JBU Broadens Business Offering

John Brown University in Siloam Springs quietly opened the doors to its MBA program this fall, greatly widening its offering of business studies.

Each paying tuition of $2,520 per semester, the 18 enrolled students attend general MBA courses every other weekend. All of the current students are working professionals, and the class is scheduled to graduate in spring 2002.

Major expenses for introducing the program included hiring two new faculty members to teach the classes, paying $70,000 in half-tuition scholarships, purchasing new software for the research and statistics class, and updating library resources, said Jim Worthington, the dean of graduate studies.

JBU received accreditation for its MBA program in August from the North Central Association of Colleges.

All of the MBA courses are taught at the Northwest Arkansas Center, the JBU campus in Springdale. In 1999, JBU began offering a master of science degree for business leadership and ethics. The inaugural class should graduate 16 students in May.