MBA Student Projects Benefit BGSU
Two Professional MBA students who are also BGSU employees worked on projects for Professor George Zsidisin's PMBA 6040 Supply Chain Management course that subsequently resulted in process improvements at the University.
Susan Swinford, assistant director/ business affairs, Office of the Dean of Students, describes her beneficial supply chain management project.
The Student Conduct program at BGSU serves to educate the university community in regard to the Code of Student Conduct and to assist those students who fail to adhere to the expectations described within the Code. Many of the processes associated with the assistance offered to students are labor-intensive and prime candidates for improvement. In one instance alone, process steps were reduced 50%, processing time was reduced 80% and personnel time was reduced 65% simply by dedicating a full-time staff member to manage the process, utilizing full system capabilities and collaborating with another key department. These improvements could not be achieved without having the necessary tools and techniques such as process mapping and value analysis acquired in my Supply Chain Management course.
The other PMBA student, John Eggenton, is the assistant director of systems, Student Financial Aid. He outlines his project.
Awarding summer term financial aid at BGSU is a major undertaking each year. Thousands of students request summer aid each year. The previous process involved multiple staff members retrieving data from three different sources. Using specific concepts from my Supply Chain Management class, I have created a new process for awarding summer term financial aid. Process modeling and continuous improvement methods were used in the development of this solution. The new process saves hundreds of person hours and improves customer service during a critical time of year for the Financial Aid office.
The Professional MBA program at BGSU has a selective admissions process geared toward experienced working professionals who are interested in driving their careers forward. The cohorts meet two evenings per week at the conveniently located Levis Commons in Perrysburg. This program is on a fast-track where students earn their MBA in 23 months and are taught by internationally recognized faculty.