B-School Suspends Enrollment

A Minneapolis-based business school is suspending enrollment in its full-time MBA program.

The University of St. Thomas’ Opus College of Business announced that it would be immediately suspending admissions into both its Full-time MBA and MS in Accountancy programs.

The reason? A shift in student demand.

“Demand, for especially graduate business education, is changing,” Stefanie Lenway, dean of the school’s Opus College of Business, tells the Star Tribune. “Students don’t have as much money as they used to, so the opportunity cost of going full-time is through the roof, and they need much more flexibility.”

RESTRUCTURING STRATEGY

The b-school announced a new strategy, which includes new leadership appointments, plans to leverage technology and data, and a number of outreach activities in order to keep up with the shift in demand.

“Higher education and the University of St. Thomas face constant pressure to modernize and create efficiencies that allow us to focus resources on offerings that are in demand, while also contributing to university and college strategic priorities,” Lenway says in a press release.

The b-school intends to replace current faculty graduate program directors and Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Strategic Outreach with a new Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, who will be responsible for both the academic and operational aspects of the graduate program portfolio.

Additionally, the b-school also announced plans to utilize data and leverage its resources more effectively.

“Going forward we will seek to more effectively leverage technology and data, reduce transaction costs when appropriate, and be even more responsive in delivering the right mix of high-quality graduate certificate and degrees based on market needs,” Lenway says. “And, the college will leverage other existing university departments to provide outreach, alumni and career services, and to deliver non-degree executive education programs.”

These changes, according to Lenway, are meant to help steer the b-school in the right direction.

“The impact of digitization and demographic shifts have only begun to become visible in higher education and are here for the long term,” she says. “As such, the Opus College is reimagining our organizational structure to remain a leader in management education.”

Sources: University of St. Thomas, Star Tribune