The Best of the Best

At 5pm eastern time yesterday, BusinessWeek Magazine announced it’s 2009 top part-time MBA programs in a live online chat. Faculty and Administrators from the Love School of Business were on hand to receive the good news. Elon was announced as the # 1 part-time MBA program in the South and the # 6 program in the Nation. In 2007, Elon was ranked # 2 in the South and # 12 in the Nation.

On the national level, Elon jumped six spots from the 2007 rankings and received recognition in three area benchmarks including: average class size (22), academic quality, and student satisfaction.

The rankings themselves were based on three criteria: a survey sent to a sample of students, academic measure (which includes average GMAT scores, work experience, tenured faculty, business electives offered, and programs completion rate) and post- MBA outcomes.

The chart below illustrates the depth of the recognition the Elon program received with the BusinessWeek ranking:

2009 Regional Rank 1 (South)

2009 National Rank 6

Rated Best for: Career Advancers

Average GMAT Score: 562

Completion Rate: 95%

Grads Reporting Salary Increase: 51.9%

Average Salary Increase: 18.8%

Academic Quality Rank 4th (tie)

It should also be noted that the Elon part-time MBA program was  ranked as the nation’s fifth “best administered” program in The Princeton Review’s 2010 edition of the “Best 301 Business Schools.”

Elon’s MBA Part-Time MBA Program

A Project for the Good

In January, the iMedia students will break off into four groups and travel to three locations to complete the study abroad component of their program. The “Project for the Good” is a ten-day trip that will encompass a project that will provide an interactive presence on the web. According to Randy Piland, a School of Communications faculty leading one of the Panama trips, states that “the project has two goals: 1.) to raise public awareness of the topic of the Non-Government Organization (NGO) that the students will be working with and 2.) to tell the stories of the people who are involved with the NGO, both those who need assistance and those who assist them”.

Students have already begun to prepare for their journeys overseas. Each team is learning everything they can about their assigned NGO before they arrive at their destination. Once they return from their trips, they will have the remainder of the winter term  to gather content and edit all material for a final product and presentation. For groups that traveled to countries with a bilingual component, presentations will be edited in both languages.

Other destinations for iMedia teams include Costa Rica and London. Each trip has a central theme and a different Non-government Organization assigned to them.  The Panama team stated above will be working with the NGO, Cristal Child Foundation. The organization focuses on the needs of individuals and families with Osteogensis Imperfecta, a rare birth defect also known as brittle bone disease.

Check back with the The Elon Insider and the Interactive Media program in the Spring for details on all four trips.

M.Ed. Alumni Gather for Homecoming 2009

The School of Education will celebrate Homecoming 2009 by way of connecting with old friends and alumni. The current faculty and staff will be hosting an Open House, an opportunity to meet the new Dean of the School of Education, David Cooper and Breakout Sessions for alumni to share experiences in teaching on Saturday (10/24) morning.

To register for this homecoming event, visit the Alumni Office Homecoming page.

Elon Law School Opens Downtown Clinic

This week the Elon School of Law opened the doors to a new Clinical Law Center in downtown Greensboro, NC. The clinic is set to support legal services to clients referred by nonprofit organizations and government agencies in the Greensboro area. The law faculty and attorneys will supervise the students as they work closely with the clients.

The clinic will house a Wills’ clinic and a Juvenile Justice Intervention and Mediation Clinic.  In addition to the two clinics, the space will used for meetings and workshops associated with the law school.

Last year, Elon Law students provided more than 20,000 hours of community service in the Greensboro area.

The new clinic is located at 210 West Friendly Avenue in Greensboro, NC, adjacent to Elon Law’s downtown campus.

A Tree of Knowledge, a Tree of Life

In July, we posted a blog about the DPT program and it’s unique approach in the use of donors in the teaching of the curriculum in the anatomy lab. Dr. Janet Cope allows the students to utilize unorthodox ways of learning the human body while learning the connection to the patient. This year after the students finished the module, they agreed that they wanted to remember the gift that the donors gave them by planting a tree. The oak tree was planted this week outside of the McMichael Science Building, where so many hours of study with the donors were conducted.

