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By Sam Watson, Education Writer
Johnson City Press
swatson@johnsoncitypress.com
MILLIGAN COLLEGE — Milligan College will start classes in February for a new master of business administration degree framed with an ethical emphasis and designed for students with work experience, officials announced Tuesday.
Dr. Bill Greer, chairman of Milligan’s business area, said the college’s MBA curriculum will address demand for a program grounded in ethics, given “case after case” of unethical and illegal practices in the business world that have taken advantage of the public, stockholders and employees.
The Milligan program arrives despite increasing questions in the national job market about whether an MBA is worth a student’s time and effort in translating to increased employability and earning potential.
Greer said Milligan’s market evaluation showed that having an MBA still makes a person more marketable and valuable in the workplace compared to holding just a bachelor’s degree, but the analysis did not begin and end with the impact on salaries. He said a bigger consideration was the demand for an MBA with a foundation in ethical decision-making and Christian education.
“That’s the part of Milligan’s mission that this speaks to,” Greer said.
The chairman estimated that the first group entering the program will include 18-20 students. Students will take classes together as cohort groups in the 18-month program, attending classes at Milligan one weekend per month in 10-week blocks while maintaining contact with professors and fellow students via the Internet throughout the courses.
Greer said the calendar will allow students to continue working through their studies without interrupting their careers and enable students living outside the area to enroll since travel to campus would be limited. He said the Milligan MBA was not built for students coming right out of their undergraduate studies, as it requires students to have a minimum of three years work experience.
“They will bring a lot to the classroom,” Greer said.
According to a news release, the college received word last week that the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the regional accrediting body, approved the college’s request for the MBA program. The college’s first cohort group was being finalized for the term beginning Feb. 13, and applications were being accepted for the second group scheduled to begin next fall.
Milligan President Don Jeanes said the college’s new program was a response to “a great national need.”
“Those called to leadership positions in the world of business and commerce have a great responsibility in today’s world — it is a responsibility that must be met with a commitment to Christian values and ethical conduct,” Jeanes said in the news release.
For more information about Milligan’s MBA, visitwww.milligan.edu/MBA or call 423.461.8730.