Since 1995, Maryland has cooperated with Lodz on the MBA program. It is administered via the Polish American Management Center.
"It's designed to provide an American-style educational program for students of business in Poland," Brennan said.
Maryland's business school has been recognized as one of the nation's best. But their success has resulted in increased expenses, including higher salaries for faculty members. "College Park is essentially losing money by participating in this program, because their costs are too high," Brennan said.
Maryland officials had informed Lodz that it was pulling out of the collaboration. But Towson can offer a similar educational experience while avoiding the expensive price tag.
About thirty students enroll in the MBA program each year. But graduates currently receive a degree from Lodz and a certificate from Maryland â€" not a degree from Maryland.
Brennan said the new proposal would permit students in the program to receive Towson University degrees in Poland.
MBA degrees from American universities are extremely marketable overseas, he added. The University of Minnesota and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign already offer business degrees in Poland, for instance.
After first attempt, MBA could become reality
The partnership with Lodz would "get us in the world of the MBA," Brennan said.
For several months, an earlier Towson proposal to offer a joint MBA degree with the University of Baltimore has been delayed by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. Morgan State University objected to the proposal, citing the state's agreement with the Office of Civil Rights, which prohibits unnecessary duplication of programs.
Morgan has offered an MBA for decades, and is intent on preserving the status quo, despite dwindling enrollment
In his Fall Address last month, President Robert Caret referred to the MBA proposal delays as the twilight zone.
"Suffice it to say that a neighboring campus that's had the degree for 30 years â€" and has basically driven it into the ground from 400 to 29 students, that no one in the business community even knows it exists â€" is continuing to block us from offering a program that is both needed and necessary in this region. We are going to win this battle one way or another," he said. In the meantime, the Lodz proposal gets Towson's foot in the metaphorical MBA door.
According to the proposal, Towson faculty members will travel to Poland to teach about 25 percent of the courses in-person. Lodz faculty will teach 25 percent, and another 25 percent will be taught online. The remaining quarter will be a hybrid of in-person and online education. As a partner, Maryland will provide one faculty member per year.
Brennan, who spent three years in Poland and speaks Polish, said the country and its economy is exciting.
Visit to China yields unexpected opportunity
The opportunity for a joint venture arose in an unlikely place: China. Brennan joined a Maryland delegation to the country in April, and while at a reception in Shanghai, he noticed a young man with a Polish-looking last name on his nametag. In Polish, he asked the man if he spoke Polish, but the man looked dumb-founded. It turned out the man worked with Scott Koerwer, the director of the Center for Executive Education at Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business.
The misunderstanding led to a conversation about Poland, and Maryland's program in Lodz, and the school's plan to pull the plug. If the scene was a cartoon, a giant light bulb would have appeared atop Brennan's head.
In his words, "it started a conversation that's proving to be very interesting."
As the talks progressed, officials agreed that Towson would become the "senior partner" in the program, while Maryland would become the "junior partner."
When the Polish management center director visited Maryland in August, he met with officials from Maryland, Towson, and the state of Maryland, and the agreement was formalized.
Brennan flew to Lodz last week to finalize some of the details.
Shohreh Kaynama, dean of the College of Business and Economics, will travel to Lodz in a few weeks to attend celebrations of the partnership's tenth anniversary.
Brennan hopes Kaynama will be able to sign paperwork officially establishing the Towson relationship during her trip.
Brennan expects the USM board to vote on the proposal by the end of the year. If the regents approve it, Towson faculty members can begin participating in the fall of 2006.
|
|
|
| Home | Copyright Brian Stelter |