Sacramento State University has suspended its master’s degree program due to declining enrollment in recent years.
The School of Business canceled its executive Master of Business Administration program this fall, according to a memo on the school’s website, after the program reportedly failed to enroll enough students to break even for several years.
Jean-François Coget, dean of the business school, said in an emailed statement that the program is a “self-sustaining program” and that UC Sacramento requires it to generate enough revenue to at least cover the program’s costs.
To break even, Kogett said in an email, the school needs about 30 students per class. A photo on the School of Business’s website shows the most recent class of students receiving EMBA degrees.
Students accepted into the EMBA program this fall were offered admission to CSUS’s traditional MBA or online iMBA programs, and the university will offer application fee refunds if students do not wish to enroll at the school, Coggett said.
While EMBA programs have struggled for years, Coggett said MBA and iMBA programs, as well as master’s of science programs in business analytics, finance and accounting, are “showing increased demand.”
What is an EMBA Program?
According to the business school’s website, the EMBA program is designed for “highly engaged, working executives and managers” who aspire to leadership or C-suite-level roles within their companies.
According to the program’s webpage, the program is more rigorous than CSUS’s typical MBA, requiring students to complete 41 credits over 15 months, compared to the typical program’s average of 33 credits over 30 months.
The core of the program was eight classes covering topics such as finance, marketing and accounting. The program required students to choose four electives from a wide range of management topics. The program culminated in a three-month individual project.
In the fall, business school administrators and faculty will consider ways to maximize enrollment across the school’s five other graduate and 10 undergraduate programs and prioritize “innovation and service to the community,” Kogett said in a statement.
“A decision about the future of the EMBA program will be made at that time,” he said.
