The 麻豆原创 PMBA is a 24-month program with a 39-credit hour curriculum. The program offers the rigor and depth of a traditional MBA while providing a convenient evening schedule, applicable content and networking opportunities for working professionals. Through its applicable curriculum, the 麻豆原创 PMBA blends theory and practice by utilizing class discussion forums, case studies, interactive simulations, and team field projects. The program is offered as a cohort format which consists of a class size of 24 to 32 students starting and finishing the program together. The cohort format allows students to learn from each other through their wide variety of industry and functional area experiences. The cohorts form strong relationships which evolve into life-long friendships and an invaluable professional networking group.

All classes for the 麻豆原创 PMBA Sanford/Lake Mary cohort will be held conveniently on Monday and Thursday evenings from 6:00 鈥� 9:50 p.m. at the 麻豆原创 Sanford/Lake Mary Campus, 100 Weldon Boulevard, Partnership Center, Sanford, FL. The 麻豆原创 Executive Development Center, an auxiliary unit of the College of Business Administration, administers the program, and its staff attends to all logistics.

Recruiting for the PMBA in Sanford/Lake Mary begins with an information session on October 22, 6 pm, at the 麻豆原创 Executive Development Center, 36 West Pine Street, downtown Orlando. For additional information and a schedule of upcoming information sessions go to . To schedule a personal appointment with the Admissions Director, contact Robin Hofler at mba@ucf.edu or call 407-823-3913. The 麻豆原创 PMBA is offered every summer at the 麻豆原创 Executive Development Center, Downtown Orlando, and on a rotational basis every fall at one of the 麻豆原创 Regional Campuses.

One of the most important principles I have learned is that you never should stop learning. Sometimes finding the answers to the really tough questions just can鈥檛 be solved using the knowledge you currently have in your head.

I bring this up as the executive director for 麻豆原创鈥檚 Executive Development Center in downtown Orlando. Every week I have the privilege of interviewing applicants for 麻豆原创鈥檚 professional and executive Master of Business Administration programs who are wondering whether to continue their higher education.

Can you recall a situation at work when you thought to yourself, 鈥淚 really am not sure how to solve this problem?鈥� Or 鈥淢y boss gave me a new project, where should I start?鈥� Or 鈥淢y team brought me several solutions to a problem; how should I evaluate them?鈥�

We don鈥檛 have unlimited time to learn, so I tell those applicants that focusing on rewarding learning opportunities, such as an MBA, is important.

Questions regarding the right time to start an MBA come up nearly every time I interview a prospective student.

You probably know by now that life rarely follows the path that is directly in front of you.

I experienced this when I was just 9 years old. For a year I was admitted to a home for disabled children because I could not walk and was told I would never walk again. I couldn鈥檛 walk because three days earlier I had spent most of the day setting the world鈥檚 record (I鈥檓 sure) for 9-year-olds jumping on a pogo stick.

Life does not get any more predictable as you get older, either.

We can鈥檛 always predict the perfect time to get your MBA, but you鈥檒l know it鈥檚 the right time for you when your excuses for not getting your degree will be outweighed by the benefits you鈥檒l receive for pursuing it.

I had the good fortune to work for General Electric right after I completed my engineering degree. I was selected to participate in a two-year leadership development program. I worked in four different assignments for six months each. Not one of the assignments was in engineering.

I later learned that 75 percent of all GE senior executives were graduates of this leadership program. GE cross-trained us so we knew something about all the areas in the company to better prepare us for our future positions. The company believed in training employees before they needed it.

I have personally followed this philosophy since then and it seems to work very well. While getting your MBA doesn鈥檛 guarantee your next promotion or success in your own business, having the knowledge that you鈥檒l obtain from your degree should enable you to make better decisions and work from a more strategic perspective.

My decision to go back to school and get my MBA was driven primarily by questions like those above. It was about eight years after undergraduate school and I was getting more and more involved in larger projects that required significant capital investments. I realized that I did not have the business-analysis tools to determine if the projects should be undertaken.

Within three months of completing my MBA, I was offered the opportunity to run a new division of the company. I learned later that I was selected to interview for the position because I recently completed my MBA, which has opened up many doors throughout my career.

Choosing to start your MBA is a decision to be respected and celebrated. For those who decide that now is the time to start, there are always options to consider at 麻豆原创. My staff and I are always available for advice.

