddie; and athletes from the WNBA, Major League Soccer, UFC and the American Ballet Theater, according to Sports Illustrated.

Led By Harvard’s Anita Elberse

The program is taught by Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse, who is no amateur when it comes to working with big name celebrities.

Elbrese also heads a course called “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports,” which focuses on the “unique challenges of developing, managing, and marketing a successful entertainment offering.” The course’s curriculum aims to teach effective talent management and entertainment business strategies.

“The target audience is mid- to-senior level executives who work in the media or entertainment space – or hoping to make a transition into that space,” Elberse says. “Or, they could come from industries affiliated with or helping this industry – like advertising. It is also people that work directly with the talent and sometimes the talent themselves.”

On Monday, Elberse kicked off the “Crossover Into Business” program.

“So fun to welcome these amazing athletes to the Harvard family yesterday!” Elberse wrote on Instagram. “They crushed it in their case discussions during the #CrossoverIntoBusiness kick-off. And kept things 100% serious throughout the day, as you can see.”

Sources: Sports Illustrated, Harvard Business School, Poets & Quants, Harvard Business School

George Washington University’s Business School

Big Name MBA Program Badly Misses Projected Enrollment

A Washington DC business school has missed its projected graduate enrollment this year by nearly 30%.

The George Washington University School of Business announced that enrollment dropped by nearly 17% since 2017. The Hatchet reports the B-school projected a 19% growth. However that expectation fell short. According to information obtained by The Hatchet, roughly 500 students have enrolled in the b-school’s graduate program this year.

A Steady Decline

Out of the 17 graduate programs at GW, 13 have missed projected enrollment numbers for the fiscal year of 2018, according to The Hatchet. Over the past five years, the b-school’s overall enrollment in master’s programs has experienced a steady decline, dropping by nearly 16% since 2012, according to GW’s enrollment data.

The Global Master of Business Administration program experienced one of the highest deficits, The Hatchet reports. The program had expected to enroll 80 students for 2018, but only 50 students ended up in class. That deficit has cost the b-school more than $3 million, with tuition roughly estimated at $105,000 per student.

Jason Shevrin, a GW spokesman, says the school is continuously prioritizing its students and ensuring that it is prepared for changes ahead.

“The business school will continually examine all its programs while it strives to align its offerings with the needs of its students and the demands of the marketplace,” Shevrin tells The Hatchet.

A Striking Trend

GW isn’t the only school experiencing enrollment troubles. Overall, the full-time MBA has met some turbulence in recent years.

Enrollments to full-time programs in the US dropped nearly 20% between 2006 and 2016, according to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

Experts say employment is one of the biggest competitors when it comes to the MBA. With the growth in the US economy in recent years, MBA application volume has actually decreased as a result.

Today, GMAC estimates that 70% of prospective students in North America are considering alternatives to business school to meeting their goals.

“More employers are saying you don’t need an MBA,” Dawna Levenson, director of MIT Sloan admissions, tells P&Q.

To add to that, MBA tuition isn’t getting any cheaper.

“The cost of a graduate business degree and the need to take on student debt have the biggest potential impact and are the most likely to divert candidates from the B-school pipeline,” GMAC reports.

YoungKi Park, an assistant professor of information systems and technology management at GW, says the declining enrollment at GW isn’t surprising. The graduate landscape, he says, has changed.

“The general program doesn’t work anymore, so we have to make more sophisticated, more customized that reflects the changing environment,” he tells The Hatchet.

Sources: The Hatchet, GW, GMAC, Poets & Quants

USC’s Marshall School of Business

A Business Education For Veterans

If you’re in the military and looking to transition into the business world, you may want to check out this program at the University of Southern California.

USC’s Master of Business for Veterans (MBV) program is a specialized executive MBA program that’s designed to help transition students from the military to professional life.

Emotional Support And Career Opportunities

The program has helped many veterans find their way after service.

Ty Smith, a graduate of the program and retired SEAL, tells Business Insider that the program turned his life around.

“It forced me to look at myself in the mirror and make some decisions, because I wasn’t happy with the person that I had become, and I wasn’t happy with who I saw myself becoming five years from that point in time,” Smith tells Business Insider.

Smith met with the program’s faculty director Robert Turrill, who over the course of several weeks, met with Smith and supported him through his transition.

Smith tells Business Insider that USC’s MBV program “is not just a traditional academic program — the transition side of it is very important, as well.”

A Program For Veterans, By Veterans

The MBV program is headed by James Bogle, a U.S. Army veteran with a background in international relations.

Bogle says the program is especially supportive in helping veterans transition to civilian life.

“There are three things that folks who leave the military universally find lacking in their lives,” Bogle tells Business Insider. They’re “one, serving a higher mission, two, camaraderie, and, three, a distinctive identity.”

Through the program, veterans spend one year towards a graduate degree that is “designed to leverage the management and leadership experience already gained during military service,” according to USC. “The MBV provides formal business knowledge and develops critical thinking skills. Participants will discover the transferability of their military experience and skill sets to the business environment, as well as the ability to launch, manage, and grow a new business.”

Overall tuition costs around $55,000, but participating veterans can pay for the costs through scholarships and the GI Bill.

A Real Network

One of the selling points of the MBV program is the extensive network that veterans will gain through the program. And while almost all MBA programs highlight this benefit, at USC’s MBV program, it’s especially important.

“The military transition programs, while solid and having the best intentions, tend to lead you towards civilian jobs that mirror your service history,” Scott Giles, a lead program integrator in the Air Force and a current MBV student, tells Business Insider. “The MBV program focuses less on what you have done, and acknowledges that this group of people will be successful in any environment, and helps you decide what you want to do.”

According to Bogle, the MBV program has strong connections with a number of companies, including Bank of America, the Big Four accounting firms, and Disney to name a few.

Courtney Foster, a 2017 MBV grad, says veterans in the program already have an advantage when it comes to business. With many veterans already having leadership or managerial experience, Foster says, they just need to hit the ground running.

“We have all the experience we need,” she tells Business Insider. “We just have to learn to couch it in the correct terms.”

Sources: Business Insider, USC

 

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