Overview

The Bittner M.B.A. Program

The Bittner School of Business offers a number of customized options that will lead to an M.B.A. degree. The M.B.A. program is designed for students who wish to complete their degree in one to six years. We offer courses on weeknights and, on occasion, Saturday mornings. The Bittner School of Business is known for preparing exceptional graduates because of our commitment to achieving excellence in business education. Fisher has over 25 years of experience graduating hundreds of MBAs who have gone on to become great leaders.

The Bittner M.B.A. program provides an outstanding education at a remarkable value.

• Flexibility: Fisher offers you the opportunity to complete your M.B.A. in one year or up to six years. We offer the flexibility to customize your M.B.A. program to leverage your available learning time.
• Concentrations:The Bittner School lets you select an area of concentration within your M.B.A.. We currently offer concentrations in:
  • Accounting
  • General Management
  • Global Context
  • Health Systems Management
  • Human Resource Development
  • Pharmaceutical Industry
• Accelerated Time to Degree: Individuals with appropriate undergraduate preparation in business may be able to reduce the number of Foundation Courses taken in the M.B.A. program. If you are a current undergraduate business major or have a baccalaureate degree in business, you may qualify for a condensed program which allows the completion of your M.B.A. within a year of your undergraduate degree.

Admissions Requirements

Acceptance into the M.B.A. program at the Bittner School of Business requires evidence of potential success. In general, applicants can demonstrate such potential by taking the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and obtaining an acceptable score. An outstanding undergraduate academic record from a regionally accredited business school, signaled by a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.30, may be used in place of the GMAT requirement. Individuals with three or more years of significant and qualifying managerial experience may be granted exemptions from the GMAT exam if they can provide tangible evidence of written analytical ability in both quantitative and non-quantitative areas. This last category requires both the applicant and a supervisor who is familiar with the applicant’s work to submit documentation relevant to: (1) the applicant’s managerial experience involving his or her subordinates’ work products and performance, (2) control of budgets, projects, operations, or similar important objectives, and (3) responsibility for making significant contributions to creating or managing a process, project, operation, or function. Acceptance into the M.B.A. program on the basis of work experience may also require a personal interview with the M.B.A. Admissions Committee or a designated member thereof and may involve administration of tests as deemed appropriate.

St. John Fisher College undergraduate students enrolled in a major within the School of Business who have accumulated at least 90 credit hours and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (including any transfer coursework) are eligible for an accelerated application process for the MBA program. Accelerated graduate applications are available in the Office of Graduate Admissions. The accelerated application is free of charge and less comprehensive than the traditional application process. Eligible students are not required submit a resume, personal statement, letters of recommendation, transcript or GMAT score, as long as the cumulative GPA is a 3.0 or higher. Admission to the MBA is not guaranteed and acceptance is contingent upon a student’s ability to maintain a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.0, along with successful completion of the bachelor’s degree.

Course Exemption Policy

Upon meeting all admission requirements, students may be eligible for exemption(s) from foundation courses based on prior academic preparation at a regionally accredited institution. Exemptions will be based on transcript analysis which will be performed for each applicant only at the time of the admission decision and require a minimum grade of B or higher in equivalent coursework to be considered. As part of this process, applicants may be asked to provide additional supporting documentation to help with specific course evaluation.

Transfer Credit Policy

The Bittner M.B.A. program may accept up to nine hours of appropriate graduate-level credit from other institutions. This decision is at the discretion of the dean of the Bittner School of Business and/or the M.B.A. Admissions Committee. For transfer credit to apply, a minimum grade of “B” is required for each course.

Graduate Management Admissions Test

Bittner applicants are required to take the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) unless they have already received an advanced degree, perform at or above the national average on the ETS Major Field Test in Business, or have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher from a regionally accredited business school. The GMAT is a general aptitude test and must be taken prior to applying for admission. Test centers throughout the world administer the GMAT January through December. Preparatory booklets are available in most bookstores to help the student become acquainted with the nature of the test. The Bittner School does not specify a GMAT score for matriculation; results of this test are evaluated as part of the applicant’s overall portfolio.

Information and application forms are available from the Office of Graduate Admissions or from:

Educational Testing Service, Rosedale Road, Princeton, NJ 08541
Phone: 1-800-717-4628

For more information, please refer to the GMAT website: www.mba.com.
To ensure that the results of the GMAT are sent to St. John Fisher College, use code number MBA: WTD-FB-25.

