PSU pulls out of Oregon Executive MBA Program

Portland State will cease to be a part of the Oregon Executive MBA (OEMBA) Program after current program students graduate in two years. The program, which is taught in Portland by faculty from PSU, the University of Oregon and Oregon State, is being restructured to better accommodate business professionals.  

For 25 years, the OEMBA has offered an MBA program for working executives. PSU faculty members currently teach about half the courses in the program, and U of O awards the degree.  

“The idea was to get the best faculty in the state collectively between the three schools to teach the program,” said Scott Dawson, dean of the PSU School of Business. 

But, according to Dawson, U of O has had a difficult time getting its faculty to Portland to teach classes. Part of the new program structure is a change in scheduling, which will make it easier for faculty to teach at U of O and in Portland. 

Because PSU is located in the city, its faculty members have had an easier time teaching at both schools. According to Dawson, PSU faculty often have recent industry experience and are used to teaching older students and working professionals.   

“The reality is, has been for quite some time, that nobody’s really owned it,” Dawson said of the OEMBA program. 

Kees de Kluyver, the new dean of U of O’s Lundquist College of Business, seems to be taking on that ownership. In an interview with The Register-Guard last week, he described plans for the new program. The MBA will be broken into five certificates, and students can work toward select certificates or complete all five to get the MBA.

De Kluyver also hopes to increase the number of students enrolled in the program. There are currently between 40 and 45 students enrolled at any given time. According to the Register-Guard, de Kluyver hopes to increase this number to between 100 and 150. 

PSU and U of O discussed partnering in the new program, but amicably decided against it.  

“For us, a partnership was like what we have with OHSU for our healthcare program,” Dawson said.

In the Oregon Health and Science University partnership, both schools are equal partners and students are admitted to both institutions. However, Dawson said that U of O was not interested in such a partnership.

“I don’t hold any ill will against them at all,” he said. “It was time for something different to happen.”

PSU faculty will continue to teach in the OEMBA program until current students graduate in 2013. OSU has not announced whether or not it will remain in the partnership. 

PSU will not be changing the programs offered by its School of Business, which include a wide variety of undergraduate majors,

a master’s in financial analysis, master’s degrees in real estate development and international management and three different MBA options.  

The university is currently considering partnerships with businesses in Portland and with other schools, but has no plans to directly compete with the new OEMBA, according to Dawson. 

The current OEMBA program awards an MBA degree and classes are taught at 500 SW Market St.  The program is self-supporting and has graduated high-profile community members, such as OHSU President Joe Robertson, former Tectronix President Rick Wills and former Intel Capital President John Miner. 

Students in the current OEMBA program take classes part time, and must have worked three years in a leadership position, have five years of work experience and hold a mid- to senior-level position at the time of application. Total tuition for the program is $58,000, which also covers lodging and parking during residencies. Financial aid is available in the form of student loans, and information sessions occur both in Portland and in Eugene. ?