Sacred Heart University - Jack Welch College of Business & Technology

The imprimatur of Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, impresses many MBAs at Sacred Heart University. “I’m a big fan of Jack Welch,” one current student tells us; “the name Welch being attached to the school will hopefully bring much more recognition,” another adds hopefully. The GE connection isn’t lost on students either; the fact that the program “is held in high regard by GE in Connecticut,” where many of these graduates will eventually seek employment, is a key factor in their decision to pursue the Welch MBA.

Sacred Heart is not merely relying on a famous name to attract and satisfy students. In 2009, the school introduced a new curriculum that begins with a fixed integrated core curriculum that “is very applicable to the real world” and culminates in concentration work in accounting, finance, marketing, or management. Students note that “the new Welch MBA format has been a monumental task to get rolling” and commend “the staff and professors [who] go above and beyond to make sure each student is heard and prepared for the tasks at hand.” They call the new curriculum “an interesting and exciting new take on the traditional MBA” with a “dynamic new format [that] is very interesting and keeps us on our toes!” The program “fully embraces the fast-paced changes of the modern world” and “trains students to be more than analytical” in order to produce “effective leaders and decision makers, ready to go.”

Students commend “the breadth and depth of knowledge of the faculty” at Welch, calling their teachers an “outstanding group of professors with diverse backgrounds to teach various aspects of the business world. Their skills and knowledge in their particular subject is outstanding and…[set within] today’s business world.” Because “the school is not too large,” students benefit from “the opportunity to get to know one another” and their teachers in the classroom. Through an international MBA in Luxembourg offering concentrations in finance and general management, Welch students have the opportunity to undertake internships in finance, marketing, international business and information technology in Luxembourg.

SHU’s Office of Career Development offers a range of services to MBA students. Staff members provide assistance with resume creation and critique; conduct seminars on interview skills; maintain online job postings; and organize on-campus job fairs and interview sessions. The office hired a full-time Assistant Director whose primary focus is on MBA student internships and job placement. During a recent academic school year, 105 employers attended the school’s annual career fair and nineteen employers inter- viewed on campus, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, General Electric, Target, Ernst & Young, Sikorsky, KPMG, and Legg Mason.

“Most students are commuters who hold jobs during the day” at Welch, although “the students who come directly from undergraduate work appear to do a lot together.” MBAs agree that in its current manifestation, the school’s extracurricular life “is mainly geared towards the full-time undergraduates (concerts, clubs, student activities, sports). The graduate schools tend to just focus on classes and not student life.” However, they also note that “the business school is just starting to survey its students about how we want help: network with alumni and other community leaders [versus] speakers, etc.” That bodes well for the future. For now, though, “if you are not already a part of the university via undergrad work or currently working at the school, there is a major gap between the university and its graduate students.”

The student body is a mix of seasoned professionals and freshly minted BAs. The older students “are personable and knowledgeable without being ‘know-it-alls.’” All students in the program enjoy a “strong sense of collegiality and collaboration.”