I tell my students that a good MBA program gives you the knowledge to start a business, to run a business, and to turn a business around. It will not make you a specialist or prepare you for every situation you may encounter in business, but it will expose you to the most important business topics, where to find information, and how to hire the right support resource for the business.

Also, if you have a technical undergraduate degree, obtaining an MBA is a very powerful complimentary degree as it will give you the principles needed to use your technical skills in business situations.

In the book 鈥淎dventures in Wonderland,鈥� Lewis Carroll wrote the following about a decision Alice had to make: 鈥淥ne day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. 鈥淲hich road do I take?鈥� she asked. 鈥淲here do you want to go?” was his response. 鈥淚 don’t know,鈥� Alice answered. 鈥淭hen,鈥� said the cat, 鈥渋t doesn’t matter.鈥�

Lew Treen, my mentor, would advise you to look ahead and decide what you want to change and what you want to learn, so you鈥檒l know which way to go at your next fork in the road of life.

Bob Porter is executive director of downtown Orlando鈥檚听Executive Development Center, part of the 麻豆原创鈥檚 College of Business Administration. He can be reached at RPorter@bus.ucf.edu.

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This spring, we took those suggestions, combined them with our own administrative assessment and began to work with the Masters Program Review Committee to make some changes. To better coordinate our offerings, rationalize student recruitment, ensure students are admitted into the right programs and have a well differentiated portfolio of programs, I am appointing Dr. Robert Porter director of MBA programs. We will also be consolidating the graduate office, elements of the Executive Development Center (EDC) staff and eventually Career Connections into a one-stop shop for all of our MBA programs under his direction. Dr. Porter will work closely with the MPRC on admissions, curriculum, career services and student performance issues. Greater faculty participation in these areas is key to program success.

We have also made some changes to our on-campus programs. Starting this fall, the evening lock-step MBA program will return to the practice of being an exclusively part-time program. And, our one-year daytime program will only accept students who do not have an undergraduate business degree.

So, if you are a recent graduate looking to diversify your knowledge set by adding a business degree and can commit to a full-time immersive experience, then the One-Year MBA is the option for you. If you are a working professional with an undergraduate business degree and just a couple of years of real world experience under your belt, then the evening lockstep program is for you. You can continue to work full-time and complete your MBA by taking two courses a semester along with everyone else in that program. If you have been working for five years or more and are looking to move into a management position, the PMBA is the option for you. You can continue to work full-time and take courses two nights a week along with a group of seasoned professionals like yourself who are looking to move up in their careers. Finally, if you have ten years of experience, are in a middle management position and are looking to move into a senior management opportunity, then the EMBA is the right option for you.

Note that with these changes our MBA offerings do not provide something for everyone. This is by design. If you have just graduated from a business school and want to jump right into a full-time MBA program, I鈥檓 sorry but we don鈥檛 do that here anymore. You will need to find a different school. If you are working full-time and want to pursue your MBA full-time, we don鈥檛 have an option for you either. In fact, we think that is a very bad idea鈥搚ou are trying to take on more than you can handle and our experience tells us that when push comes to shove, you will choose work over your education to the detriment of everyone鈥檚 classroom experience. If you have just graduated and want to pursue your MBA in the professional or executive format because these are the only ones that fit your schedule, we are sorry but you don鈥檛 have the type of work experience necessary to be an effective member of the student teams we are putting together for those programs. It would be a disservice to both our faculty and the experienced professionals who are signing up for these programs to let you in. You will have to wait or go elsewhere. Perhaps the comfort and flexibility of an on-line degree is best for you.

These changes are just the beginning. Moving forward we are going to take a hard look at our daytime MBA offering, explore partnerships with other schools on campus and look to make changes in the curriculum that get students out of their comfort zones and promote effective cross-disciplinary communication, risk-taking, and data-driven decision-making among our students. There is much to be done, but our goal is to have the majority of the changes in place for Fall 2014. Stay tuned.

Paul Jarley, Ph.D., is the dean of the 麻豆原创 College of Business Administration. He blogs every week at听.听This post appeared on听February 25, 2013. Follow him on Twitter听.

