Can Booth Screen Applicants For Wealth?

Ten Ways You Can Add Value to Your Degree As An Alum

Stanford wasn’t always Stanford. When the school was founded in 1891, one east coast scribe quipped that professors would “lecture in marble halls to empty benches.” Boy, was that guy wrong! Over time, Stanford launched various schools and attracted top faculty, all while graduates helped build California (and the nation) into an economic and cultural powerhouse. As Stanford produced Presidents (Herbert Hoover), CEOs (Phil Knight), Chief Justices (William Rehnquist), and Nobel Prize Winners (Pick nearly anyone in Physics), the school’s reputation grew.

It took the time, imaginations, and grit of thousands of Stanford grads to make the school what it is now. If you’re fortunate enough to have earned a Stanford degree, you know it stands for something greater than your personal accomplishments. Of course, not all degrees are created equal. Employers recognize that the caliber of the curriculum, faculty, students, and business networks vary by school. As a result, some degrees carry more weight than others, particularly when you’re looking for a job. While an alma mater grows less important with each year out of school, it is ultimately a reflection on you. Like a stock, it can gain or lose value over time (right, Thunderbird?). Wondering how your MBA is perceived in the marketplace? In a recent post on myeEMBA, Dr. Rodney G. Alsup shares exactly how you can influence the value of your MBA. Here are some of his thoughts:

• “Be Responsive – Program administrators and faculty members periodically communicate with alumni. Sometimes they are sharing information, and other times they are asking for survey participation or some other form of assistance. While it is not necessary to respond to each communiqué, it does make a difference when alumni comment or respond, even if it is only an acknowledgment of the message’s receipt. Alumni responsiveness is an indicator that accreditors and ranking organizations use to measure program quality.”

• “Connect with Faculty – Staying connected with the program’s faculty members provides teaching faculty with the opportunity to share new course content with graduates who may have experience or an interest in the subject matter. Such interactions can lead to an improved course or lecture for currently enrolled students, as well as future students.”

• “Recruit Graduates – The number of students graduating and having a job offer is one measure of a program’s quality. Employed alumni can work with their company’s HR Department and the program’s placement office to make sure that the two are connected and exchanging information about job opportunities and potential candidates.”

• “Engage with Social Media – MBA programs and alumni groups are using social media for student recruiting and other related activities. From an alumni standpoint, the effort breaks down when large groups of alumni are not social-media users. Even infrequent users can make a difference with an occasional retweet of a program’s tweet or liking a Facebook post of the program. Any one of these actions can extend the program’s reach, thereby enhancing its image.”

To read the rest of Dr. Alsup’s ideas, click on the link below.

Don’t Miss: Most and Least Recommended MBA Programs By Alumni

Source: MyeEMBA