Program Learning Outcomes
Woodbury’s MBA program prepares business graduates to compete in a dynamic, global environment marked by rapid technological and social change. Each student emerges from the MBA program with a sound knowledge base in accounting, finance, marketing, leadership, and strategy, and with the networking skills necessary to build a successful career.
This knowledge base is further enhanced by a heavy dose of organizational behavior skills, including emotional intelligence, ethical leadership, and strategy. We believe that a well-rounded business education should involve a happy amalgam of functional areas and soft skills. Our goal is to prepare leaders who are effective, ethical, and responsible.
The challenges our students will face in their careers will not come neatly bundled according to areas of expertise. Our goal, then, is to engender a holistic view, so our graduates can interface with people from a variety of disciplines, and have the skill set to confront business challenges that are not so clearly defined.
Woodbury MBA students learn to:
- Demonstrate leadership competencies;
- Communicate effectively;
- Act in an ethical manner;
- Perform effectively in a global business environment;
- Integrate strategies within overall organizational contexts;
- Express mastery of domain-specific knowledge and skills.
Stated below are learning objectives corresponding to each learning goal, with Bloom’s Taxonomy related to different levels of learning shown in parentheses.
Leadership Competencies
- To develop and enhance existing leadership strengths and acquire relevant, new leadership skills (Application, Synthesis, Evaluation).
- To determine and select the most effective leadership approaches after examining contexts, people, and organizations involved (Synthesis, Evaluation).
- To assess the ability to lead teams toward the successful completion of goals (Evaluation).
Acting Ethically
- To analyze specific examples of moral challenges faced by business leaders and to show the ethical implications of their decisions (Application and Analysis).
- To develop personal core values and apply them when carrying out the missions of various types of organizations (Application, Analysis, Synthesis).
- To identify potential moral dilemmas, apply moral reasoning, select courses of action, and assess the ethical implications of business decisions (Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation).
Communication
- To demonstrate the application of effective communication skills in speaking, writing, and using electronic media (Application, Analysis).
- To express positions succinctly, logically, and persuasively (Synthesis).
- To apply communication strategies toward improving team effectiveness (Application, Analysis).
- To apply communication skills across diverse contexts and environments (Application, Analysis, Synthesis).
Strategy
- To identify salient features of complex situations and organizations and be able to recommend effective change strategies (Synthesis).
- To creatively adapt strategic thinking to address unpredictable situations and contexts (Analysis, Synthesis).
- To demonstrate the ability to integrate and synthesize various functional areas and assess their effectiveness in terms of achieving overall organizational goals/success (Synthesis, Evaluation).
Assessment Process
Formative Assessment Experiences
Faculty members ensure the development of knowledge, skill sets, and behaviors in a system of continuous improvement by reviewing and analyzing initial, milestone, and summative assessments at the end of each semester. Through a rigorous gap analysis, areas for improvement are identified and changes implemented to close the loop. This ongoing process ensures the currency and relevance of our mission-critical curriculum. Feedback from employers who critique student work in our outreach program and MBA candidate performances in capstone simulations provides objective evidence of the high quality of learning in our MBA program.
Summative Assessment Experiences
In the entrepreneurship course (MGMT 608), students complete a hands-on outreach project providing them with real-world consulting experience from entrepreneurs and business owners, and the opportunity to create a research project while developing as solution providers, problem solvers, and critical thinkers. Student teams are assigned to a local Burbank business identified for this project by members of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce.
Assessment Process
- Collaboratively developed learning outcomes and goals.
- Curriculum mapped (at the program level) to set learning goals and (at the course level) to student learning outcomes: please refer to the MBA curriculum map.
- Standardized syllabus format emphasizes learning objectives, grading rubrics, and course activities aligned with student learning outcomes.
- Midway data capture points have been created to track student learning progress and provide feedback to improve the curriculum.
- Faculty training: University- and School-level faculty development workshops and professional conferences in the science and art of outcomes assessment.
- Capstone course evaluation.
- Direct assessment is embedded into courses using specific rubrics.
- Indirect assessment via alumni surveys and exit exams, etc.
Program Specific Academic Standards
In order to remain in good standing and qualify for graduation, MBA students are required to achieve and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0.
MBA Admission Requirements are:
- A minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.5.
- Three professional and/or academic letters of recommendation.
- A two- to three-page essay describing your qualifications for acceptance into the MBA program. Address your leadership potential, motivational aptitude, and career goals. Discuss how Woodbury’s MBA will assist you in accomplishing your goals.
Note: GMAT/GRE is not required
International Applicants
Please see the section below for details.
MBA Preparation Courses
In an effort to ensure that all Woodbury MBA students have similar academic preparedness, Common Professional Component (CPC) topics must be satisfied by those without sufficient academic business backgrounds. Common Professional Component (CPC) subjects may be satisfied in several ways: by taking one of the preparation courses listed below; by undergraduate coursework with grade “B” or better; or by passing a College Level Examination Program (CLEP) or DANTES test, if applicable. Work experience will not be accepted to satisfy CPC requirements.
The following PMBA Bridge Courses are specifically designed to meet these requirements:
ACCT 501
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Accounting Practices
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MGMT 506
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Organizational Behavior and Strategy
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FINA 508
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Fundamentals of Finance, Economics, and Statistics
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Note: These courses will not count toward the 36-unit core and elective requirement for the MBA degree. There are no pre-requisites to these courses. For course descriptions, please see below under the heading MBA Preparation Courses (PC). PC courses are open only to those students who need them, per their PC evaluation sheet.
MBA candidates with BA or BS undergraduate business degrees in accounting, business administration, finance, international business, management, management information systems, or marketing from an AACSB- or ACBSP-accredited four-year college or university and with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50 may be waived from taking MBA Preparation Courses.