The Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University has announced a pilot initiative to attract dynamic candidates with professional experience by offering them admission to its full-time MBA program without undergoing the standardized test.
For the first time, starting with the class of 2021, Broad Full-Time MBA Admissions will review and accept a select number of candidates without a standardized test score, the School said in a press release.
“We will launch this pilot to give prospective students of diverse professional backgrounds, who may not fit a traditional paradigm, the opportunity to pursue an MBA in a top program,” Glenn Omura, associate dean for MBA and master’s programs said.
“We are putting in place an admissions process that will not only take a closer look at traditional MBA applicants who have taken a standardized test but also consider high-calibre candidates with significant work experience who have not taken a standardized test,”
“To partner with these students in their pursuits, faculty and program administrators have innovated the curriculum to provide additional resources for students to both evaluate their potential for academic success and to strengthen their skill sets as they progress through the program,” he added.
The pilot program will consider domestic applicants with progressive professional experience with strong communication and interpersonal skills. They will be allowed to apply to the program without a standardized test score but must meet additional select requirements to ensure their success in the MBA curriculum.
These select requirements include an additional interview with a Broad Graduate Career Management panel and completion of non-credit online pre-requisite courses post-admission.
The School says it took the decision in the light of the fall in the number of MBA applications across the United States and top schools competing for candidates in a smaller pool than ever before.
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In the light of this trend, Broad began conversations to come up with ways to continue to attract quality candidates. “We are putting in place an admissions process that will not only take a closer look at traditional MBA applicants who have taken a standardized test but also consider high-calibre candidates with significant work experience who have not taken a standardized test,” MBA admissions director Paul North said.
“To provide employers with the type of candidates they are seeking, we need to think outside the box and look at more than test scores to admit the right applicants,” Marla Feldman McGraw, director of career management and employer relations, said.
“These employers don’t necessarily want a team of people who know how to take a test. They want broad skills, talents, and backgrounds, and employees who are able to adjust and think quickly,” she added.
“It is our goal to open doors for aspirant individuals and create diverse classes of dynamic students who will find success at the Broad College and beyond,” North said.
Broad will evaluate the success of this pilot initiative to determine long-term viability after three admissions cycles, the release said.
The full-time MBA program at Eli Broad is of 21 months. The curriculum has 3 components that the school says is to ensure that all MBA students develop both a strong foundation and subject matter expertise. The Core Curriculum is of 30 credits that provide foundational learning. MBA Concentrations provide 15 credits that build subject matter expertise in one of four fields: Finance, Human Resource Management, Marketing and Supply Chain Management. The Electives have 15 credits that help students deepen their knowledge in other areas of business.(Image Source:wikipedia.org)
