As the latest crop of University of Victoria business students was frantically coming up with new sustainable business plans during an ice-breaking challenge competition Friday, the dean of the Gustavson School of Business was doing a little planning himself.
Saul Klein, into his second year as dean of the program, is preparing to expand the undergraduate ranks next year and the graduate program down the line. “All our programs have seen strong interest increasing,” said Klein, noting the undergraduate intake will increase next year to 300 students from the current 240. “As for the Masters program, we are looking at where expansion will happen and when.”
Currently, the Masters of Global Business program takes 40 UVic students and another 40 students from partner schools each year. But Klein said its popularity requires they start looking at how they can increase the intake.
“We saw a 40 per cent increase in applications this year,” Klein said, noting expansion is constrained by available resources of physical space and faculty. “There is a lag in our ability to ramp up and serve the increase in demand.”
The program has students doing a year at UVic before a semester in either Europe or Asia and then a semester in the other continent before doing an internship. Klein said it has been a hit because of its global scope.
“It’s a unique worldwide program,” he said. “We think it’s one thing to talk about globalization, but it adds another dimension to understanding if students can experience it.
“We are way ahead of the pack in terms of the proportion of students that go on international exchange.”
The business school partners with 80 schools in 40 countries and corporations all over the world to ensure the success of the program as well as its co-op work experience component.
Klein said the co-op program, which pairs students with businesses across Canada and the world with work placements, has set UVic apart and been important in attracting the best students.
“The more concerned people are about employment after graduation, even though in business [getting job offers] generally is pretty high, the co-op experience gives our students a major leg up,” he said.
It also has helped put the Gustavson School on the international map, which was one of Klein’s goals when he stepped in as dean last year.
“That’s still a major focus,” he said of getting the UVic brand out there, which helps with recruiting faculty and top MBA candidates.
Klein said it’s made easier by maintaining accreditation from both the leading European (EQUIS, European Quality Improvement System) and American (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accreditation bodies.
“It’s a powerful recruitment tool. There are only 60 schools in the world that can boast that accreditation,” he said.
But as the school eyes expansion, Klein said officials are aware that some of its drawing power stems from the fact there are only about 1,000 students in all its programs.
“We don’t want to lose that,” he said.
“We pride ourselves on being a small program. We know our students intimately and it’s reinforced by keeping class sizes relatively small.”
