Dr. Rick Franza, Dean of the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he talks about the quality of education available at the College of Business. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact.
ABD: The CSRA is fortunate to have a strong business school in the area. What are the educational aspects of it, both for undergraduate students and for those who are already in the professional business world?
Rick: We give all undergraduates a core education in business with two-degree options, Business Administration in Accounting and Business Administration in one of the core concentrations: health care management, digital marketing, financial services, and applied economic analysis; soon supply chain management might be added. We’re building the fundamental knowledge for them to work in or run a business.
For someone who has started their own business but maybe doesn’t have a degree in business, who is just doing it by instinct, or the person who is shifting from one industry to another, or just wants to strengthen what they’ve done by instinct, our MBA is a good choice. A lot of medical professionals, especially dentists, realize they’re running a small business and having an MBA really helps.
ABD: In your undergraduate program, you do a few things that aren’t found in most other business schools. Tell us about them.
Rick: A lot of what we offer is the basics – they’re required to take two accounting classes and two economics classes to learn “the language of business.” But one difference for us is that during their freshman year, we require a class on business and professional skills. We’re trying to introduce the students to the various areas of business and the careers that go with them. We bring in panels of local business professionals to talk about specific topics – it exposes the students not just to the academic side but, more importantly, to the professional side. Then in professional skills, we get them working early on their soft skills, like making presentations, networking, ethics, and collaborating.
Another unique element of our program is we’re the only school that requires students to take a professional selling class and a project management class. We asked businesses what they need from our students that they’re not getting, and the No. 1 answer was always sales. Not the typical car salesman type of sales, but business-to-business sales. Another thing we heard from business folks was that work is becoming more project-oriented.
And a third unique component is that we require students to work in a for-credit internship before they can graduate. There’s a two-fold reason for it – it gives students exposure before looking at a career job. They’re learning if they actually like what their major is, and they’re proving they can work. And from the school’s perspective, it helps us because we know our students are just as good as those coming from the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech. Not many other colleges require internships.
ABD: It’s good to know that local businesses don’t have to go very far to find talented business students to hire. But you also have a pretty good MBA program for working professionals. Tell us a little about that.
Rick: Our MBA program is part-time and targeted toward working professionals. There are 10 courses that cover all the major areas of business. It’s more of a career accelerator than a career starter. It provides you with the context you need to really learn, and it allows you to contribute more. It’s as much about asking the right questions as it is about giving the right answers.
We haven’t offered any concentrations in the MBA program but starting in the fall of 2023, we’ll offer a concentration in healthcare management. Healthcare is about 15 percent of our GDP locally and with three healthcare systems, we have a high density of medical professionals. They know there’s a need to run the business of healthcare. This teaches them how to better and more cost-effectively deliver health care. We used to put doctors and nurses in charge of hospitals, but healthcare is too complex now on the business side.
ABD: It sounds like a great opportunity for local business professionals. Do you need an undergraduate degree in business to enter the MBA program?
Rick: You don’t need a degree in business – in fact, we prefer you not to be a business major – but you do need a degree. Our part-time MBA degree has consistently been ranked as one of the best in the country. It’s a family-type atmosphere. Because it’s smaller, students get to know one another well. And it’s very affordable – about $12,000. Most make that money back in a year or two. We also offer an online MBA degree, a collaboration of six business schools in Georgia.
ABD: Do you need an MBA to be successful in business?
Rick: Obviously not, but it is helpful. It’s geared toward someone rising in their organization, and for those entrepreneurs who feel they have an area of weakness.