For more information regarding application and admission to the M.B.A. program, please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions, at (585) 385-8161 or by e-mail at grad@sjfc.edu and visit us at: www.sjfc.edu/academics/bittner/departments/mba.

About the Program

The Faculty

The M.B.A. faculty are devoted to excellence in teaching. The overwhelming majority of M.B.A. full-time faculty hold doctoral degrees, are actively engaged in research, and publish peer-reviewed articles in their fields of study. Many have been tapped to share their expertise by teaching classes in places such as China, Europe, Australia, and Russia. Members of our faculty have received awards and grants to continue expanding their knowledge in their field of study. In the Bittner M.B.A., small class sizes allow students to benefit from the depth of faculty knowledge in a breadth of areas including: Accounting, Business Administration, Finance/Financial Planning, Human Resource Management, International Business, Marketing, and Information Technology. Through their personalized approach, faculty firmly ground student learning with a solid base in theory and then guide each student to develop skills that are practiced and refined through collaborative, team-based learning projects. To round out the M.B.A. experience, faculty draw on the vast knowledge of regional business leaders to connect students with alumni and supply local case studies which represent challenges that face today’s business community.

C.P.A. Licensing

In order to become licensed as a C.P.A. in New York State, candidates must complete 150 hours of education, including at least 33 credits in Accounting. Completion of the Accounting concentration within the M.B.A. program, in conjunction with a 120-credit B.S. in Accounting at St. John Fisher College, or another comparably accredited institution, will fulfill the 150-hour educational license requirement.

One of the requirements for certification as a C.P.A. in the State of New York is that the applicant “be of good moral character.” New York State requires that “any information indicating that an applicant has been convicted of a crime, or has committed an act which raises a reasonable question as to the applicant’s moral character shall be referred to the director of the Office of Professional Discipline.” Please contact the New York State Education Department if there are any concerns in meeting this “good moral character” requirement.

Learning Outcomes

M.B.A. Program Learning Objectives

Leadership - Graduates will demonstrate the capacity to lead in organizational situations.

• Graduates will demonstrate knowledge of leadership theories
• Graduates will demonstrate the ability to lead
• Graduates will demonstrate appropriate decision-making skills

Communication – Graduates will demonstrate the capacity to communicate effectively in organizational situations.

• Graduates will demonstrate the ability to write appropriately for a business situation
• Graduates will demonstrate the ability to present effectively for a business situation

Application of Business Knowledge - Graduates will demonstrate the capacity to critically analyze situations and apply knowledge in an effective and socially responsible manner.

• Graduates will demonstrate the ability to critically analyze business problems
• Graduates will demonstrate the ability to apply business knowledge in an effective manner
• Graduates will demonstrate the ability to apply business knowledge in uncertain environments

Teamwork – Graduates will demonstrate appropriate teamwork capability.

• Graduates will demonstrate the ability to work effectively in teams

Adaptation – Graduates will demonstrate the capacity to adapt and innovate to solve problems, to cope with unforeseen events, and to manage in unpredictable environments.

• Graduates will demonstrate the ability to adapt to uncertain situations

Program Requirements

The M.B.A. Curriculum

Depending on their prior academic work, students can complete the degree requirements within 30 to 48 credit hours of graduate-level courses. Students typically progress through the Foundation, the Core, and the Concentrations as explained below. Applicants who wish to be considered for exemptions from Foundation-level courses will be individually reviewed as part of the application process.

Requirements for the M.B.A.

Concentrations

Accounting Concentration

General Management Concentration

*Students planning to take GMGT 622 and 623 in the same semester should register for GMGT 688; students planning to take GMGT 626 and 627 in the same semester should register for GMGT 603.

Global Context Concentration

Note: GISP 501, 505 and one of GISP 523 or 525 are required.

Health Systems Management Concentration

Human Resource Development Concentration*

Note: GHRD 501 or 503 is required.

*GHRD classes are offered on the weekends.

Pharmaceutical Industry Concentration*

Note: (PHAR 4135 or 3226/5225) and (PHAR 4236 or 5236) are required.

*PHAR classes are offered during the day.

Students matriculated in the Doctor of Pharmacy program who have completed at least 90 credit hours of coursework and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0, may take up to 6 credit hours of MBA foundation courses in satisfaction of required Pharmacy electives. Current students will receive a tuition waiver for these initial 6 credit hours. This coursework will become incorporated into a student’s Pharmacy transcript of record. Additional coursework in the foundation may be pursued and students will be billed at the current per credit hour tuition rate for M.B.A. and the coursework will appear on a separate graduate transcript.