CATapult: fast track to MBA
A decade ago, Northwest Missouri State University associate professor of finance Dr. Terry Coalter had an idea to allow business students to complete a Bachelor’s degree and a Masters of Business Administration degree in only four years.
In 2015, that dream became a reality when the CATapult program had its soft launch.
This year, Coalter said there are around 25 students who have declared significant interest in the program, which now has its own e-mail address and web page on Northwest’s website.
Coalter, along with Booth School of Business assistant director Dr. Ben Blackford, administers the program, which is available to students interested in pursuing degrees in 10 degree programs within the School of Business.
To qualify, students need to score a 25 or higher on their ACT and graduate high school with a 3.0 GPA or higher.
Blackford said they give interested students ample warning about the program when they express interest.
“We tell them up front that the program is more intense than a normal college degree,” Blackford said. “But we also tell them we are always available and more than happy to help them out.”
There are a multitude of benefits to being in the program, according to Coalter.
“It’s all an opportunity cost analysis,” Coalter explained. “Yes, you have more work you’re completing in less time, but you’re also completing six years worth of school in four, which gives you two more years that you can be in the work force.
“It’s really a win-win situation for anyone and everyone involved. The school attracts better students, the students are in the workforce more quickly, parents don’t have to pay as much, and students don’t have to pay two years’ worth of a cost of living at their university.”
Coalter said the long-term goal was that the program would feed into itself.
“It would be cool if, 20 years from now, a student is looking for a summer internship and we’re able to contact a graduate to get them together,” Coalter said. “I don’t know if it will actually work that way, but it would be a dream situation that allows us to keep feeding people into the workforce as they earn their MBA.”
Coalter also mentioned that a program like CATapult could be applicable down the road to people in several other major programs. While some have more complicated requirements which might prevent students from taking necessary classes in a short time, such as mandatory field work or student teaching, Coalter said many degree programs could benefit from allowing committed and hard-working students to earn their Master’s degree in four years.
Coalter also boasted the value of an MBA in a capitalist society.
“No matter what you do down the road, you will be interacting with businesses in most aspects of your life,” Coalter said. “MBAs are the most cross-applicable degree there is because they deal with almost every aspect of life.”
