Howard MBA Program Ranked in Top Ten

The Howard University MBA program has been named sixth on the U.S. News and World Report list of "10 M.B.A.s With Most Financial Value at Graduation." The list ranks the 10 business programs where graduates earn the most in their first year relative to their debt load. Howard is the only Historically Black College and University on the list and is also listed in the top 100 schools in the U.S. News Business School ranking.

"The School of Business is proud that we continue to be recognized among leading business schools," said Dean Barron H. Harvey, Ph.D. "This honor validates the hard work of the faculty, staff, students, alumni and corporate partners who provide tremendous support and continue to dedicate themselves to the pursuit of academic excellence."

The Howard University School of Business, as it is known today, was founded 40 years ago, but its roots date back to 1870, when the Board of Trustees of Howard University approved the establishment of a school of Commerce in conjunction with the Freedman's Saving Bank and Trust Company.

In 1970, the present-day School of Business was founded, with Dr. Milton Wilson as Dean. Over the years that followed, the School of Business' prominence within Howard University grew, as the school became the second largest among schools and colleges within the University in terms of enrollment, and firmly established its reputation for excellence in both the academic and business communities.

NC Central among the most popular in the nation

The law school at N.C. Central University, along with Yale and Harvard, has been selected as one of the nation's most popular law schools.

U.S. News & World Report ranks NCCU ninth on its new list, which is headed by Yale, followed by Brigham Young University and then Harvard. Central is the only North Carolina law school on the popular list.

The list is based on the percentage of students admitted to a particular school who actually choose to enroll there. For 2010, the NCCU law school had an admission yield of 49.6 percent. Of 415 applicants accepted by the school, 206 subsequently enrolled there. By comparison, around 80 percent of the applicants accepted by Yale chose to go there.

Other schools in the ranking included Southern University, Liberty University, the University of Oklahoma, Regent University, the University of Memphis, and the University of New Mexico.

This isn't the first time the NCCU law school has been highly ranked.

It had previously been rated as the nation's best value for law schools for two years in a row by National Jurist Magazine.

Tuskegee to offer three new degree programs

Tuskegee University is primed to offer three new academic programs this fall after their board approved the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, Master of Public Health and Master of Science in Public Health degree.

“The approval of these programs is in line with the president’s vision and mandate to increase enrollment,” said Dr. Luther S. Williams, Tuskegee provost.

The information technology degree will be offered in the College of Business and Information Science.

“The IT program takes advantage of the growing IT workforce needs on a national and global basis,” Williams said. “Tuskegee University will be a major producer of IT professionals, subsequently increasing the enrollment of CBIS.”

The public health programs will be offered in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health. The degree programs in public health will prepare students to face the current public health and disparity issues that disproportionately affect the rural, disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S.

Williams said most of the programs have faculty in place. Recruitment efforts have been approved to find additional instructors.

The Board also authorized approval for Tuskegee to research and develop several other programs the Master of Arts in Humanities-Bioethics; Master of Science in Psychology; Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering; Ph.D. in Veterinary Science; undergraduate degree in civil engineering; undergraduate degree in forensic science; and undergraduate degree in mass communication.

Sessoms: UDC hurt by DC policies

UDC President Allen Sessoms says his efforts to revitalize the school are hampered by some DC policies, including the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant program, which since 1991 has been giving residents up to $10,000 to attend colleges in other states and up to $2,500 to attend private universities in the city.

“The program is a disincentive for students who want to go to UDC,” said Mr. Sessoms. “The District’s high school graduates get zero dollars to attend UDC but the program pays instead for them to attend Michigan, Virginia or Maryland or other states, and the money is not needs-based. Even residents who attend private universities in the District receive tuition assistance. They’re going to Trinity, American, George Washington, Princeton.”

The competition posed by those tuition grants and more prestigious degrees is heightened by the city’s consistently high unemployment, illiteracy and dropout rates, and failure to meet the demands of the 21st-century global labor market.