St Joseph's College of Maine

Hi:
Does anyone have insight into the MBA program through St Joseph's College in Maine? http://www.sjcme.edu/masterbusadmin/mbanew.html

Their curriculum is very different from most MBA programs and their format is unique. Can anyone give me their thought, etc. about this program. If you do know about their program, are you for or against it?

Thanks!

 

They are a fine Catholic school, which might explain the decision to ground their MBA program in ethics and leadership.

 

Re: Re: St Joseph's College of Maine

I've looked at many MBA programs that have specializations and none have the focus and curriculum like St. Joseph's. St. Joseph's doesn't go into classes like Managerial Accounting, Statistics, etc. etc. that most MBA programs have. It sounds like St. Joseph's program is good but because it is so different and the study format is unique that questions automatically arise.

Do you guys know of anyone who has graduated or enrolled in St. Joseph's MBA program? Do they like it, hate it? How are they responding to the different presentation format (self-pace, independent study format)?

Thanks.

 

I can't speak to the MBA program, but a co-worker of mine earned his undergraduate degree from Saint Joseph's by DL, he was very happy with the delivery format and the school itself.

 

I realize this is purely hypothetical...if someone graduated with an MBA that has such a slant toward leadership like St Joseph's, would they have a tough time getting into a DBA program in the future? What about teaching?

I mentioned "slant toward leadership" without meaning to make it sound bad. Please don't get me wrong. What I am trying to get at is that most MBA programs are very broad, meaning you touch 1 class of just about everything whereas St Joseph's is very focused toward leadership, ethics and have a broad slant at all, meaning it doesn't even have classes like Statistics, Managerial Acctg, etc.

Thanks!

 

I am a graduate of the distance undergraduate program many years ago. I was always very happy with my experience at SJC. I am not sure if they still require a summer residency in the MBA program though.

 

I've actually done a fair bit of research into St. Joseph's College of Maine (SJCME) over the past... oh... I guess maybe two years or so; have requested (and received) its catalog for several of its programs; and have been in not-insignificant telephone and email correspondence with not only SJCME's admissions (read: sales) people, but also people in its registrar's office as well as two of its department heads over that time. I have come to really (and I emphasize the word "really," in this case) respect SJCME, just generally; and to have an even greater respect for at least a few of its sometimes unique programs -- among them its MBA. If the search function here were working correctly, you'd be able to search on my previous postings about SJCME to get a feel for what it is I find so attractive about it... but, alas, the search function is broken... and, I now fear, may never be fixed.

But I digress.

If I were limited to telling you just one thing about SJCME that would help to inform your understanding of what it's all about (and, therefore, what's behind its unusual MBA), I guess I'd have to point out that it's owned and operated by the Sisters of Mercy (which, incidentally, has always been my personal favorites of the various Catholic orders out there). Understanding, to the degree possible, precisely what the Sisters of Mercy is all about, and what it sees as works of mercy, will go a long way toward informing your understanding of what SJCME is trying to accomplish with virtually all of its degrees on one level or another. Where the coursework of any of SJCME's credentials tend to stray a bit from what many of us might consider to be the "norm," one can usually find an underlying reason that ties-in (sometimes in not-so-obvious ways) with the overall mission of the Sisters.

Its various credentials in the areas of healthcare management, for example; or long-term care administration; or nursing; and/or even theology, prepare graduates for work in those areas generally, of course, but also (and more specifically) prepare them for leadership roles in any of the Sisters of Mercy's various sponsored or co-sponsored health systems in ways that are peculiar to said systems.

SJCME's MBA, it seems to me, is precisely the sort of spin that one would expect the Sisters of Mercy to put on such a credential. There's nothing surprising about it, once one understands what they're trying to accomplish in this world, just generally; and there's no question in my mind that one of its underlying goals is to prepare quality leaders for their various missions. As a real fan of the Sisters of Mercy sensibilities, just generally, I can tell you that were I ever of a mind to seek an MBA, SJCME's would be at or near the top of my list of considerations. But that's just me.

