—Academy—


Rodney G. Alsup, D.B.A., CPA, CITP
Professor Emeritus
Founder MBA News Digest & Academy
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Helping Graduate Program Leaders & Their Team Members Measure, Analyze, & Then Improve Their Program’s Performance

DO YOU HAVE SOMEONE THAT CAN HELP YOU SELECT, COLLECT, ALIGN, & INTEGRATE DATA & INFORMATION YOU CAN USE IN TRACKING OPERATIONS & OVERALL PROGRAM PERFORMANCE; & TRACK PROGRESS ON ACHIEVING STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES, GOALS, INITIATIVES, & ACTION PLANS?

JOIN THE ACADEMY TODAY - GET THE HELP YOU WANT AND NEED!

Many graduate program leaders are not very confident that their program is progressing toward achieving its strategic initiatives, goals, & objectives!

How confident are you?

Click here to use my eight question self-assessment tool to help you answer this question?

Your program will struggle to meet key goals & objectives unless you start measuring progress toward achieving its assigned goals & objectives.

WHAT INSPIRED ME TO BUILD THE ACADEMY?

When talking with graduate program directors or their team members, I often ask them how their program was doing. Usually their response was preceeded with a pause followed with a vague answer like, “good – applications are up” or “enrollments are up.” Additional questions even remotely related to program performance resulted in more vague responses and an increase in discomfort.

I started thinking, are their answers because they don’t want to share information, or do they really not know how their program is doing?

Introducing the MBA News Digest Academy

The Academy is the only professional development community for graduate program leaders and their team members.

It’s a membership site devoted to graduate business program management!

And it’s packed with in-depth, practical training and resources on all aspects of planning, building, running and growing a successful graduate program.

PLUS the community support you need to ensure your graduate program achieves its full potential.

THE ACADEMY WILL HELP YOU TO:

Build a graduate business program you love, that generates predictable, recurring enrollments, and student success while living the life you want to live

Attract more applicants & keep them engaged and involved in your recruiting & enrollment process, so they stick around to become successful graduates of your program

Finally get a handle on the tactical side of building & managing your graduate business program – saving you hours of frustration


Eliminate the guesswork and stop throwing stuff at the wall and hoping something sticks by giving you a step by step roadmap to follow

Tap into the collective knowledge & experience of a community of graduate business program leaders, team members, and experts who are there to support each other

Become infinitely better at managing your graduate program on a day to day basis, so that you have way more time and far less stress

WHAT MAKES THE MBA NEWS DIGEST ACADEMY?

ACCESS TO EXPERTISE

Tap into our many years experience in the industry and a proven track record of starting and leading the growth of graduate business programs across a broad range of markets.

WE WALK THE TALK

Where others teach unproven theory or rely on outdated experience – we’re a community of successful graduate business program leaders and team members, we’re in the trenches with our fingers firmly on the pulse.

PEER SUPPORT

With over a 1000 MBA News Digest subscribers – all involved in graduate program management – the Academy community is available 24/7 to answer all your questions and provide feedback and support.


LOOK OVER OUR SHOULDER

Members tell us they learn a lot from watching others ‘do their thing’ – the Academy is a living ‘case study’ of case studies, and which are transparent in showing behind the scenes of their own programs.

NO B.S. ALLOWED

We’re not into overblown hype, marketing tricks or jumping on the latest shiny bandwagon. Just straight-talking, honest, proven and practical advice. No B.S., no tricks, no schemes!

MY FULL COMMITMENT

We eat, sleep and breathe graduate business program management. The MBA News Digest and Academy are our focus and we love helping program leaders and team members achieve success. It’s all we do, and we’re not going anywhere!

MY STORY

During my first year as a graduate program director, I didn’t have a clue about how to do the job.

You see, like many graduate business program directors, I was drafted by my dean to fill the position. It was the first Friday afternoon in January. I was working from home. At that time, I had no administrative responsibilities in my department or in the B-School. I was a faculty member preparing for the first week of class.

And the dean called! By Monday afternoon, I was the B-School’s executive MBA program director. By the end of the year I was the Assistant Dean for all graduate business programs.

