Friday, November 21, 2008

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is another concentration Walton College MIS students are able to choose.

Nearly all Fortune 500 companies use some form of ERP software and most use SAP. As a member of the SAP University Alliance, the Walton College provides students with hands-on training in the ERP software. As a member of the SAP University Alliance, the Walton College provides students with hands-on training in the ERP software. Local, national, and multi-national companies are hiring graduates with experience and exposure to ERP software packages such as SAP as fast as we can produce them. There is also an ERP Certification offered by Walton College.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

More info on the MIS programs

Enterprise systems is an area of concentration students are able to choose in either the part-time or the full-time MIS program.

Enterprise systems are large-scale information technology systems used today in the world’s largest major corporations. While most universities include only PC and Unix-based platforms in their programs, the Walton College is the only business school in the world that uses the following mix of large-scale Enterprise Systems in class:
• IMB zSeries Mainframe Server
• NCR Teradata Database Server
• SAP Enterprise Resource Planning
• Microsoft SQL Server and Business Intelligence Studio
• Large-scale, real-world data sets from Sam’s Club, Tyson Foods, Dillard’s, and Wal-Mart.

The Walton College is able to give their MIS students what no other University in the world can.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Walton MBA Students Strike Again!

We may be small but we are mighty. The FedEx Freight International Graduate Logistics Case Competition was held Nov 12 – 15 in the Holiday Inn- Northwest Arkansas. 12 teams participated: Brigham Young University, University of Arkansas, University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Michigan State University, The Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Iowa State University, Texas Christian University, Darmstadt University of Technology of Darmstadt, Germany, and Chalmers University of Technology of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Top three finishers:
1st place - Brigham Young University
2nd place - Darmstadt University of Technology
3rd place - Walton MBA , team members: Nahn Nguyen, Jyo Venkatachala, Helen Gunsaulis, Michael Rateliff, and Josh Richardson

Special thanks to our faculty sponsor, Dr. Chris Hofer.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Master of Arts in Economics and Master of Information Systems - Application deadline - February 1

Let's talk about two programs that have deadlines that are quickly approaching.

The Master of Arts in Economics is a 30-hour program that begins in August. The pre-requisites for this program include: Cal 1, Cal 2, Linear Algebra, and Statistics. This program is small and all students do receive funding. The admissions committee looks for a GRE score of at least 1200 (1300 to be most competitive) and an adequate quantitative background. For more information, visit http://gsb.uark.edu/ECON/default.asp.

The Master of Information Systems is also a 30-hour program that begins in August. This program admits approximately 15-20 students each year and the admissions committee looks for a GMAT score of 600. These students also receive funding. To learn more about this program, visit http://gsb.uark.edu/ISYS/default.asp.

Application deadline for both of these master's degree programs is February 1. To see our admissions requirements, visit http://gsb.uark.edu/admission.asp. You can apply online at http://gsb.uark.edu/application.asp.

If you are interested in either of these programs, you should be working on the application process now.

Monday, November 10, 2008

The holidays are quickly bearing down upon us

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is only a little over two weeks away. Where has the semester gone? The University of Arkansas is closed November 26-28 for Thanksgiving. As soon as students come back from this brief respite, finals will be underway. Finals are December 11-17. The University is closed for winter break December 24-January 2. We will be back in the office on January 5.

MBA Orientation is January 5-9 and then spring classes begin on January 12. This week long Orientation is mandatory for all incoming MBA students. There are many events planned during this week. Not only do we set the academic tone for the upcoming three semesters, but this is your chance to get to know your fellow classmates. You will be seeing a lot of each other during the program, it is important to hit the ground running. This Orientation is the starting gun.

February 1 is the application deadline for two of our master's degree programs: Master of Arts in Economics and Master of Information Systems. I will go into these two programs in more detail in my next post.

Friday, November 7, 2008

End of the road

My travel days are finally over - until February when it starts all over again. I took my last trip this week. On Wednesday I went to Conway, AR and attended a Career Fair at UCA. I stayed in Conway that evening, and even met a prospective MMBA student that afternoon. On Thursday I was at Hendrix, also in Conway. I headed back home yesterday afternoon. I got home just after my daughter's bus dropped her off. She informed me that the last high school football game of the season was that night (Thursday). So, I made plans to take her, she's 11, and her little brother, aged 4, to the football game. Tonight, my daughter, her name is Zoey, has a dance. She is a 6th grader. There is never a dull moment around my house.

Now that I am finished traveling, I will be in the office on a much more consistent manner through the end of the semester. This means I will be able to get caught up on some projects that I have been neglecting. I can't believe it is November already.

Don't forget - you can still apply for the MBA program to begin in January!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Walton MBA - The admissions committee

Let's talk about the admissions process. I think it is important for you to understand how the admissions committee make its decisions. We are a competitive and selective program. The Graduate School of Business does only admit a percentage of the applications received. The percentage does vary by program and by year.

For the MBA, the Walton College will offer admission to between 30 and 50% of the applicants. The applicant pool does change each year. The admissions committee places greatest emphasis on the following criteria (in order of importance): GMAT/GRE, work experience, and GPA. Following these three are essays and letters of recommendation.

It is very difficult, but not impossible, to begin The Walton MBA without work experience. The committee feels strongly that the program is of more benefit to those who have real world work experience. Students with work experience bring more to the program and also gain more from the program. The average test score and the average number of years of work experience does change each year. For the class that is beginning in January, currently the average number of years of work experience is nearly 4 and the average GMAT is 627. We are still accepting applications so this will change between now and January.

IT IS NOT TO LATE TO BEGIN THE WALTON MBA IN JANUARY. Please email me immediately if you wish to start our MBA in January 2009.