WBS’s Shard Campus Opened by London Mayor and Other MBA News Snippets

WBS hosts Boris Johnson, London's mayor.

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Warwick Business School opening at the Shard

Yesterday, over 50 guests watched London Mayor Boris Johnson officially open Warwick Business School’s new base at The Shard.

Mr Johnson unveiled a glass sculpture to commemorate the event on the 17th floor of the Shard which is the tallest building in the European Union. The new department will see part-time postgraduate courses and the school’s EMBA program delivered from one of the capital’s most iconic buildings.

“Our city is a world leading center for higher education and Warwick Business School is a welcome addition to the first-class academia that can be found here,” said Mr Johnson.

“The Shard is an inspirational venue and I’m sure the students that come here will find successful careers within our city’s thriving business sectors.”

Warwick Business School Professor, Mark Taylor, commented, “We are delighted to have the Mayor of London open our new premises. This is a very exciting development for WBS; to establish a base in one of London’s most iconic buildings is a tremendous moment for the school.

“London is one of the great capitals of the world and a global financial center, so it seems only right that one of Europe’s top business schools should have a presence there. We will bring our academic excellence to London to help form the business leaders and City professionals of the future.

“The University of Warwick has a great history of being entrepreneurial and a world innovator, and this move to the Shard continues that spirit of enterprise and ambition to do things differently.

“The Shard is a spectacular sight on the London skyline and is a fitting base for Warwick Business School, which has creativity at the heart of its business teachings.”

USC Military MBA success

Last week, a record 49 students graduated from the novel Master of Business for Veterans program (Military MBA) on offer at the USC Marshall School of Business.

The Military MBA program was only launched two years ago and was designed specifically for men and women who have served in a leadership role within the armed forces for at least three years. The degree is designed to help veterans project the skills they have acquired in the armed forces into a business career.

In an interview with CNBC, Lt Col (Ret.) James Bogle, the head of the Military MBA program, explains why the degree was launched: “The military is a very distinct professional culture. The way we talk to each other. The way we direct operations. There's a tremendous amount of predictability in the military that really doesn't necessarily translate into the civilian professional world."

The announcement comes a year after official reports revealed that out of the 9% of the US civilian population that are veterans, 4.7% are currently unemployed. However, for the veterans who served in wars following the event of September 11, 2001, the unemployment rose to 6.9% last month. Meaning there are currently 200,000 veterans in the United States currently looking for a job.

US Business School financing fears

Last week, TopMBA.com reported that a US$100 million donation had been paid to the UCLA Anderson School of Management by longtime supporter Marion Anderson, prompting optimism of economic growth in US schools.

However, a report in The Financial Times claims that even this generous philanthropy does little to cover up the cracks in business school finances, most notably in the private sector. It is believed that this rise is a result of students wishing to be part of elite research-led institutions, whilst other MBA programs are attempting to compete with this demand by offering expensive global courses and experiences.

According to data from AACSB, private schools in America have raised MBA fees by 25% in the five years dating from 2009 to 2014, while state school tuition has risen a staggering 50%.

A number of deans have voiced their concern over these developments, most notably the head of HEC Paris, Bernard Ramanantsoa, who says: “Costs are going up and state revenues are decreasing,” which he goes on to describe as a financial pincer movement that is squeezing the value from MBA programs.

Steef van de Velde, dean of Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University, also voiced his concern: “Everybody wants to be research driven and global. It’s staggering what you have to pay to recruit a top professor, especially in finance or accounting.”