It's regionally-accredited, of course, so it seems to me that most any regionally-accredited DBA program would at least consider accepting it as appropriately requisite -- especially if said DBA had a concentration or specialization in leadership, but quite possibly even if it didn't. It's worthy of note, also, that MBAs (and DBAs) that are not as generalized as you mention; and which have a decided concentration or specialization, are becoming more and more common. In fact, I suspect that those who argue that the value of an MBA, just generally, is dmininishing in today's marketplace would also argue that MBAs (and even DBAs) with unambiguous conentrations/specializations in relatively narrow areas are, at least in those areas, more valuable then ever!

Of course, I am not limited to telling you just one thing about SJCME, as my hypothetical suggested, above, so I will also point out that one of the comments I've heard alot from current and former SJCME students is that they've never known an institution of higher learning which seemed to care so about their success; which so treated them as individuals and not just numbers; and which was so willing be of service to any student seeking help or counsel.

One of my favorite SJCME programs that I used to like to recommend to people had been its three flavors of nearly-completely-distance-learning Master of Arts (MA) degree in theology (one in pastoral ministry, one in pastoral theology, and I can't remember what the third one was in). But I notice that, commencing with the 2004/2005 school year, that particular MA disappeared from its web site... and though I've sent not one but two emails asking what happened, I've received no response (for whatever that's worth).

Finally, as long as I have the floor for a minute, I want to mention -- more as a parenthetical aside, I suppose -- that the head of SJCME's Institute for Pastoral Studies, Dr. Rita LaBruzzo, got her doctorate from the unaccredited Graduate Theological Foundation (GTF) in South Bend, Indiana -- an institution that has taken some hits around here in the past; but which I have argued, here, may deserve a second look (but which argument I cannot find and/or link-to BECAUSE THE DAMNED SEARCH FUNCTION HERE IS STILL BROKEN AND NO ONE WILL FIX IT!



(Sorry.... got a little carried away, there.)

I hope that that (not the getting carried away part, of course, but all that came before it) helps.

 

Thank you for your in depth answer. I REALLY appreciate the insight. As you can imagine, it's so hard to get a true feel for a school from a distance. And any brochureware from any school of course is always going to say they're the best.

I'm not surprised that you mentioned that they care about the students and their success. I have taken a few business (graduate level) classes from a catholic school (non-online). The program director, herself a nun, was always very, very caring about the progress of the students and knew all of them individually. I couldn't continue with the school because I moved away and they did not have an online program. I've learned from many others who have attended catholic colleges who have also found that their teachers or program directors really care about them.

Where caring about a student's progress is concerned....one can't have enough of that in an online environment just because it really isn't an easy medium to attend school. I have a BSc. earned online and I know how tough it can be.

Yes, I wish the search function would work. I tried searching for comments on St. Joseph's but the darn search found me nothing.

Thanks again!

 

I forgot to add with my previous comment...

Where specialization is concerned. From my research, most MBAs have a 2-4 course focus (in Accounting, HR, Leadership, Marketing, etc.). Other than those few classes, they are broad in that they touch a little of "everything". The schools that offer them tout them as "MBA in xxxx" but realistically, it's "MBA, with a focus or major in xxxx" and that focus or major is still very light since I doubt you can really get too much into any subject with 2-4 classes only. There aren't too many specialized MBAs with a true focus. The only other school that comes to my mind that has a true area of specialization is Thunderbird School of International Mgmt. Their main focus is international business and that's all you focus on. I know of a guy who went there and he said he loved the experience. If you look at Thunderbird's curriculum, it's very unique as well.

 

Re: Re: St Joseph's College of Maine

Yes they still require the summer residency. 2 weeks of it.

 

There are worse places

My attitude toward that has always been, more or less, "Yeah... that residency would really suck if it weren't in such a beautiful, picturesque place." Had you seen this?

 

Re: Re: Re: St Joseph's College of Maine

I guess better than 3 weeks which is what I had to do way back when