WSOB EvMBA Class of 2012 Orientation
Monday, August 24th is the orientation for the incoming Class of 2012 in the Wisconsin School of Business (WSOB) Evening MBA Program. As a member of the Student Advisory Board (SAB), I am helping present information to the incoming class from an experienced student’s perspective, this being my third and final year in the program.
There are three main things SAB members want to achieve by attending orientation:
- Meeting and welcoming the members of the incoming cohort. We can help jump-start their sense of belonging within the Enterprise MBA Program and the greater WSOB community. Plus, we get to meet them before everyone else. Score!
- Explaining our means of effecting change in our program, the Student Advisory Board. We will discuss the history of the SAB, what we do, and how the upcoming elections will operate.
- Presenting experienced MBA student perspectives. Until you are actually in an MBA program, it is difficult to know which skills, behaviors, and activities are necessary to optimize one’s experience in the program. For example, it will seem to them as if they are being invited to an indistinct, endless array of events. But in reality, many events are rare opportunities only available to members of the WSOB.
I enjoy being a part of events like this. This is one of the greatest things about being in a three-year, lockstep, cohort program: when you start, you get to meet your cohort and the two years ahead of yours. By the time you are in your third and final year of the program, you have additionally met the two years behind yours. A person in the WSOB Evening MBA Program can know 300 to 400 professionals with MBAs by the time they finish!
The backgrounds, skills, and experiences of our fellow program members are rich and varied. My mission during the orientation will be to encourage the members of the Class of 2012 to meet as many of the students in the program as they can.
In: Articles · Tagged with: LinkedIn, MBA, Wisconsin School of Business, WSOB
Shad finds high-value intersections between business strategy and information technology. He currently resides in the Madison, WI area.
on August 24, 2009 at 6:51 am
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The idea of cohorts staying together and handing off to the new guard all sounds very interesting when you think in terms of adult education in general.
Lately, I’ve been wondering about the truism “young people learn things more quickly” and it has occurred to me that that might be true for a certain shallow depth of knowledge. For real substantive education, though, you have to treat learning like a job. Your program certainly sounds quite a bit more structured and grown-up than my graduate school experiences.
OB typo: “… program members are be rich and varied.”
on August 24, 2009 at 7:43 am
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When compared to my experience going to Boston University for a graduate program in computer science, I can definitely vouch for the added value of the cohort system. Instead of “running into” people from previous classes, your entire cohort takes all classes together in the same order. It goes without saying that this allows us to develop more meaningful relationships, but the program then uses that aspect to allow us to cover a lot of material in the allotted time. Because we are so used to doing things as teams, our ability to handle case studies and the rest of the material is increased.
I think the old sage about young people learning things more quickly is also about absolute potential versus realized potential in addition to the level of the material being covered (which seems to be a key aspect as well).
Thanks for pointing out the typo, Bob. I have fixed it.
on November 2, 2009 at 12:05 pm
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Shad,
I have submitted an application for the Fall 2010 Evening MBA program and wanted to let you know that posts like yours provide a great insight into the program. The Lockstep Cohort program is extremely appealing to me as well. At most schools, you take your classes when you want and graduate after you’re all done. UW-Madison seems much more interested in ensuring a graduate not only completes the necessary coursework but that they’re also a successful member of a larger group. Did you attend the Evening MBA program or the Full-Time one?
on November 2, 2009 at 12:10 pm
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I probably should have read your old posts first. I now see that you definitely attended and are attending the Evening Program.
Thanks for the great reads Shad!
on November 2, 2009 at 2:05 pm
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Hi, Chris – thanks for your comments. I am glad you found this useful for your consideration of and application to the Evening MBA Program.
Please feel free to send me your questions about the program – I am happy to discuss the program with you.