COBI Human Resources Management Program ranked among top 200 in world

The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation (COBI) has been recognized as providing one of the top 200 Masters Programs worldwide in Human Resources Management by Eduniversal in their 2012-2013 Ranking of the best 4,000 Masters and MBA programs in 30 specifications in 154 countries.

Headquartered in Paris, Eduniversal is an international higher education ranking agency which endeavors to provide information for students to enable them to make the right decision regarding the choice of their future studies anywhere in the world.

“It is a remarkable achievement for our Human Resources Management program to be listed in the 200 best masters programs worldwide, and to be ranked No. 37 in all of North America,” noted Dr. Sonny Ariss, chair of the management department at UT COBI. “What is especially significant is this recognition emerges from the survey results from human resources managers and from 456 academic institutions and their students.” 

“In the context of a globalized and fast-evolving education, Eduniversal provides a wide panorama of perspectives and an in-depth view on academic expertise worldwide with the ultimate goal of actively supporting international educational exchanges,” he said.

“Furthermore, I want to congratulate all of the talented COBI HR and management faculty members whose daily hard work and dedication to their students made this international recognition possible,” Dr. Ariss added.

“This is wonderful and exciting news for our college, our students and our community,” noted Dr. Thomas Sharkey, Interim Dean of the UT College of Business and Innovation. “This distinguished recognition from Eduniversal, along with our recent placement as the only Ohio program listed among the top 50 in the 2013 Best Online Graduate Business Program by U.S. News and World Report, further demonstrates our expertise as the leading provider of business education programs, not only in Northwest Ohio, but throughout the United States and around the world.”  

The ranking of the Best Master's programs is fundamentally developed by carefully assessing the reputation of the program, the career prospects and the salary level of someone’s first employment after graduation, and the satisfaction feedback of the students.

During the investigation process, Eduniversal provides an international platform for the schools, students and human resources managers all over the world to participate in the Masters’ surveys.   The participation in the survey is completely free of charge. To take part, the schools simply need to register and fill out a form for each program they want to rank.

The 2012-2013 ranking of the best Master’s programs is published on www.best-masters.com which is the unique platform for the students that allows them to access information about various master programs suiting their choices of preferences and simplifies the process of application making.

COBI received additional recognition from Eduniversal in fall 2012 when The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation was again internationally ranked by Eduniversal in their recently released 5th edition of their annual worldwide business school ranking, The Best 1,000 Business Schools in 154 Countries, 2012.  UT COBI, rated Excellent, was the only ranked business school in Northwest Ohio, and one of only four in Ohio.

Advanced Leadership Academy enhances skills

Santosh Pant, a Ph.D. candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, put in some extra Saturday class time at UT this semester. It didn’t have anything to do with the mechanical intricacies of engineering, but it had everything to do with building an outstanding career in his chosen field.

Pant and about 50 other UT graduate students in Business, Law, Engineering, Pharmacy and Education participated in the annual Advanced Leadership Academy (ALA), presented by the College of Business and Innovation.

“Being a graduate and international student, Advanced Leadership Academy (ALA) was a great learning experience for me,” Pant said. “Successful and distinguished personalities in different fields not only taught how to be a leader, how to cope with problems and move towards success.”

“We truly appreciate the opportunity to pull graduate leaders together from across our campus to learn from each other about the importance of leadership across all of our discipline, to discover what leaders can and must do to make the world a better place,” said Dr. Clint Longenecker, UT COBI professor of management.

Students were invited to participate based on their academic and professional records and the recommendation of graduate faculty. Sessions and COBI faculty presenting were: Careers in the 21st Century, by Dean Thomas Gutteridge; Leading and Developing Yourself, by Dr. Margaret Hopkins; Into the Trenches: Leading Your Team to Great Performance, by Dr. Jenell Wittmer and Dr. Robert Yonker; and Leading for Results, by Dr. Longenecker.

Participants also learned from leading area business professionals, including Joe Feudi, financial services professional with Caputo & Associates; UT Head Football Coach Matt Campbell; and Randy Oostra, President and Chief Executive Officer, ProMedica.

“With such talented faculty members and key community involvement, including ProMedica’s CEO Randy Oostra as our concluding speaker, the 2012 ALA certainly accomplished its goal of fulfilling what is the key COBI goal of developing lifelong leaders for the world of business, and, in this case, in other key disciplines across the University,” Dean Gutteridge said.

Participating students obviously agreed.

“The best part of the ALA experience was learning from the business college students and professors,” noted Kathryn Crawford, doctoral student, Judith Herb College of Education, Health Science and Human Service “They presented a different aspect to leadership that is more organizational than my current focus on educational leadership. I realize now how much more I have to learn to become an effective leader in an educational organization.”

“I loved Coach Campbell and how he applies leadership to his life, and Mr. Oostra was incredibly down to earth, showing us that you still need to treat everyone you meet with respect,” said Laura Bradey, who is working on her MBA in human resources. “We learned about the importance of communication, networking, and how it is important to get results. It was an honor to be invited.”

“The best part of ALA for me was getting to meet and work with graduate students from disciplines outside of business. I had no idea about the great things going on in the medical, pharmacy, education and engineering graduate programs. What an impressive group of graduate leaders,” observed Trent Miller, a Captain in the US Army and an MBA candidate.

Chris Trabbic, Ph.D. Program in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, said “My primary training in science includes dissecting hypothetical science proposals, translation of theory into practice, and staying up to date on innovative techniques. The ALA was extremely useful because the science was put into perspective. As with any other field, a leader with precise oral communication skills is vital. A leader with ‘emotional intelligence’ will be rewarded with quality results and hard work. “

“The ALA was a successful effort to expand the exposure to broader and practical learning,” said Nick Fasciana, CFO at Pinnacle Technologies and an MBA candidate. “This world-class program completely exceeded my expectations because it not only delivered relevant information designed to enhance my leadership skills, but also provided me an invaluable opportunity to network with senior business leaders in our region. An awesome learning experience.”