If you have been out five years and have an undergraduate business degree, don鈥檛 go back to your alma matter. Chances are you will get some familiar professors, sharing many of the same insights as they did when you were an undergraduate. Yes the material will come at you faster and in a more sophisticated manner, but you will get more value from a graduate degree if you attend a different institution. If you have been out of business school ten years or more, the faces and topics will have changed enough that attending the same school won鈥檛 result in a redundant experience.

With those caveats out of the way, let鈥檚 get down to answering the question at hand. Whether you choose the MBA or Executive MBA (EMBA) route depends on your prior experience, where you are in your career, how much you can afford to spend, and the type of time commitment you can make in pursuit of your degree.

MBA programs were created to get engineers ready to move into management positions in large scale industrial enterprises. The scope of the MBA has expanded over time, but it is still a primary way people with 鈥渂ench experience鈥� gain the education necessary to move into general management positions in their industry or profession. Thus, MBA programs stress accounting, finance, management, and marketing skills. This emphasis on operational skills is one of the reasons I discourage business majors from pursuing a MBA shortly after they graduate: they should have gotten these skills from their undergraduate program. As time goes on, new topics and a need to refresh skills make investment in a MBA worth the time and money for people with an undergraduate business degree, but there is little return from rushing into such a program.

EMBA programs were initially designed to 鈥渇ast-track鈥� managers identified by their companies as 鈥渞ising stars鈥� into upper-echelon positions. Today many EMBA students are experienced managers looking to change companies or careers, but the curriculum still focuses on fostering strategic thinking and managing change within the organization. Think of the difference this way: A MBA gives you the ability to analyze data and make operational decisions. An EMBA gives you the strategic perspective and knowledge to use the information from operational reports to direct the future of the business in productive ways.

Notice that neither the MBA or EMBA gives you deep technical training in a specific functional area. Two-year MBA programs give students a greater opportunity to specialize by providing tracks, but if your goal is a deep understanding of one functional area (e.g., accounting, MIS), you are better off in an advanced masters program that specializes in your area of choice.

MBA and EMBA programs also differ in delivery formats and cost. MBA programs are offered either in 鈥渄ay鈥� or 鈥渆vening鈥� formats. Day programs typically require people to quit their jobs and enroll as full-time students with the expectation of completing their degree in one or two years. This is usually an easier choice for young professionals without significant family commitments. Older folks are more likely to choose evening programs, because they allow students to keep their jobs and pursue their degree after hours on a part-time basis. This provides people with better cash-flow, but comes at the expense of extending the time to degree. This is a significant tradeoff. My experience has been that if students don鈥檛 complete their degree within three years of enrolling, they rarely finish. Life events get in the way.

EMBA programs compress the time to completion and allow students to keep their day jobs by concentrating classes in a weekend format that graduates students in about eighteen months. Electives are rare. Typically everyone completes the same courses in a fixed sequence. The most popular format is to offer classes all day on Fridays and Saturdays on alternating weekends. You might also have to use some vacation to attend a few week-long segments of the program. It can be a bit like drinking water from a fire hose. Because the courses are concentrated and the students experienced, EMBA classes tend to be smaller and more discussion-based than MBA classes. Students learn as much from each other as they do from the professor and build strong bonds that last for their entire professional career. It is a rich experience that comes with a higher price tag鈥搕ypically two to three times more expensive than the MBA, although EMBA costs include meals, textbooks, and frequently international travel that are not factored into MBA program tuition. EMBA grads report the payback period can be as little as a couple of years.

Which program is right for you depends on personal circumstance, but I will tell you that I am a big fan of EMBA programs. If you are at the right point in your career, can invest the time and money, and want to build connections with faculty and highly motivated people, EMBA programs are hard to beat.

Paul Jarley, Ph.D., is the dean of the 麻豆原创 College of Business Administration. He blogs every week at听.听This post appeared on听January 23, 2013. Follow him on Twitter听.

I have no doubt that the data in the article is true: that the supply of MBA grads has grown, that some of this supply is of a lower quality, that starting salaries are flat or down a bit, and that some students are dissatisfied with their post-graduation job experiences. Times have been hard for everyone. Median household income fell by two to three percent in nominal terms between 2008 and 2010. Job offers are hard to come by and competition for openings is brisk.

