Mba - Business Management

MBA - Business Managemen

Introduction to Organization

The organization that will be the topic of discussion is DeVry University. Founded in 1931, DeVry University is one of the largest, private sector universities in North America, with nearly 93,000 students enrolled in the United States and Canada. The university's mission is to foster student learning through high-quality, career-oriented education integrating technology, business, science and the arts. With more than 90 locations, DeVry University delivers practitioner-oriented undergraduate and graduate degree programs onsite and online that meet the needs of a diverse and geographically dispersed student population. Home to five colleges of study, including Business & Management, Engineering & Information Sciences, Health Sciences, Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Media Arts & Technology, DeVry University's outstanding faculty members, work in the fields that they teach, providing students with real-world experiences that prepare them for high-growth careers.

DeVry University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, www.ncahlc.org. DeVry University, a part of DeVry Inc. (NYSE: DV), is based in Downers Grove, Illinois.

DeVry merged with the Keller Graduate School of Management in 1987. The resulting merger expanded degree programs in accountancy, technology, and business. Master's degree programs in management fields were also available for students. In 1998, these programs first received approval to be offered online. Other programs began being offered online in 2000, and new degree programs in the biomedical and health information technology field followed three years later.

Since 2000, DeVry has merged with other schools. The acquisition of Ross University in 2003 came first, which is one of the largest veterinary and medical schools in the world. Now the university awards both doctor of veterinary medicine (D.V.M.) and doctor of medicine (M.D.) degrees. Chamberlain College of Nursing was acquired in 2005, which offers nursing degrees ranging from the associate to master's level. Advanced Academics, which is a leader in providing online secondary education, was acquired in 2007, and Apollo College, Western Career College, and Fanor followed shortly after in 2008 and 2009. Recently, DeVry added another acquisition to their inventory. The global provider of educational services announced it has acquired the business operations of privately held American University of the Caribbean (AUC). AUC's medical school campus is located in St. Maarten, and its administrative offices are located in Coral Gables, Fla.

The acquisition of AUC is consistent with DeVry's growth and diversification strategy, increasing its presence in high quality medical and healthcare education and expanding its academic offerings at the post-baccalaureate level. AUC's total enrollment is approximately 1,000 students. DeVry was attracted to AUC because of its highly regarded faculty, commitment to academic excellence, and an accomplished network of alumni. In addition, AUC has strong partnerships with residency placement hospitals across the United States. DeVry paid $235 million in cash in exchange for all assets of AUC. For the year ending December 31, 2011, AUC's revenues are expected to be approximately $50 million.

DeVry University became a strong platform in the ability to reach many high school students embarking on their college career. Many of these students are undecided, facing the fear of affording college, and of course the anxiety of even being accepted to school. Many of these individuals were completely clueless on the process of school much less the type of schools out there. In most cases, you'll see individuals applying to the popular state schools simply because they feel it is what is expected or would be deemed success from peers and elders within the family. This is the case even if that school doesn't have the major they need for their impending career field. Better yet, what is the career field?

That's what intrigued me about DeVry University. They spoke career first, launching a team of specialized individuals to present the different career options out there as well as what DeVry can offer. These individuals are trained extensively in presentation skills and must possess the quality of being outgoing, very extraverted. You have the task of walking into a class room with thirty blank faces and making all those faces smile while imposing the knowledge needed for their future. This team is called the High School Presenters.

In many cases, the presenters are single handedly responsible for turning on that light switch in a student's mind in regards to their future. This was an experience I didn't have in my last year of high school. I was clueless and remained that way until I was in my mid-twenties and crashed into a wakeup call which lead me to back to school for what I should've went to school for in the first place.

The role of admission advisor at DeVry University was incredibly appealing, the idea of having a positive influence on senior in high school to hopefully assure a great successful future. Stepping into the organization I saw a complete well-oiled machine. There's a great appreciation for training which a huge part of the job were. There's two months of training that everyone goes through called 8-to-great. This is eight weeks of a complete overview of DeVry as well as tactics in order to engage individuals on a post-secondary career at the university. DeVry believes the more employees know about the organization the better an employee will be able to sell to an individual. Even after the first two months there's training on a weekly basis, sometimes 2 or 3 times a week. Best practices on how to engage a student or the right things to say to ensure the student applies, as well as how to engage the buying committee (parent).

Admission advisors reach out to prospective students, pre-qualify them over the phone with a guided script in hopes to reach the goal of setting an appointment for the prospective student to visit the campus for a interview. A large majority of these students are a product of the high school presenters. After the presentation in a high school classroom, the students are asked to select their level of interest on PDA devices. They have the option to select, send me some information, I'd like a tour and interview, or not interested. Even the students who select that their not interested are still contacted in hopes of enlightening them on DeVry's offerings.

At the interview, the hour long procedure covers every aspect to assure the prospect