MBA program coming to town
A unique opportunity for higher education aiming to prepare future leaders of the community is coming to Pickaway County this fall.
Berger Hospital is teaming up with Ohio University in Athens to offer OU’s professional Master of Business Administration in Circleville.
“We’re constantly meeting to talk about what we might do to expand educational opportunities for the community,” Berger President Tim Colburn said. “Why an MBA program? Because health care is a business, and we need to make sure we’re building and developing future leaders.”
Berger already has a partnership with OU at its Chillicothe branch to train nurses in Circleville, and Colburn said the success of that program gave Berger an inroad for more educational offerings locally.
The program, which takes about 22 months to complete, consists of one evening a week of classroom activities held via video conference with instructors in Athens and a weekend course once every six weeks on the Athens campus.
OU has been offering the professional MBA through outreach programs for the last five years, according to Dr. Ed Yost, OU’s director of executive graduate education and development, and he said it’s been very successful preparing students for the business world.
“This program is aimed at working professionals to complete an MBA in a non-full time environment,” Yost said. “It’s designed for people that who maybe don’t have a business degree to give people a background to turn into a managerial career step.”
Yost said the course is delivered with more group projects rather than class work, and that was part of the appeal for Berger, according to Suzanne Welker, Berger’s human resources director.
“We’re excited about the synergy the group will have and think the teamwork will benefit the hospital and community,” Welker said. “Business management develops over time and we want to maximize skill development.”
Students in the program will learn about analytical decision making, which focuses on making good business decisions and professional development, including managing people and resources, teamwork and leadership, according to Yost.
He said the course also gives professionals the opportunity to meet people in other businesses and build on local networks.