Babson Online Fast Track MBA

Babson College is located in Wellesly, Massachusetts. It is recognised internationally for its leadership in education. This article is a review of the Babson Online Fast Track MBA.

The Babson MBA is offered through the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. The Babson Online Fastr Track MBA is accredited by AACSB International.

In terms of ranking, the Babson MBA has top rankings. The U.S. News & World Report rank Babson’s MBA no. 1 in entrepreneurship for 15 years straight. They were also ranked no. 48 in terms of overall ranking. The Business Week had ranked the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business the top 38 U.S. MBA programs in 2006 and among the top 5 programs for entrepreneurship.

The Wall Street Journal had ranked the Babson MBA as follows: No. 21st in regional program (2007); No. 9 in creative and innovative MBA graduates (2007); No. 2 in Entrepreneurship (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007); and No. 1 in student entrepreneurship skills.

The Financial Times had ranked Babson MBA as the top 49 among U.S MBA Programs in year 2008 and top 3 worldwide among MBA programs in Entrepreneurship. The Babson MBA had received other high rankings from The Princeton Review, America Economia and Latin Trade.

There are currently more than 1,600 graduate students attended Babson that comes from 45 states and 57 countries. About 16 percent of the graduates students are from outside U.S.

The Babson Fast Track MBA emphasise on holistic approach to complexities in business. The curriculum of the online fast track MBA incorporates case studies, web-based discussion and field-based projects. The main theme of the Babson online fast-track MBA program is entrepreneurial leadership in a changing global environment.

The accelerated fast track MBA is reinforced by its technology-based distance learning components. The course ease communication between students and faculty members. This way, professors can quickly and efficiently disseminate course material to the students.

The Babson Fast Track MBA allows working professionals like you to continue your career while pursuing for an MBA in just 24 months. Students need to attend classes at campus for two days, at six weeks interval for classroom interaction. The Babson Fast Track MBA starts with a 5 day residency to introduce students to the program and to each other.

One interesting aspect of the Babson Fast Track MBA is that the course work and activities are designed in modular format to mirror the cycle of business development. The core curriculum of the Babson Fast Track MBA focuses on:
• Recognizing and assessing an opportunity
• Formulating a business strategy
• Implementing the business strategy
• Modifying that strategy and systems as conditions evolve and change

All the content of the courses reflects real-world challenges facing managers today and it will also draw on students’ own working life experience.

There are three major components to the Babson Fast Track MBA:
• Face-to-face meetings (approximately every six weeks at Babson or Portland, OR)
• Action learning projects (short, highly focused assignments)
• Distance-learning components

The fast track MBA core curriculum is delivered via online, involving about 18 to 22 hours per week. Face to face meeting takes place every six weeks on Fridays and Saturdays at Babson College and in Portland, Oregon.

The Babson fast track MBA program is divided into specific program. There are the Building Business Insight, the Advance Business Leadership and some electives that trace business development cycle. There are more flexibility when students start the elective portion of the MBA program.

The followings describe the duration and the arrangement of the Babson Fast Track MBA:

• Pre-Work
• Residency Kickoff at Babson (Five Days)
• Building Business Insight (BBI) (Eight Months)
• Advanced Business Leadership (ABL) (Eight Months)
• Electives (18 Weeks)
• Capstone Project (13 Weeks)
• Online Tool Kits (Ongoing)

Students who are admitted into the Babson Fast Track MBA program are required to show competency in several areas. These include basic accounting, statistics, IT and microeconomics.

The Pre-Work requirements may be fulfilled based on prior course on work experience. Those that do not meet the requirements may need to undergo self-study using the online tutorial followed by online examinations. The pre-work must be successfully completed before the students begin the actual MBA program.

The Babson Fast Track MBA kicks off with a five day residency. The purposes of the residency is so that students may be introduced to the program and to each other. There will also be an introduction to entrepreneurship, creativity, and business simulation. Students work in teams. They are trained to think creatively, and to look at business issues with a holistic approach. It is during this time that students get to meet faculty members of Babson.

There are eight courses in the Building Business Insigh which takes a duration of eight months. These courses cover foundation material which is designed to provide all students with skills that managers need to survive in the business world. The courses in the Building Business Insight include:

• Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Leadership and Human Behavior
• Managerial Assessment and Development
• Finance and Financial Statement Analysis
• Managing and Controlling Operations
• Markets and Marketing
• Ethics and Law
• Strategy

Some students may waive the requirements of several of these courses by taking waiver examinations. Those who could demonstrate their competency will be waived.

With the completion of the BBI of the Babson Fast Track MBA, students follow their MBA courses with the Advanced Business Leadership for another eight months. The ABL is divided into the following cross-disciplinary curriculums:

• Opportunity Assessment (marketing, finance, strategy, and decision support/analysis)
• Delivery Systems (operations, managerial accounting, information technology, marketing, organizational design, and finance)
• Growth and Renewal (national business systems, macroeconomics, and finance

Following the completion of the ABL, the next portion of the Babson Fast Track MBA consists of 18 weeks of electives. Students are required to take four electives. Students may take two electives at a time.

The followings are the curriculum of the electives:
• Global Strategic Management
• Measuring and Achieving Strategic Results
• Strategic Cost Systems
• Managing a Growing Business
• Knowledge Management
• Mergers and Acquisitions for Entrepreneurs
• Financial Modeling
• Negotiations
• Valuation
• Pricing

Students have to complete a capstone project in 13 weeks. The goal of the required capstone is to pull together newly developed capabilities and apply them in an integrated managerial fashion. The capstone experience involves a student-driven project based on a real workplace issue. The project may be individual or team-based. Corporate sponsored students may have their project outlined by their employer.

Online Tool Kits (Ongoing): These tool kits are designed as a Web-based learning unit that allows the student to review and master a single concept.

The Babson Fast Track MBA enrol students beginning in March and October on the Wellesley campus while the Portland, Oregon campus only enrol in October.

Babson is committed to take students from various background and shall assist in every way possible to ensure that those who have financial difficulties get the required assistance. The total amount of grant, loans and merit-based scholarship distributed had been over $24 million with $4 million awarded as financial assistance to Babson MBA students.