My qualifications and training for these roles – nothing other than being available and willing to serve. Early on I found there was no job description, no checklist, no training manual, and no one for me to turn to with program management experience. I was on my own and I had to learn my job while doing my job.

My first year as a graduate business program director was met with many challenges. My success that first year depended on overcoming my fear of failure, my lack of knowledge, and my lack of experience. I discovered that each challenge provided me an opportunity for learning and growth.

What I learned is that a common body of knowledge for graduate business program management did not exist. While there are well developed segments of the needed knowledge base, I had to develop my own framework and approach to program management.

Today, most program managers have to do the same. After all of these years, it should not have to be that way. That is why I created the Academy.

The Academy is designed to help program leaders and team members at any stage of their career tackle the challenges they encounter, to help them thrive in their role, to grow their program, and to achieve a fulfilling career in graduate business program management.

Consider joining the Academy where you can learn from others and you can contribute to the learning of others.

Thanks for stopping by and having a look around.

Best,
Rodney
Rodney G. Alsup, D.B.A., CPA, CITP
Professor Emeritus
Founder, MBA News Digest
RGAlsup@MBANewsDigest.com

4 WAYS TO LEARN INSIDE THE MBA NEWS DIGEST ACADEMY

GRADUATE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
Our framework for viewing your program’s moving parts so you know where to focus

Graduate business program management is all about adding value for enrolled students so they can do the job their employer hired them to do. We created a graduate program value chain that allows program leaders and team members to visualize the many moving parts of program management, including staffing, advising, and the related campus hierarchy and services.

IN-DEPTH COURSES

In-depth courses covering essential graduate business program strategy and tactics

Prefer to learn on your own or need something a little more advanced? Our course library contains all the training you need on topics from curriculum management activities to alumni and employer management activities.

MINI/MICRO SURVEYS
Member requested surveys of MBA News Digest subscribers.

Need advice and feedback tailored to your specific situation? Rodney will work with you to create a mini or micro survey so you can benchmark against other MBA News Digest subscriber programs so you can better address the issues you are tackling. Survey results are shared with Academy members only.

EXPERT WORKSHOPS

Deep-dive masterclasses from leading experts and influencers

Looking for in-depth insights on specific tactics and stategies? Our subject matter expert workshops have you covered!

We’ve assembled a cast of seasoned experts to teach you everything from email list building, to hiring virtual assistants, to mastering live video and much, much more!

ALL ACADEMY MEMBERS GET IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO:

ON DEMAND COURSES, WEBINARS, AND PODCAST

We have a growing library of content for you to dive straight into as soon as you join. Content focuses on topics ranging from program information management, curriculum management, to onboarding new students, to quick win tutorials and expert workshops to deep dives on specific tactics such as how a faculty member created a new course or how a program leader managed the creation of a new program offering.

Learn what you need, when you need to, from wherever you want.

A THRIVING, SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY OF PEERS

Our community is the heart of the Academy and the place to go for all your questions, asking for feedback, gaining support and getting to know other like minded program leaders or team members.

You can even get private coaching in the forum from Rodney and other community members for those times when you don’t want to share sensitive information or you just want some private accountability.

Experienced peers ready to help you,  your team members, and your program(s) flourish.

GROWING LIBRARY OF REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
Included are issues focused white papers and articles written by subject matter experts that focus on graduate business program management issues. Plus a wide range of suggested operating procedures, checklists and cheat sheets, templates, and much more. All can be downloaded for you to start using immediately to support you in growing your programs and in your career growth.

Ready references always available for you to access anytime.