But it is important to note that saying MBA starting salaries are falling right now isn鈥檛 the same thing as saying you won鈥檛 benefit from getting an MBA. Let鈥檚 first understand what an MBA is and what it is not. No degree, including the MBA, has ever been a guarantee of success. A typical MBA experience is designed to give you a set of conceptual, analytic, communication, and social skills that help prepare you to compete as a business professional. When taken at an accredited institution, the degree certifies a certain level of competency in these skill sets. What you do with this new toolkit is up to you. The degree is not a substitute for motivation, perseverance, a walkabout, or your lack of relevant experience. So if your plan is to pursue an MBA so that you can find yourself and what you want to do just in time for the program鈥檚 career services people to hand you several high-paying job offers, you do not have a plan鈥搚ou have a wish. Stop being stupid and get a plan.

A plan involves asking yourself what you want to accomplish and if an MBA is the best way for you to get there. Do you just want more income? If so taking on a second job to supplement your income until the economy rebounds, or you get a better primary job might be your best choice: cash now with no tuition costs. If you are just not sure what you want to be when you grow up, job shadowing, mentorships, and interning at a few places is the way to go. These methods will help you better understand what the job is like and where you need to invest to compete. If you are short on communication or social skills, a variety of non credit workshops or short-programs might get you what you need. If the greatest needs are conceptual and/or analytic, or you want to greatly expand the variety of options available to you, school is likely to be the best choice.

But if the choice is school, there are still career issues to factor in. All MBA programs are not alike. Do you want to be a CEO or an independent small business owner? The former would suggest going to a big time school with a high-priced program and high-placed alumni network. The latter goal would in all likelihood make that a bad buy鈥搕he local university seems the better choice. Think about where you want to fit on this spectrum鈥� the cost of the right answer and therefore the size of your bet changes accordingly.

So, my main point is that you cannot evaluate the MBA or a specific MBA program in isolation like the WSJ article does. Nor should you base it on the disappointing job prospects of an MBA graduate in Louisville. You have to ask yourself what are my alternatives both in terms of costs and benefits and make your choice accordingly. MBA starting salaries may be falling, but prospects were falling everywhere over this period. It is the difference between alternatives, not the direction of the base of just one option that is important.

I would also encourage you to think long-term not short. This is difficult to do because the costs of education tend to be short-term and easy to identify (e.g, tuition, books, lost wages), while the benefits are in the future, have a distribution around a mean outcome and can change over time. Our economy and the job market may be experiencing fundamental shifts, but the best predictor of future performance is still past performance and professional masters degrees like the MBA have a very good track record when compared against the alternatives. Could the future be different? Sure, there are no certain bets, but I鈥檓 betting the MBA will continue to provide many people highly sought-after general skills at a fair price. If you think you have found a better bet for you, take it.

Paul Jarley, Ph.D., is the dean of the 麻豆原创 College of Business Administration. He blogs every week at听.听This post appeared on听January 17, 2013. Follow him on Twitter听.

From a curricular standpoint, that is by design. 听The MBA is a generalist degree. Its power lies in giving you many options.Nothing is more valuable than having options. You can take the conceptual, analytic and communication skills you learn in an MBA program and apply them to a wide variety of settings. 听In a world that is moving fast and where people have to reinvent themselves every eight to ten years to stay relevant, strong general skills are a must. 听Math, statistics, platform skills, and the ability to write never ever go out of style.

Realize that what you want to do for a living isn鈥檛 in the curriculum, it is in you. Most people don鈥檛 know what they want to do when they grow up and it tends to change over time. 听The only real way to know this is to experience the job. 听That is why I am so big on internships and job shadowing while you are in school鈥搃t allows you to see the day to day of the work and what people do. Asking professionals about their work in areas that interest you can also help. The other thing to remember here is that if you try something and don鈥檛 like it鈥揹on鈥檛 be afraid to try something else. 听Don鈥檛 fall victim to the fallacy of sunk costs.

Paul Jarley, Ph.D., is the dean of the 麻豆原创 College of Business Administration. He blogs every week at听.听This post appeared on听October 11, 2012. Follow him on Twitter听.

Hanus attended the听Celebrate The Children 2012听Dinner & Auction and placed the winning bid for a seat in the 麻豆原创 Executive MBA Program. His bid of $27,000 reserves a space for him, based upon his acceptance into the program. The entire amount of the auction item goes directly to Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida.

He chuckles that it was the most 鈥渆xpensive dinner听ever听with my wife,鈥� but understands the long-term benefits he will receive by earning his degree.

