Monroe College is proud to announce the launch of the King Graduate School for Urban Studies and Applied Research, an official name change to its graduate programs that aptly reflects the School’s mission of preparing students for the challenges and opportunities unique to urban communities around the globe and to apply learning and research to make a positive impact.
The King Graduate School offers two master’s degree programs – a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice – targeted to professionals who want to become leaders in supporting business growth and addressing safety and other issues that plague urban communities around the globe. The enhanced curriculum features project-based and community-centered learning and research, making it immediately applicable in a wide range of workplaces and community settings.
Both programs feature a strong core curriculum to provide students with a solid common academic foundation and a variety of concentrations to customize the student experience. The MBA offers concentrations in business management, finance, healthcare, information technology, marketing, entrepreneurship, and community development, while the M.S. in Criminal Justice features concentrations in human services, urban crime policy, and community development.
“The King Graduate School has always been focused on practical, real-world education, giving graduate students a hands-on approach to their studies,” said Dean Michael Marinaccio. “With this new alignment, we’re sharpening the focus so that our students’ education is integrated with the world around them, is more relevant to the contemporary workplace, and will have a more direct positive impact on their lives and the lives of others.”
In addition to the official name change and the enhanced curriculum, the King Graduate School will house an Institute for Applied Research. The institute will focus on areas that are emphasized in the School’s curriculum: business, entrepreneurship, economic development, criminal and social justice, public health and safety.
“In dense urban communities, there is an urgent need for scientific study and research that is applied to solve intractable problems,” he said. “This is the very core of what our new research institute is all about.” To realize the goals of the School and the Institute for Applied Research, the School has attracted an impressive roster of professionals and researchers to serve on its new Advisory Board.
“We are pleased that so many accomplished professionals have agreed to join us in bringing our new vision to fruition,” said Karenann Carty, Associate Vice President of Academics. “They have committed to providing the faculty and administration of the King Graduate School with advice, guidance, and critique of curriculum and research activities. They will certainly be called on to expand our professional networks and further the School’s mission as we expand our graduate offerings over the next few years.”
Good Business at Monroe for Monroe
According to the Huffington Post, after a two-year investigation of the for-profit higher education industry, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) on Monday unveiled an exhaustive report on the colleges’ business practices, highlighting schools that charge excessively high tuition and shortchange academic investments in order to maximize revenues.
The report, concludes that the federal government has failed to protect students from misleading sales pitches and poor quality programs, and has not adequately safeguarded the $32 billion in taxpayer dollars that flow to the industry.
“American taxpayers are the single biggest investor in for-profit colleges, yet the government that holds their trust has little ability to ensure that they get the return on investment they deserve: educational and career success for the students who enroll,” the report said. “Congress must put in place a much more rigorous regulatory structure that incentivizes the sector to make the financial investments necessary to result in higher student success.”
So let’s look at Monroe College, a for-profit institution of higher learning, since it is a major player in the local politics of this town. It costs roughly $25,000 to attend Monroe College (Tuition and Room & Board). It offers an AA, BA and now a couple of Master level programs. ((99% percent of the students receive aid; 93% of this is in the form of Federal & State aid; 68% receive student loans – the average aid is about $8,600 per year. (Source: National center for Education Statistics – http://www.nces.ed.gov). It uses the former ice skating arena in New Roc for their basketball games (This use to be the home of New Rochelle’s High school varsity hockey team until they were displaced). I believe that it uses New Rochelle’s Skydelsky field for the soccer matches.
If you entered Monroe on track to obtain a BA in 2005, 39% graduated in four years. I wonder what their retention rates are now? Most of the information on the website above was a couple of years old. I wonder if Monroe could publish current numbers. And by the way, what is the percentage of New Rochelle HS graduates that attend Monroe?
Clever Bit of Business Here
Nice touch naming it the King School. Not likely you meant stephen King.
A cursory search of undergraduate performance over the years makes one wonder what a school with acres of room for improvement on the accreditation and comparative fronts is doing in the graduate business anyway.
I would have hoped you would have done a hell of a lot better in upgrading your curricula, entry criteria, and general academic standings prior to reaching out to enmesh students into an extra couple of years and, hopefully not, to make little improvement in their competition status in the market place.
But then there is the naming.
Here is what is important to me as a citizen. What additional affronts will you undertake in the community to acquire property we sorely need for building our commercial base and what does your Presients role as BID Board Member, Party contributor, etal do to make this a bridge not too far.
Community you need to be very watchful.
Is this a joke, Business and Criminal Justice ?
Warren is correct. The commercial space is diminishing because Monroe College occupies the storefronts with offices. As the head of the BID, one would hope that Jerome would have contributed to the growth of this city. He prevents the city from economic expansion by keeping the rents low, and flooding the streets with his dangerous students. Packing them into apartments scattered around town, 4 or more students in an apartment. These students don’t contribute to the growth either, they don’t spend any money. But Monroe College wants to announce their new MBA program. If the colleges vice president and head of the BID can’t contribute to the growth of New Rochelle what makes anyone think that they will be capable of educating these violent students to research and solve the “intractable problems” associated with dense urban communities?
Which brings me to my second point- Criminal Justice? Am I going crazy? What type of education is this place providing? Wasn’t it just last week that we read the article about the basketball player violently beating another basketball player so bad she was put in ICU for internal bleeding, and then after two months she was allowed back on campus. Yes, the other girl had a semi-automatic. However, were missing the point that the student who violently attacked her was then permitted to return to campus and continue to play basketball. Is this justice? What type of example are they setting for their other students? And then Dimond’s main concern is the safety of their students, what a load of crap.
Monroe College should practice what they TEACH. In Business and in Criminal Justice.