…All of this and much more ONLY inside the Academy

ADVISORY BOARD OF SUCCESSFUL GRADUATE PROGRAM LEADERS
Suzanne (Campbell) Erickson

Dean College of Business and Mass Communication , Brenau University

Christie Hough

Associate Professor of Management / MBA Director, Southern Arkansas University

Jaciel Keltgen

Associate Professor of Business Administration, Augustana University

Nikkole Liesse

Director, Executive MBA Program , Lee Business School University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Toby McChesney

Sr. Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs, Leavey School of Business Santa Clara University

Riana Olson

Sr. Program Manager, Strategy & Operations, Business Creation Option, UCLA Anderson School of Management

Bora Ozkan

Associate Professor of Finance, Academic Director Online MBA and Online BBA, Fox School of Business, Temple University

Cara Richards

Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs, School of Business, The George Washington University

Catie Rohloff

Program Manager, Evening and Online MBA Programs, Colorado State University

Marc Sollosy

Associate Professor of Management, Director - MBA , Lewis College of Business, Marshall University

Billur Akdeniz Talay

Associate Professor of Marketing, Faculty Director of Strategy-MBA, Peter T. Paul College of Business & Economics, University of New Hampshire

30 Day No Questions Asked Money Back Guarantee

When you join the MBA News Digest Academy you are fully protected by our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. If you don’t feel like you’ve received value and you decide you want to cancel any time within the next 30 days, just let us know and we’ll send you a prompt refund. No hassles, headaches or hoops to jump through.

We’re confident that you’ll find the Membership Academy useful, and we won’t make you beg or invoke any silly rules or conditions – if you’re not satisfied within your first 30 days then we’ll refund you without any fuss.

Get Instant Access to the Academy!

If you’re ready to take your program and career to the next level by enrolling in the MBA News Digest Academy, simply choose your payment option below and click the button to join your colleagues…

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP

Pay Monthly

 

$33.00 / month

Recurring payment – cancel anytime
in just 2 clicks of your mouse

Hassle-free 30 day money back guarantee

Join the Academy Today! Click Here

Pay Annually

 

$275.00 / year

BEST VALUE

Hassle-free 30 day money back guarantee

Join the Academy Today! Click Here

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NOT SURE IF MBA News Digest ACADEMY IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

The MBA News Digest Academy is NOT for everyone, and truth be told we’d prefer to help you figure out if it’s not right for you BEFORE you join rather than waste your time. So, let’s cut to the chase…

WHO THE ACADEMY IS FOR

Graduate business program leaders and team members who want to take their current programs to the next level and want to better leverage their time and knowledge, while helping more applicants, students, and alumni.

Small graduate business program leaders and team members who want to get out of the butts in seats trap and start attracting and enrolling quality applicants to their existing programs.

Existing graduate business program leaders and team members who want to improve their programs’ growth and take their career to the next level.

People who haven’t been involved in graduate business program management before but who are looking for quality resources to help them develop the knowlede and skills to help them become a successful graduate program leader or team member.

Action takers who aren’t just going to watch some training videos and never implement. We provide the training and resources, but you still need to do the work!

WHO THE ACADEMY IS NOT FOR

People looking for a quick solution – if you think a membership is going to make you successful overnight, we’re not the right choice for you!

Idea chasers – if you’re constantly chasing the next idea and never getting anything off the ground, this isn’t a fit for you. Being part of a graduate program takes commitment and focus.

Anyone looking for a quick fix or not willing to dedicate time to their graduate business program. Graduate programs take time and effort to create and manage.

Someone who is looking for a done for you problem solution. We’re not a do it for you member platform, and we don’t build your program for you!

People expecting guaranteed results – we know what we teach works (because we’re doing it ourselves) but we can’t guarantee specific results from following our advice. I hate to break it to you, but no one can make that promise!

It might seem strange, us trying to talk you OUT of becoming a member – but truly if the Academy is not the right fit then neither of us benefit. We have a vested interest in your success (you won’t stick around long if we’re not helping, right?) – and that all starts by making sure the Academy is right for you before you join.

Frequently Asked Questions

So, you have questions? Let us try to answer those for you...

