Corban University Graduate Programs Offer a Flexible Experience


Corban University in Salem offers more than 50 programs of study on campus and online.

Brand Story – Emanuel Montanez earned a Corban University Master of Business Intelligence and Analytics degree.

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After securing an internship at major pharmaceutical manufacturer Genentech, Montanez was encouraged by his supervisor to apply for their highly competitive, two-year rotational program. Out of 1,000 applicants, only five individuals, including Montanez, were selected.

“It was the Corban degree that the hiring board said stood out to them,” Montanez says. “It really validated my choice to go through the MBIA program.”

Corban intentionally built flexibility into its graduate programs, to meet the growing demands of professionals looking to progress in their field—a move made far in advance of many other universities. “Everyone is now moving to 30-hour programs, and we were on the front end of that trend,” says Dr. Bryce Bernard, Dean of the Hoff School of Business. “Students are done in a year, and we are making it affordable for them.”

Online Grad Student 5Online courses allow students to   take their career to the next level on a flexible schedule that works around their life.

Montanez completed his degree in one year while working at his initial Genentech internship. “I loved that I was able to work a full eight hours and pay off the program as I went through,” he says.

Montanez’s new position is fully salaried with benefits and will take him through Genentech’s main talent pipeline, touching major sectors such as manufacturing, supply-chain management and technical development. “It’s a great kick start into my professional career,” he says.

While Montanez’s MBIA was attractive to Genentech’s review board, it was the quality, flexibility and affordability of Corban’s graduate business programs that attracted Montanez. “It was more affordable than a lot of other schools I looked at, but I also liked the balance between hard science and business,” he says. That combination is attractive to large biotech companies that are including more data analysis in their research and development, and operations and finance as well.

In 2019, Corban University celebrated its 50th year at its location in Salem. The name Corban is a biblical word meaning “a gift dedicated to God” and reflects the core value of Corban’s programs—personal interaction and making real connections with the students.

Dr. Bernard and StudentDr. Bryce Bernard, Dean of the Hoff School of Business, mentors business students from their first class through their last.

“We want to teach them the importance of business ethics, and not just how to apply them to their businesses, but to every area of their lives,” says Professor Tim Peterson. It’s a personal investment that goes far beyond the dollars and cents, stretching to the university’s core mission: “to educate Christians who will make a difference in the world for Jesus Christ.”

Unlike other schools, Corban’s online MBA and MBIA programs are not cohort-based, so students are able to take classes on an unpressurized timeline that fits their schedule. Manageable weekly workloads, Sunday night assignment deadlines and flexible opportunities for video conferencing with fellow students and faculty make completing the program easily manageable, even while working a full-time job.

Brenda Pearson serves as the Business Partnerships Program Manager for the Oregon Department of Human Services and Oregon Health Authority. She says the convenience of taking online courses while working a high-profile career with tight deadlines made her Corban MBA degree “a game changer.  The excellent guidance and education I received breathed new life into the way I am able to serve the State of Oregon,” Pearson noted.

For her, access to personalized education and a tangible network of peers and professors within the typically passive arena of online education was what made her experience unique. “The small groups in each course provided additional opportunities to mentor, learn, and network, and the servant leadership modeled by each professor set the program apart,” she says.  

Corban’s graduate programs have been online since before online learning became the standard it is today. One thing that sets this school apart is that its faculty are teaching live lessons, unlike other online schools where faculty are just not available for students. “We are available,” says Bernard. “Our faculty host regularly scheduled conference hours each week. Our students are getting to know their professors and networking extensively with other students in the program. That level of personal interaction and access is just stronger in our programs.”

For students like Montanez and Pearson, Corban’s graduate business degrees provide the opportunity not only to take the logical next step in career progression, but to do it in a way that considers their needs first. Corban has had decades to consider the diverse and expanding needs of the modern business professional and meets those needs with affordable, flexible and personal programs.

 


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