By McGill Reporter Staff
The Quebec Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sports has recognized McGill’s MBA program as a “specialized” program – a decision that will permit the University to continue operating it on a self-funded basis.
The decision, announced Aug. 19, takes into account modifications that will accentuate the international focus of the Desautels MBA.
The changes, to be implemented by the fall of 2012, will include a mandatory study trip abroad and other measures to ensure all students have an international educational experience during the program. The MBA program also will explicitly include an international experience component in its admissions criteria starting in 2012-13.
The Ministry in March fined McGill $2 million, saying that the University’s move to a self-funded model for the MBA program last year had violated provincial budget rules.
In its Aug. 19 announcement, the Ministry said the changes that McGill has since agreed to implement satisfy the criteria laid out by the Ministry to bring the MBA program into line with the budget rules.
The modifications will enhance the Desautels MBA’s multidisciplinary, integrated curriculum, which is unique in Quebec and distinct in many ways from other MBA programs around the world, the University said.
“We have positioned the Desautels MBA to enhance its unique character, consistent with the mission of the Desautels Faculty and McGill University to meet the highest international standards in business education,” said Peter Todd, Dean of the Desautels Faculty of Management.
The shift to a self-funded tuition model was required to sustain and build on the major improvements made to the MBA program in recent years, Desautels officials have said. At the same time, the Faculty’s substantial investment in scholarships is designed to ensure the program is accessible to all qualified students.