After the anatomy module was complete in July, Dr. Cope collected evaluations and comments about the experiences of the Human Donor Lab. Included below are some excerpts of the student’s responses:

‘I was nervous because I would know this person; I would know her name, what she did for work, how she died. I would not only see her face, but I would learn to analyze its musculature and nerves and blood vessels. I was nervous to get to know this person on a personal level. Now I look back and wonder why I was so nervous. This is a new level of learning and a new level of knowing a person. The lessons Ruth taught me will be with me forever. I will be better at whatever I do because I met Ruth.’

‘I was excited and scared, but mostly excited! It was not quite what I had read about in books. Learning about working together and teaching each other and learning from this wonderful gift – seeing Blaine was never a chore, always a blessing. To be able to learn firsthand, so much from someone so selfless was an experience I will always cherish. I am thankful.’

‘The first moment. In silent darkness. They wait. Knowledge and power. Their intent. Courage and generosity. Their gift. They transcend and overwhelm. A small moment, a hesitation? Can we match their courage? We dare not fail. Their courage becomes. Ours. Their generosity. We accept graciously and with Respect. Knowledge and power. We achieve. For without them. We would sit in silent darkness.’

To find out more about the Human Donor Lab at Elon or the DPT Program, contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at (336) 278-7600

A Life Outside of the Classroom

“Life is meant to be enjoyed, not endured.”
Anthony J. D’Angelo, The College Blue Book

For many students, the perception of graduate school seems like a “doom and gloom” lifestyle. Research papers, dissertations and many, many hours in the lab.  And although students at universities across the country spend a lot of time slugging away at the books…students do find a little time for some a life outside of the classroom.

At Elon, graduate students make up about 9 percent of the student body. About half of those students are full-time encompassing the law school, DPT program and the inaugural Interactive Media program. Full-time students have access to all of the resources as the undergraduates do, but often do not get to utilize them due to their hectic schedules. However each program tends to find a little stress relief here and there. The law school students embrace volunteer events as well as group outings in downtown Greensboro. The DPT students have been notorious for taking on the undergraduates each year with a competitive flag football team. They are so passionate…that if you bump into one of them….they are bound to tell you how they won the league championship last year. And don’t second guess the newcomers. The iMedia students are already getting their feet wet with campus events.  Last night they played in their first flag football (see picture insert) game. The team, so affectionately named, “Twits and Giggles”, posted their first victory.

And for those that think only the full-time students have all of the out of classroom fun, think again. The part-time MBA students have had a strong tradition of gathering outside of the classroom. A group of MBA students each year work with the faculty to plan events such as football tailgates, baseball game outings, networking opportunities and family functions. However it’s not uncommon for a group of students to decide after class to grab some dinner and drinks to discuss the latest happenings of the world.

The M.Ed students who visit in the summer find the same strength in camaraderie. Although they are only on campus for a short period of time, many of them meet throughout the year to catch up and assist each other through classroom situations. Peer support is often key to the reason why many students choose Elon in the first place.

So although one has many hours vested spent in the class during graduate school, it would be wise to learn from the Phoenix…..live a little outside of the classroom as well.

Service Learning….A new level of giving back

It is not uncommon on the campus of Elon University to see undergraduate students participating in clubs and organizations that sponsor events that provide service to the surrounding community. With the benefit of the Kernodle Center for Service Learning, students have access to over 100 different organizations that need volunteers in the surround counties of the university.

A growing trend that seems to be spreading throughout campuses across the country is the emergence of service learning at the graduate level of education. What once was thought of as a taboo area of time for students, universities are challenging old ways of thought and pushing the envelope. At the University of Hawaii at Manoa, for example, MBA students organized a food drive to raise money for a local food bank. Even MIT has established a Public Service Center for their students so that they have an outlet to explore the needs of the community around them.

