Academics
Asked why they chose the Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State, most MBAs cite the affordability and convenience of the program. The school offers classes at its 203-acre main campus in Midtown Detroit, the Oakland Center in Farmington Hills and online; students extol these 鈥渃onvenient campus locations to choose from鈥 and appreciate that 鈥渆very MBA course can be taken at your choice of the two campuses or online.鈥 Evening classes and 鈥渁 very flexible online class schedule鈥 further help to facilitate the busy schedules of WSU MBAs, the great majority of whom work full-time while pursuing their degrees.
A 鈥済ood finance鈥 program and a strong local alumni network are among the other assets cited by students here. MBAs also point out that 鈥淲SU is an urban research-centered school,鈥 so 鈥渋f you were interested in being a researcher, there are some great opportunities here.鈥 The downtown campus is 鈥渟et in an urban environment鈥 that 鈥渉elps students get an education above and beyond classroom lectures,鈥 and because some adjunct 鈥減rofessors who teach the MBA classes work for local companies,鈥 participation in the program 鈥渋s great for networking,鈥 not only with instructors but also with working classmates. Professors, students tell us, 鈥渉ave a nice mix of textbook-to-real world experience and knowledge鈥 many published works and a few were either a CEO or high-ranking executive at a successful company. They challenge us to become better students but make themselves available to assist us in accomplishing our goals.鈥
On the downside, some instructors have not yet figured out how to maximize the online course format even as it grows more popular with students. 鈥淭hough some professors structure their in-class and online courses very, very well, this is not the norm at this school,鈥 one student explains. In many cases, 鈥渁ll we get are three to four-hour lectures, a talking head, and PowerPoint. The professors generally record their in-class lectures so we can鈥檛 hear the students鈥 questions,鈥 which students describe as 鈥渧ery annoying. It makes it hard to stay interested and focused.鈥 Some here also feel that the curriculum could use some revamping to place 鈥渕ore emphasis on core subjects and less on electives. Currently there is a 50/50 split.鈥