PHOTO COURTESY OF EOU
[quote style=”2″]Spots Remain for Fall 2014 Program, But Deadline Looms[/quote]
People in the Hermiston area with undergraduate degrees looking to take the next step in their education need look no further than Eastern Oregon University’s Master of Business Administration program – and can complete it without leaving town.
EOU is currently seeking more applicants for the fall 2014 MBA program – four are currently signed up and there is room for up to six more, said Steve Clements, the program’s coordinator and Associate Dean of EOU’s College of Business. The program is offered in Hermiston at the Eastern Oregon Higher Education Center.
Clements said there is an interest among local companies for employees with MBA degrees and EOU wants to help them fill that interest.
“EOU is in Hermiston to help the community grow and develop, and we can do that through our undergraduate and MBA programs,” he said. “We can deliver both of these (programs) to people in Hermiston and they don’t have to leave their job.”
To make the MBA program convenient for those who are already in the workforce, the classes are offered in Hermiston from 6-10 p.m. on Wednesdays. Clements said the only time MBA students will need to travel to La Grande is at the beginning during orientation and at the end to present their project.
The classes are taught via video conferencing and are completely interactive, said Clements. The students can see and hear the instructor and vice versa, and each student is expected to be an active participant.
“They’re expected to take part just as they would if they were in the classroom on campus in La Grande,” he said. “I don’t just jabber on for four hours. There’s full interaction between myself and the students.”
The MBA program consists of two courses per term over four terms, and then students will complete a project. For example, one Hermiston student who completed the program developed a risk-management program for a large dairy as his project.
Clements said more and more local companies are looking for MBA grads who are already in the area’s workforce. That’s far more preferable than recruiting MBA grads from out of the area because they tend not to stick around. The company puts in time and money in training the new employee only to have him or her leave for bigger cities. Having a ready-made pool of MBA grads already in the market not only helps a particular company find qualified employees, but can have a broader impact by luring other companies to the area, knowing there is a qualified workforce in the area.
“It helps provide a nice diverse economy for Hermiston,” Clements said. “We can help do that. We’ve done that in the past, we’re doing it now and we’ll continue to do that.”
Clements said EOU has opened up its MBA program to a wider number of students. Applicants no longer have to have an undergraduate business degree. Instead, any undergraduate, regardless of what area his or her degree is in, can take the MBA course.
The May 1 deadline to apply for the fall 2014 MBA program is fast approaching, but Clements said it is a “soft deadline” and could be extended if others want to apply and there are still slots available.
For more information on Eastern Oregon University’s MBA program, visit the university’s program website.