The graduate community at Elon has been serving the community in various capacities through the DPT and MBA program for the last 7- 10 years. The DPT program has taken the initiative to participate in the Alamance Special Olympics, Wheels-for-the-World, and National Walk to School month to name a few. The MBA program also has participated in the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and annual Golf Tournaments for various charities.

In tradition, the School of Law participated in it’s third year of “Elon Law Reaches Out” community service day, supporting the work of numerous nonprofits across the region. First, second and third year law students participate in the one day activity. The exposure is a great way for new students to acquaint themselves to all of the needs of the organizations in the community.

It is with great hope that as the University grows with each new program and with each new student, the emphasis of community service will remain strong at Elon. The two certainly go hand in hand.

DPT Students Share A Slice of Life

Three current Doctor of Physical Therapy students have volunteered to document the daily happenings of their lives on a monthly blog on the program’s website.  Laura Allen, a third year student, Scott Tanner a second year student and Jenna Valear a first year student each provide a unique perspective on their DPT journey. Follow their monthly entries at the DPT Blog and see how studying in the human donor lab, lobbying for clinical choices and preparing for graduation can be captivating!

Passing the Bar…

This week students from the first graduating class of the Elon School of Law will be sitting for the Bar exam being offered on July 28th and 29th.  Elon graduates will be taking the exams around the country including states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The exam is a two day event consisting  of essays on state specific topics on the first day and a multi-state section which tests students’ general knowledge of the law on the second day.

Students have prepped throughout the past year for this pending exam.In addition to taking the elective Bar review courses offered during their third year at Elon, almost all students take a summer long review course offered by a commercial vendor.  Bar results are usually available in early September, following the July exam. After passing the Bar, attorneys are sworn in by a Judge in the jurisdiction where they are licensed.

The American Bar Association offers more information about national test sites, locations as well as rules and regulations.

Good luck to all of our Elon students taking the Bar!

DPT’s Unique Approach to Anatomy

Long before the new cohort of students arrive on campus each January, Dr. Janet Cope is already preparing for their arrival in the Donor Lab (Human Anatomy Lab). She sends each student a letter welcoming them to the journey they are about to take with human donors. She starts by asking them to read a couple of books, she sends them the syllabus and requests that they submit a paper back to her about their fears or apprehensions on death or working around death. “These papers are also good for me to read…..It is a way for me to become aware of what support each of them might need, right from the start..no surprises” mentions Cope.

Students are taught from the beginning of the course that the donor is considered their very first patient, so a great deal of reverence and appreciation is displayed. As Dr. Cope explains, “students rarely get a full medical history report, but they do get the chance to explore a person’s full medical history as told by the person’s physical self. It takes the full seven months of struggling to really find out what a person has lived through in their life.” One of the personal touches that students add to the learning process is a closing ceremony at the end of the term. Everything from devotionals, poetry and music are presented to show appreciation of the gift the donor has provided to the experience of the students.

Dr. Cope incorporated two new elements to the anatomy course this year. The Partners in Anatomy Program is an opportunity for local therapists (33% of them being Elon alumni) to participate in the labs with students and review the clinical relevance for them. As Dr. Cope states “This is a wonderful way for our alumni to give back and for each of the therapists to stay connected to Elon and to obtain Continued Competency Credits for their new licensure requirements.” The other new addition to the course included adding a medical vocabulary component. This provided students with an increased knowledge base of medical vocabulary skills. Dr. Cope hopes to increase the flexibility of this course next year.

Although it might seem like the topic of anatomy can be serious and structured at all times, Dr. Cope does provide her students the opportunity to think outside of the box on occasions. Each year she gives them a special project to develop a teaching tool or brochure on any anatomy topic that is of interest to them. She says that the rules are open to stimulate creativity. Usually this can lead to a plethora of results. This year two students, Greg Chrest and Scott Rytter came up with a song that illustrated just that creativity. Using their musical skills, they exhibited just how exciting the shoulder joint can be.

Check out Greg and Scott’s song on YouTube.