USC Marshall MBA Student Echoes Faculty Revolt: ‘We Talk, But You Don’t Listen’

As faculty tensions spill into public view at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, an MBA student tells Poets&Quants that the unrest has been building for months – and from fellow students’ perspective, the concerns go far beyond the classroom.

“This is an escalation,” the current MBA student tells P&Q, speaking candidly on the condition of anonymity. “These issues didn’t just start now.”

The student describes a program grappling with cost-cutting, weak career outcomes, and what many perceive as a growing disconnect between leadership and the student body – concerns that echo, in part, those raised recently by faculty. The Marshall School has not responded to P&Q’s request for comment.

COST CUTTING, DIMINISHED EXPERIENCE

The most recent class profile for Marshall’s MBA Class of 2027 shows 176 students in the class, drawn from nearly 2,000 applicants, a 17% decline from the previous class. The cohort is 43% international. Its predecessor, the Class of 2026 which will graduate May 15, is comprised of 211 students, with women and unrepresented minorities constituting 36% and 21%, respectively, and international students making up 35%.

At the center of student concerns, the current MBA student tells P&Q, is a sense that the MBA experience has been steadily pared back. The student points to the disappearance of once-prominent community-building events, including large, catered gatherings and networking functions that were previously a staple of the full-time MBA program.

“That culture is gone,” the student says.

Beyond visible changes, cuts have impacted academic support and programming more broadly, including reductions in services and the elimination of certain experiential offerings such as trips and developmental programs. The result, according to the student, is a noticeably thinner experience for a program that commands a premium price.

CAREER OUTCOMES RAISING ALARM

Even more concerning to many students, the student tells P&Q, is the job market reality facing the current class.

In a recent meeting, the student says, program leaders acknowledged the difficult hiring environment. But internal figures shared with students suggest outcomes may lag massively behind peer schools.

“In a class of about 200, only around 40% to 50% had full-time offers,” the student says.

If accurate, those numbers would represent a placement rate far below historical norms at top MBA programs, intensifying anxiety among students nearing graduation.

“There’s a lot of frustration,” the student says. “Once you’re in the program, you’re in it. You’ve already made the investment.”

‘A LOT OF TALK, NOT A LOT OF LISTENING’

Underlying both academic and career concerns is what the student describes as a breakdown in communication.

“There’s no acknowledgment,” the student says. “No communication of any sort.”

Students have raised concerns in formal settings, including town halls, but many feel those efforts have led nowhere. “We had our feedback session, and then nothing happened,” the student says. “It feels like we talk, but you don’t listen.”

That perception appears to extend beyond isolated incidents. According to the student, there is a broader cultural sense that concerns are heard but not acted upon.

“People will say directly, ‘It’s a good thing you’re complaining, but nothing is going to change,’” the student says.

FACULTY CONCERNS PROVIDE BROADER CONTEXT

The student complaints come just days after faculty at USC Marshall outlined their own concerns in an open letter to Dean Geoffrey Garrett, raising questions about the school’s direction and internal decision-making. In October, Garrett was appointed to a second five-year term as dean.

In the faculty letter, tenured professors cited issues including proposed cuts to the Ph.D. program, declining enrollment trends, and a potential revenue shortfall tied to MBA admissions. Faculty also pointed to the departure of colleagues and turnover in senior leadership roles.

More broadly, faculty described decision-making as increasingly centralized, with less consultation and transparency, and called for more open, data-driven engagement between leadership and the broader school community.

FACULTY FILLING THE GAPS

In the absence of stronger institutional support, some faculty members have stepped in to try to preserve the student experience. The MBA student who spoke to P&Q credits certain professors – particularly among the tenured faculty – with going above and beyond, offering mentorship and support that extends beyond the classroom.

“Some faculty are really invested,” the student says. “They’re trying to create their own experience for students.”

But that effort has led to inconsistency across the program.

From a student perspective, the quality of the MBA experience can vary widely from course to course. “You can have one really strong class, and then another that’s completely different,” the student says. “You don’t know what you’re going to get.”

LEADERSHIP AND A ‘CULTURE OF SILENCE’

Students largely attribute the issues to leadership decisions at the top of the school, the student says, describing a decision-making process that feels centralized, with limited input from faculty or students, and little transparency once decisions are made. “It feels,” the student says, “like decisions are being made at the top of the house.”

At the same time, a perceived “culture of silence” has taken hold, with few public responses to mounting concerns from either faculty or students.

“They just keep quiet about it,” the student says.

That silence, more than any single policy decision, may be what is fueling the most unease. “I think what worries people most is the lack of communication,” the student adds.

WAITING FOR A RESPONSE

With graduation approaching for many in the full-time MBA program, expectations for immediate change are low.

“For now, it’s business as usual,” the student says.

Still, there is a growing sense among students that external attention – including coverage of the faculty concerns – may be the only catalyst for action.

“If nothing is happening internally, then maybe external pressure is the only way,” the student says.

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