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| University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management |
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1999 Profile Update School Profile School Statistics Graduates' Comments: The Carlson School has a way to go to be a top 10 school, but the students have finally gotten involved. Our weakness is our alumni network, and we are working on that. --Consultant The new building at the Carlson School of Management is outstanding! It is state-of-the-art in terms of technology, facilities, and design. The MBA program has improved markedly over the past few years and is poised to continue its improvement. --Marketing The exposure I had to mentors and CEOs in the business community was outstanding. In addition, the opportunities that I had to consult with top companies through the MBA program was invaluable. The Administration was extremely responsive to student feedback and ideas. --Marketing I think the Carlson School has done a great job and had good success at integrating the fuctional areas of business during their Winter Quarter 'functional core.' I interned at Ford during the summer, where I met MBAs from many other 'top' schools (Wharton, MIT, Dartmouth, Carnegie Melon, Ohio State), none of which had a program that was anywhere near as sophisticated as that of Carlson's. I also think Carlson has a much stronger connection to the business community, which brings much more 'real world' learning into the program. Examples of corporate involvement include the required field consulting project, executive mentors, speakers, extracurricular volunteer consulting (where we help nonprofit and charity organizations improve their business processes), and a top management perspectives course. --No job track given Carlson has tried to exploit their techonology through improved computer labs and classrooms. However, the professors are still trying to figure out how to use the new technology. Oddly, MIS isn't really doing much with the technical opportunities. The primary departments taking advantage of technology are finance and operations. The functional core also uses technology to simulate teams competing against each other in business. The program is primarily marketing- and finance-driven, but modules for human resources and operations have been added. This program is much stronger this year than last year, and looks like it will improve even further next year. --No job track given The primary weakness is the Career Services center. There are two problems: the local market hires most of the graduates, so the school is not known nationally, and the career services center lacked leadership while I was here. However, a new director has been hired, so hopefully that will improve. I think Carlson gets hit hard in the national rankings due to the lack of national exposure to employers. --Information Technology Thanks to the leadership, fund-raising and networking ability of Dean David Kidwell, Carlson is finally on its way to becoming a top institution. It is hard to believe that any other program can match the rate of positive change that is now under way at Carlson. Top people are now in key positions (Kidwell, Gary Lindblad - MBA director, Mike Agnew - Career Services) and there is a lot of excitement in the local business community for building a top B-school in the Twin Cities. The increased level of participation of top local leaders (like Bill George, CEO of Medtronic, Ernest Micek, CEO of Cargill, Bill Dudley, American Express Financial Advisors) in mentoring students and the increased level of donations for faculty chairs for the student-run Golden Gopher Growth Fund are testimony to the momentum behind Kidwell's efforts. --Finance Carlson is truly committed to improving. The faculty and administration actively pursue feedback from students and integrate the feedback into the programs. The new facility is outstanding. Each classroom is technologically advanced with computer, video, and modem hookups at each seat. The Carlson School has a tremendous relationship with the Twin Cities' business community, whose members actively recruit on campus. This is really a program on the rise. Dollar-for-dollar it's one of the best in the country! --Finance Close relationships with faculty often move outside the sterile environment of acadamia. An energized student body has driven impressive changes in conjunction with faculty and administrative efforts. Students are 'expected' to participate in these efforts as they enter this program. The program is beginning to touch alumni again, and the corporate involvement is unmatchable. On a per student basis, we get more face time with senior management than most (if not all) other business schools. CSOM has changed quickly in just two years with momentum continuing. --Finance The Carlson School of Management is making significant strides toward improvement. The key is that the program is one of the most innovative in the nation -- especially in the first-year core courses. The faculty and leaders of the school are very open to change and solicit input and help from the MBA students to make the necessary changes. --No job track given Placement, however, is a primary problem. Although the career services office has around a 97% placement rate, it is vastly skewed due to large number of corporate firms in the Twin Cities area that hire direct from the school. Carlson only attracts a select few outside firms to interview students, and those firms only come to interview for a specific program -i.e.