Sacred Heart University”™s John F. Welch College of Business in Fairfield is enhancing its draw for prospective students with added degree programs and new learning opportunities that are international and hands-on.
Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, for whom the college is named, has invested in an evolving Sacred Heart business school that integrates classroom learning with real-world applications. Called “The Welch Experience,” the new iteration of the business program, which began in 2007, draws faculty and staff from around the world. The business school is notable for a diversity of faculty and staff ”” 45 percent of whom are international ”” myriad global studies and collaborative engagement opportunities and most recently its problem-based learning labs.
“We tried to make our programs dynamic enough so they evolve into what the marketplace needs,” said Kwamie Dunbar, assistant dean at the business school. “The problem-based learning lab or experiential learning was a very important integration into our program. In problem-based learning labs, students consult with firms in real time and respond to real-time business problems. As they take the problems and work with industry experts in coming up with solutions meaningful for the business, they get exposure to the senior management.”
Business school Dean John Chalykoff said that although Sacred Heart University is not commonly mentioned in the same tier as MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard or Yale, the Welch College of Business is still a top choice among the competitors in its subset.
When Chalykoff started at Sacred Heart University in July 2012, he said the diversity of staff, immersion into global cultural experiences and problem-based learning labs are what drew him to the college. And that”™s exactly what has been the selling point for students interested in gaining hands-on experience in the business world.
As a former dean of a business school in Canada who also spent 11 years as the associate dean of the Boston University School of Management, Chalykoff is versed in developing a business school curriculum. He said across the board, nothing beats providing hands-on learning experiences for students and giving them a chance to run their own businesses.
At Sacred Heart”™s Welch school, every freshman takes a course that requires them to develop a business plan and successfully operate a business ”” whether it is a smoothie stand or bicycle repair shop. This is part of the applied learning concept, Chalykoff said. Of the 300 freshmen enrolled in the business school, half of them are taking the hands-on business development course now, while the remaining 150 will take the class next semester.
At the end of the semester, 36 teams of students will have successfully developed and operated a business that they will present to a team of venture capitalists on Dec. 5.
Global opportunities ”” another staple of the school ”“ include a joint classroom project students in the Welch school can share with students in Luxembourg and Dingle, Ireland. In recent years, the business school expanded its international partnerships to include the University of Saint Joseph in Macau and Bangkok University, creating opportunities for students to collaborate on business processes using popular international communication tools such as Skype or Line. The school also sends students to Tianjin and Chengdu in China for a monthlong study-abroad program. Technology is also integrated into meeting with business professionals in the U.S.
“The use of WebEx and video conferencing capabilities helps tremendously,” Dunbar said. “It allows students to meet with business leaders that may not be able to meet on campus to meet with them virtually either early in the morning or late in the evening.”
Within the past three years, the business school has added a wealth of graduate-level offerings ”” master”™s degrees in digital marketing, human resources management, accounting, and (starting in fall 2015) finance and investment management; a Doctor of Business Administration in finance; and a full-time MBA program. In the past, the business school only offered part-time MBA and undergraduate degrees.
Starting next fall, the business school will offer a certificate in health care management, providing courses centered on operations management, leadership and negotiations.
“We”™re seeing a lot more people interested in getting a Master of Science degree,” Chalykoff said. “The applicants are younger. Some of them who would”™ve gone to get an MBA are now getting specialized degrees. If you”™re in finance, they will hire undergrads for top jobs, but at a certain point they need to get a higher education. There”™s a strong demand for a master”™s in finance and an undergrad degree in finance and accounting.”
Since 2012, enrollment has increased steadily, Chalykoff said. About 1,200 undergraduates and 300 graduates are enrolled this year.
“We”™ve gone up roughly 100 students since 2012,” Chalykoff said. “Next year, we”™re hoping to bring in 400 more. Right now we”™re on the bottom two floors of Roncalli Hall, which is a dorm that has offices and closet-sized classrooms. We grew out of our space years ago, and when I got there, the vote went through to build a new business school.”
Construction is underway on a new building. The 125,000-square-foot structure is slated to open next semester and house both the business school and department of communication and media studies, two of Sacred Heart”™s fastest-growing programs.
