Ohio State Fisher MBA: Career-Focused Innovation Driving Changes

The Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business is committed to continuously innovating on all of its educational offerings – and for its Full-Time MBA (FTMBA) program, that means a laser focus on one central theme: student outcomes.

“We are preparing the most idealistic generation in modern times to enter a world that is in line with their values, in line with how they see the future of work, and in line with being purpose-driven,” says Lori Kendall, Academic Director of the FTMBA at Fisher. “This generation wants an authentic experience, where they see faculty as enablers and facilitators and not the ‘sage on the stage.’” 

“They expect to do a lot of learning-by-doing, with faculty working together to create an integrative experience.”  

For the approximately 100 full-time MBAs at Fisher, that learning-by-doing takes place in an environment that offers the best of two worlds. On campus, the MBA experience is collaboratively competitive among the tight-knit learning community. Off campus, Columbus, Ohio, is a vibrant city and a booming tech hub of the Midwest, with the country’s 14th-largest city recently attracting long-term investment from tech giants Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Intel. 

IN-PERSON MATTERS

In recent years, including throughout the pandemic, many MBAs began taking courses online, which Kendall says can be isolating. Minimizing that isolation while maximizing the in-person strengths of Fisher’s MBA was a key driver behind the program’s recent enhancements. 

“I see a significant difference in students coming in the door today compared to those before the pandemic,” Kendall says. “Five years ago, most of our students were millennials, with college and job experiences almost exclusively ‘in-person,’ hence less emphasis was expected from students on acquiring interpersonal skills.” However, the pandemic was disruptive and isolating, with interactions taking place behind a computer screen in online environments. Our students are smart and know that in order to compete in the global job marketplace, they need to be effective communicators and presenters, regardless of where business conversations take place.”

At Fisher, part of the value of getting an in-person MBA is the interpersonal connection, which Kendall and her team of faculty and staff members have strengthened. 

“They are asking for high-touch, intensive preparation and coaching that allow them to be effective in-person, online and in remote interactions and engagements,” Kendall says. “Skills for those interpersonal modalities are quite different. The in-person experience capitalizes on what you simply cannot get in a pure online environment. This is the investment that students are making to attend residency programs.”

A BREAK IN CONNECTION

Recent enhancements to Fisher’s Full-Time MBA were informed by several focus groups and insights from recruiters, employers, alumni, student leadership as well as current students. College and program leaders asked themselves tough questions like, “How are we positioning students for the job that they want when they graduate?” and “Are we doing as good of a job as we could be doing?”

The questions sparked a comprehensive and honest assessment that revealed a need to better prepare students with the skills to interact, grow, and succeed as business professionals. Enhancements to the Full-Time MBA required focusing on professional development and building interpersonal skills — from speaking, presenting, and executive presence, to supporting student wellness through encouraging better time management, eating right, exercising, and getting the proper amount of sleep. 

“We’ve had really honest conversations about the culture that we are trying to create here,” says Kendall. 

Just as important as honesty, intentionality was a key driver in the changes.

“We didn’t want to change just for the sake of change. It was very intentional,” says Aravind Chandrasekaran, Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Programs. “Insights from those who recruit our students – and from those who have stopped recruiting here — may have been one of the most important insights for these changes to the program.” 

“Even as work is shifting to more and more online, we were told to focus on interpersonal skills and to develop students to be effective working as a team. We recognized that we were missing some parts of it.” 

Now, interpersonal skills and professional development – along with Fisher’s emphasis on experiential learning – are at the heart of the re-imagined FTMBA program. 

“Those areas used to be options, but now they are core components,” Chandrasekaran says. 

INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC ACADEMIES 

Another enhancement to the Full-Time MBA is Fisher’s Career & Industry Immersion Academies, which gives students defined opportunities to specialize in disciplines related to four highly relevant industries: finance; marketing; operations; analytics and supply chain; and strategy, leadership, and consulting. 

“Our students are saying very clearly, ‘I need you to walk with me, help me figure it out, and provide structured and focused opportunities for me to experiment and learn a discipline and an industry,’” says Kendall.

The academies serve as overarching umbrellas for exploring specific interest areas and provide plenty of real-world learning experiences – and flexibility — in each. (MBAs have the option to switch between academies if they don’t initially find the right fit.) Academies will create opportunities for hands-on learning beyond the robust experiential learning offerings that remain a hallmark of the Fisher Full-Time MBA program. 

“It’s clear from our perspective that the goal for our program is to help the students get ready to enter the professional world from day one,” says Paul North, Executive Director of Graduate Programs at Fisher. “That is so important, especially for this generation. They want to make sure the investment they are making is going to pay off.”

RECONNECTING THROUGH FISHER

Kendall and her MBA support team of five strongly believe that students seeking to find their places in the business world can benefit from their experience at Fisher. 

“It’s about creating those deep networks to build a community,” she says. “We are in this because we think we can prepare you to go out with whatever is your authentic mission, whatever is the change you want to see in the world and be principled leaders.”  

Another large change to the program was creating a two-person leadership model — with Leanda Rix serving as Managing Director of the Full-Time MBA. She collaborates closely with Kendall and focuses on bridging the MBA community with the greater Columbus business community – from Fortune 500 companies to small family-owned nonprofits. 

“We are attracting people who are looking to be a part of a community with a great local economy where there are countless opportunities for growth,” Rix says. “Our students want to stay in Ohio, which is a huge part of the MBA experience at Fisher. They want to find jobs locally, and living here is very affordable compared to other major metro areas. You can have a wonderful quality of life here.” 

This emphasis on community is driven, in part, by current MBA students. Kendall praised the second-year MBA students who self-organized and stepped up as peer coaches and mentors to the first-year MBAs. 

Both Kendall and Rix host weekly coffee chats for students and for anyone considering getting their MBA at Fisher. For those prospective students she speaks with, Kendall emphasizes there’s more to evaluating MBA programs than just salaries and rankings.

“People choose Fisher’s Full-Time MBA because of the program itself, the quality of life Columbus offers, and an opportunity to relocate to one of the fastest-growing cities,” Kendall says. “It’s never been a more exciting time to be a Buckeye.”

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Aravind Chandrasekaran is Fisher’s Distinguished Professor of Operations and Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Executive Education.

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