What kind of membership site is the Academy suitable for?
We focus on online training and professional development for graduate business program leaders and team members that want to grow their programs and advance their careers. The content addresses both tactical and strategic problems and issues that graduate program teams must address.
I'm new to the graduate business program arena, is the Academy right for me?
Absolutely - the Academy covers every stage of planning, creating and growing a graduate business program - from the very start where you just have an idea and nothing more. In fact now is the perfect time for you to join the Academy; as not only do we have training that will take you through every step, but you'll also be able to get support and advice from within the community too, to help you through your journey.
I already have a graduate business program that's doing well, what can the Academy do for me?
Assuming you want to keep growing your program and advancing your career then the Academy can help you with fine tuning your recruiting and enrollment activities, student onboarding, engagement and retention strategies; as well as supporting you with working towards your future goals. This is certainly not a "beginner only" community - far from it! We've helped experienced program leaders improve their program, so there's plenty of expertise that you're sure to benefit from in your continued growth.
Is all of the content available straight away or is it time-released (drip fed)?
You get access to everything already inside the Academy straight away! No waiting for content to be released to you, just jump in and start making use of the training and resource libraries straight away. We regularly update and add new material too - so your content library will continue growing.
Can I get one-on-one help and support for my project?
Not only can you ask questions and get advice, support and feedback any time from within our community; but we also run monthly live Q&A sessions, where you can pre-submit your questions for Rodney, or even ask them live.

On top of that we also have a private coaching section in the community, where you can get private support and feedback from just Rodney. This alone is worth more than the price of admission!

Why should I become a member today instead of waiting?
It's time for you to take action. Simple as that. If you really want to have a successful graduate business program and career then you need somewhere to get answers to all of your questions - especially the ones you don’t know you have yet. You need support, community, and most of all... accountability!

The MBA News Digest Academy is that place. If you really want to make a difference, the time is now.

Do I receive anything in the mail when I join?
No - the Academy is entirely online
What if I don't enjoy the MBA News Digest Academy?
We know you will LOVE the MBA News Digest Academy, however, if for whatever reason you're not 100% satisfied in any way we have a 30 day money back guarantee (no questions asked). We want you to succeed, and know that if you become a member of the Academy and really put your heart and soul into it… you will see amazing results!
What happens if I decide to cancel my membership?
Obviously we'd love it if all of our members stuck around forever - but experience indicates that's never going to happen! So, if you do decide to cancel obviously we'll be very sad, but if you're intent on leaving then you'll be able to do so with just 2 clicks of a mouse.
Can I access the content released at the Academy during my membership once I cancel?
No. Your membership entitles you to enter the members area and access the content there released prior and during the duration of your membership. If you cancel or do not renew your membership you will no longer be able to access the content inside the Academy.
Will the MBA News Digest Academy still be useful if I'm not part of a graduate business program?
Yes! While our content use graduate business programs as a foundation for content development, the majority of the content in the Academy is not MBA program centric at all - and instead focuses on important topics such as growth strategy, member retention, attracting new students and more.
Will you provide tech support or can I hire you to build/fix my graduate business program's website?
We have a Tech Support section in our community forum where we can answer your questions, but we can’t actually login to your site and fix issues for you.

Also we do not take on client work so are not available to hire separately. We do however have a small directory of individuals who provide these services.

Can I upgrade to an annual membership later?
You sure can! You can upgrade to annual membership any time with a couple of clicks from your account page. Our system will automatically take into account the time left on your current subscription, so you'll never be double charged either.
I’m not 100% sure what the Academy is or if it's right for me, do you offer a trial so I can test it out?
We’re not currently offering a trial. 
If there's anything at all that you're not certain about, anything we haven't made clear; any concerns or questions then please do contact us at RGAlsup@MBANewsDigest.com and he'll help you out.

Get Instant Access to the Academy!

If you’re ready to take your program and career to the next level by enrolling in the MBA News Digest Academy, simply choose your payment option below and click the button to join your colleagues…

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP

Pay Monthly

 

$33.00 / month

Recurring payment – cancel anytime
in just 2 clicks of your mouse

Hassle-free 30 day money back guarantee

Click Here - Join the Academy Today!

Pay Annually

 

$275.00 / year

BEST VALUE

Hassle-free 30 day money back guarantee

Click Here - Join the Academy Today!

Visa  American Express  Mastercard  Discover

All prices in US Dollars

Secure
Checkout

Satisfaction
Guaranteed

Privacy
Protected