Adding to an ongoing list of current and proposed advancements for Sacramento State, the university is now offering an Executive Master of Business Administration degree to area professionals looking to increase their edge in the business world.

“The EMBA (Master of Business Administration degree) requires at least three to five years of professional, full time work experience,” said Chiang Wang, interim associate dean for graduate and external programs in the College of Business Administration. “Most of the students are managers and we’re giving them the opportunity to prepare to move up to the executive level as oppose to remaining functional managers.”

The program, offered through Sac State’s College of Continuing Education, will also give the university a stronger presence in Placer County. Currently, a bachelor’s degree in organizational communication or psychology, along with some upper division general education courses, is being offered at the Roseville Gateway Center, in cooperation with Sierra College.

Roseville’s PRIDE Industries will be opening up its facilities for the 36 EMBA students registered for the fall semester.

“The entire program that starts in the fall will remain here throughout the duration of the EMBA program,” said Rachele Burton, external affairs manager for PRIDE Industries. “We have hosted classes and training courses before, but nothing this large and for this duration of time.”

Sanjay Varshney, dean of the College of Business Administration, was instrumental in setting up the classroom space with PRIDE Industries CEO Mike Ziegler, Burton said.

The program is cohort based, meaning a group of students start at the same time and location take the same courses and finish together. And by utilizing classroom space across the region, the university is attempting to make it easier for working individuals to obtain an EMBA.

“We are bringing the programs to the community to make it convenient for the students,” Wang said.

Individuals applying for the spring semester will be taking courses at Intel Corp. in Folsom.

“This is actually something very new for us,” said Leroy J. Tripette, education relations manager at Intel. “We aren’t really designed for external classrooms but one of the things that we try to be is a great asset to our community. We don’t just work in our community, we work for it.”

And in its effort to increase learning in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Intel is working with Sac State, UC Davis and K-12 schools in the greater Sacramento area.

The spring EMBA classes at Intel will not only assist in its STEM initiative but will also support Sac State in its goal of providing a high quality program that will be the first choice of potential students and local companies.

“This will be a good benefit for our employees and a huge benefit to the community,” Tripette said. “We had about 130 Intel employees attend an information session on the EMBA program and I am expecting several employees to enroll.”

While Sac State’s current MBA program turns out graduates ready for management, the new program will enable area professionals to become even tougher competitors in the global market, Wang said.

“A regular MBA is to be a problem solver,” he said. “The EMBA is to be a strategic thinker, to go beyond your functional areas and think globally.”

Traditionally, the MBA has been the top level of education for business executives and could be completed in a two-year program. Now, with a changing economy and global market, the MBA faces some modification.

The new EMBA program at Sac State gives students the opportunity to attend classes during non-work hours, including some evenings of telecommuting. In the past, MBA students continued on with two years of full time course work after obtaining a bachelor’s degree.

Now, students can attend classes part time, complete the course work in 12 months and the entire program in 15 months, according to the College of Continuing Education.

The total program price for the 2005-06 academic year is $25,000, plus the $55 application fee.

For more information on the executive Master of Business Administration degree at Sac State, visit www.emba.csus.edu.

Lora Simmons can be reached at [email protected]