UCLA MBA Goes Self-Sufficient

From UCOP:*

UC president approves UCLA Anderson's proposal for self-supporting M.B.A. program

By Ricardo Vazquez, June 26, 2013

 

University of California President Mark G. Yudof has approved a proposal by the UCLA Anderson School of Management to convert its full-time, state-supported M.B.A. program to self-supporting status.

Yudof's decision — outlined in a June 24 letter** — applies to the financing of the school's flagship M.B.A. program, where the full costs will now be covered solely by student tuition rather than a combination of state funds and student tuition and fees.

In other respects, including issues related to academic content and quality, the M.B.A. program remains integral to the campus and is subject to the same policies and regulations that govern UCLA's professional schools.

Yudof's approval comes after an extensive review process in which both the faculty of UCLA Anderson and the Legislative Assembly of UCLA's Academic Senate voted to support the proposal. Yudof underscored that UCLA Anderson and all its programs will be expected to retain the characteristics of a public research university and to "operate as do all other academic units at UCLA."

"We are very grateful to President Yudof for his thoughtful consideration and approval of the UCLA Anderson proposal," said UCLA Chancellor Gene Block. "It recognizes our need to adjust to new state funding realities while ensuring that the M.B.A. program preserves the academic quality and access for needy students befitting a public institution."

Among the conditions Yudof placed on the M.B.A. program's change in status is a stipulation that the program continue to ensure that student financial aid is offered for "financially needy students at a level commensurate with other UC full-time State-supported M.B.A. programs."

The conversion of UCLA Anderson's M.B.A. program to self-supporting status benefits not just UCLA Anderson but the entire campus. It frees up more than $8 million that will be used to support campus-wide undergraduate programs hurt by major reductions in state support.

"The UC system has been hard hit by state budget cuts, and I'm pleased that we've been able to offer an innovative solution that is a win-win for both the university and for UCLA Anderson," said Judy Olian, dean of UCLA Anderson. "This new financial model will provide students with tuition predictability and enable the school to invest in program innovations while redirecting state support to other needed priorities at the university."

*http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/uc-president-approves-ucla-anderson-247078.aspx

**http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/UCLA/document/Yudof_Letter_MBA_Program99.pdf

UPDATE: The LA Times version of the story is at:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ucla-business-20130626,0,4422034.story
It includes the following:

...Anderson school officials have said that donors have promised multimillion-dollar donations if the self-supporting plan goes forward in the expectation that the MBA program will become more innovative once it becomes financially independent from state support... 

UPDATE: The Business Week version notes that the systemwide Academic Senate attempted to table the plan:  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-26/ucla-wins-right-to-take-mba-program-private

...Yudof’s approval comes nine months after a UC Academic Senate panel suspended its review of the UCLA plan, saying the program failed to meet any of the four criteria required for a program to become self-supporting at UC...