- Industrial/Human Relations or Information Technology. Also, because so many of the firms that come to Carlson are local, it sends a message to outside firms that it is difficult to recruit students out of the Minnesota area. Students who are not from Minnesota and those that are that want to leave the area, such as myself, have a difficult time. --No job track given The alumni network with past grads needs significant improvement. My class has started a substantial effort in reestablishing contact with past grads, in addition to putting the necessary measure in place for our class to stay in contact with each other and new MBA students once we are in the business environment. Carlson also needs to work on recruiting and keeping talented faculty at the University. This is a huge asset that can not be overlooked. The University of MN tends to not reward its teachers adequately. --Finance The Carlson school is an up and coming school. Many new initiatives have been put in place to improve the program. These initiatives were developed with the help of the administration, faculty and students. The university is really trying to hear the students' voices. An effort to work closely with the strong, local business community is also under way. This partnership with corporations is already paying dividends. My interaction with business professionals from the community added alot to my education. The school is committed to excellence. I expect the national reputation of the University of Minnesota to improve dramatically in the next few years. --Finance For the cost, I can not imagine that any other school could have provided more value. I was able to complete my program in four quarters, which was critical given that I had already achieved middle management status and my salary was above average for graduating MBAs. My employer sponsored my attendance at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, reimbursing me 50% upon return to full time employment and 50% on my second-year anniversary. The only drawback to the U of M is that elective course offerings and schedules were not as extensive as I would have expected. --Finance I regret not having applied to some more challenging schools. I received an excellent education at the Carlson School. However, as an MIS major, I was disappointed with the MIS program. The Carlson School is supposed to have one of the top MIS programs in the country, yet there are very few electives offered and very few technical classes, which I believe should serve as a core. The Carlson School has a good reputation for its research in MIS. In fact the MIS research center hosts numerous seminars for the outside community. It is my belief that the reputation for the Carlson's MIS major is riding on the reputation of the research center. It is only a matter of time before the program slides as numerous other schools are able to improve their programs. --No job track given Another area which needs significant improvement is the Career Services Center. The people working CSC were some of the most unhelpful and rude people that worked at the school. In addition, there were no procedures in place to assist students who were studying abroad and missing the prime recruiting time. --Consulting The Carlson School of Management has made tremendous progress in the past two plus years. The curriculum is fantastic and completely integrated between all facets of business. The administration and faculty really listen to the students and their needs and concerns. There has been a true partnership built between the administration, faculty and students. This partnership has proven to be very successful in making changes that benefit everyone at the school, not just the MBA students, but the undergraduates, PhD students, faculty and administration. I would highly recommend going to Carlson for your MBA if you want to learn in the classroom as well as through participation in continous improvement activities. --Consulting The value that this program returns (especially the one-year Advanced Placement program) is absolutely exceptional. The Carlson MBA program can best be characterized as strongly, positively, and clearly moving forward on all fronts. The physical facilities are now state-of-the-art and world-class. Teaching has apparently moved vastly forward from the lackluster ratings of the early '90's (I was very satisfied with the teaching quality). Reasearch continues to be world-class, which means that lecture material is timely and relevant. The support of the local business community, in terms of dollars as well as top execs' time, is amazing. Dozens of execs poured into classrooms and auditoriums during the spring quarter alone to share experiences, lecture, mentor, and participate in research projects. --Consulting The University of Minnesota is a real value proposition. The excellent corporate environment, state-of-the-art facilities, integrated curriculum, dedication to teamwork, small class size, and institutional desire to succeed make it the best value for your state-school dollar (and private school-dollar in many cases). Make no mistake, East Coast schools stress individualism at the expense of your fellow classmates, but the Carlson School of Management stresses high caliber performance and integrity in a cooperative environment. --Consulting The transformation that the Carlson School of Management has gone through over the past two years has been extraordinary. The opening of the new building has given the business school state of the art facilities to increase the learning experience. The faculty has worked with current MBA students to improve the teaching quality by working with a student group appointed to increase classroom quality. The difference has been tremendous! Of course, the technology is a given for the school, and the emphasis on teamwork and leadership has been outstanding. The Carlson School has also developed tremendous relationships with the business community and constantly places students in front of business leaders. --Consulting Back to Top 1999 Profile Update School Profile School Statistics |
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