Updated MBA program at Olin reflects school's core principles

Aug. 9, 2007 -- The Olin School of Business has overhauled its MBA program to better reflect the school's core principles of creating knowledge, inspiring individuals and transforming business. The MBA program's required core courses are designed to reflect those values by building a stronger foundation of critical thinking and leadership skills.

Some of the changes include: extending the orientation program an extra four days; adding a course called "Critical Thinking for Leaders" to the required curriculum; and creating a series of new courses on team leadership, effective leadership and leadership development. In addition, the fall semester of the first year (the core semester) has been extended by several weeks to accommodate the added material and to allow for greater integration and assimilation.

These changes were approved by the faculty and are effective for the 2007-08 academic year. Joe Fox, associate dean and director of the MBA program, indicated that there were several driving forces prompting the changes.

"Student feedback and faculty assessment indicated that we were adding significant content to an already crowded core semester. Students need time to absorb and apply the materials they learn in our classes," Fox said. "Adding several weeks to the core semester as well as the orientation program allows for this to happen. We also wanted to devote time and resources to developing superior critical thinking techniques both as a stand-alone topic and as a theme throughout the core semester."

Approximately 145 new MBA students from around the world will join the full-time MBA program this year starting today.