鈥淚 reached out to my father who has always encouraged me to do everything I can to further my education, and with his help, was able to place the winning bid. It was one of those opportunities that just could not be passed up. My thought was not only would I get to help a great cause like Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, but I would end up helping myself by achieving my MBA,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t is an amazing feeling to think that I will be able to save money completing my education, while youth in Central Florida will have an opportunity to enhance their futures with Boys & Girls Clubs Programs,鈥� he added.

Once admitted to the EMBA program, Hanus will spend 20 months taking classes and networking with other professionals in the cohort. The program prepares executives and managers for the challenges they face as they advance in their careers. Courses are taught by distinguished business faculty members and the curriculum includes a global focus and an international residency. Read more about the听Executive MBA听program on their website.

Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness, was the keynote speaker on the first day, followed by 麻豆原创 President听John Hitt听at the second event.

“When your organizations sponsor employees to engage in our masters鈥� degree or executive education programs, those students bring back expertise and insights that make your organizations more productive 鈥� and competitive,” President Hitt said. “Students and their companies can benefit immensely from our vast network of nationally recognized faculty members and prominent executives in Central Florida.”

To learn more about the EDC and its programs, please visit its .

You can view more photos from the students’ visit at the EDC’s Facebook page.

As part of the week-long program, the students learned about Central Florida鈥檚 history and development, the challenges and economic impact of area tourism and the global economy鈥檚 effects on Orlando.

The group heard presentations given by business leaders from:

Additionally, they met executives and took a behind-the-scenes tour of EPCOT, RDV Sportsplex, Daytona International Speedway and the newly relocated National Entrepreneurship Center.

This was the fourth time the EDC has hosted the Escuela de Organizaci贸n International (EOI), which was founded by the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Education to provide engineers with management and organizations skills.

The EDC, which is part of the 麻豆原创 College of Business Administration, is rapidly gaining a reputation as a destination to host international residencies for foreign universities. The EDC provides a critical link to help create global partnerships with overseas businesses.

鈥淓veryone benefits from this global alliance. The students from Spain learn more about our culture and the way we do business, and we learn more their culture and business strategies,鈥� said Tiffany Hughes, senior associate director of the EDC.

麻豆原创鈥檚 Executive Development Center offers a full range of executive and professional master programs, including the Executive MBA, the Professional MBA, and the Professional Master of Science in Management and Real Estate. In addition, the center offers professional development programs and can customize a highly interactive executive residency for global corporations.

For more information about the EDC, visit the Executive Development Center.

Herb Gingold is not only going to help his career, he is going to help hundreds of children who belong to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida.

Gingold was the highest bidder when he offered $27,000 for a seat in the 麻豆原创 Executive MBA (EMBA) Program at the听Celebrate The Children 2011 dinner and auction. All proceeds from the event go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida.

His bid is based upon acceptance into the program. Once admitted, Gingold will spend 20 months taking classes and networking with other professionals in the cohort. The program prepares executives and managers for the challenges they face as they advance in their careers. Courses are taught by distinguished business faculty members and the curriculum includes a global focus and an international residency.

He bid on the auction item because the money went to a good cause and he wanted to go to graduate school. He received his undergraduate degree in engineering at 麻豆原创, and is very impressed with the reputation of the EMBA program.

鈥淭he program itself is well known, so when I decided to further my education by earning an MBA, 麻豆原创 was the only program I considered,鈥� he said.

While he has a degree in engineering, Gingold is quite familiar with the College of Business Administration. He has worked closely with the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and has served as a judge at student competitions.

Administrators from the 麻豆原创 Executive Development Center were delighted with the outcome of the auction and look forward to Gingold enrolling as a student.

“We are pleased that the auction was so successful for both the Boys & Girls Club and Herb. He was very enthusiastic and we know he’ll share his passion with his fellow students and faculty members. We look forward to working with him,” said听Tiffany Hughes, senior associate director, 麻豆原创 Executive Development Center.

Perhaps the biggest motivator for Gingold to bid on the auction item was that the proceeds went to such a great cause.

鈥淢y wife and I attended the benefit and really learned what a wonderful and positive program the Boys and Girls Clubs is, and how it is making a real and measurable impact on lives right here in central Florida,鈥� he said.

鈥淔rom the tireless volunteers to the hard working staff, the kids are receiving guidance, assistance and support that they would not have from other sources.鈥