2012 Master's in Management Graduates Make History
Published: April 13, 2021
Seventeen students to participate in commencement exercises this May will make history as the first ever graduates of Greenville College's Master's of Science in Management Practices (MSMP) program. Three learning groups, or cohorts, are currently underway with members of the first group on track to receive their degrees later this month. Members of the second cohort will complete the program in August, and members of the third cohort will complete the program in May 2013.
By graduation, MSMP students will have completed a 20-month program that follows an action-learning format. Action-learning means the students identify existing problems in businesses or organizations in which they work and use what they learn through their management studies to solve the problems.
"This program allowsfor practicalapplication of each course to my current role at Edward Jones," says student Dan Green. "This, in my opinion, ismore impactful than traditional MBA programs, as all of the course work is focused on my firm rather than looking at case studies from other companies."
Green attributes his recent promotion at Edward Jones in part to his action-learning project. A product guidance specialist at the investment firm, Green says his project increased the division's flexibility and eliminated the need to hire additional staff.
Like Green, student Katie Davidson values the relevant, work-centered focus of the MSMP program. "It's been helpful in every way imaginable," she says. Davidson, an instructor at the Vandalia Correctional Center, had previously earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. "Overall, I am now much more capable of looking at my organization from a business perspective and analyzing situations and issues facing the organization."
Davidson and Green both say their classes have exposed them to a wide variety of management issues. Students in these first cohorts, for example, have represented diverse industries including manufacturing, health care, retail, engineering, not-for-profits, and financial services. They have targeted a wide range of problems from streamlining new product development and implementing knowledge management systems to reformulating strategies and empowering associates to be change agents.
MSMP students find the class format appealing. They meet one Saturday a month for live, face-to-face class sessions and engage in online learning throughout the rest of the month.
Though the first MSMP graduates will part ways after commencement in May, a new learning group will begin this August. To learn more, contact Admissions Specialist Ann Peterson by calling 618-664-7126 or sending her an email at Ann.Peterson@greenville.edu.
