Sandpoint may get MBA program

The University of Idaho wants to bring an executive MBA program to Sandpoint to help busy professionals earn graduate degrees.

University officials are pitching the concept to local companies to gauge the level of support.

“It’s really designed for people who are working, who want to keep their jobs while they’re earning their MBA,” said Larry Branen, associate vice president for UI’s North Idaho programs.

Classes take place on the weekends, so they don’t interfere with work schedules. While most of the students have a decade or more of management experience, not all of them studied business in college.

The idea already has strong backing in Bonner County. Dennis Pence, chairman of Coldwater Creek Inc., has offered company facilities for classroom space. The women’s apparel retailer has state-of-the-art conference facilities, where it holds training sessions for sales associates and store managers. The firm, which has its corporate headquarters in Sandpoint, could be a strong contributor of students to an MBA program.

David Gunter, Coldwater Creek’s spokesman, said in an e-mail that the company is enthusiastic about the prospect of a local MBA program, while noting that a decision is still pending.

Within two months, UI officials expect to announce whether the executive MBA program will move forward, Branen said. The earliest the classes could start would be the fall of 2007, he said.

UI officials are also talking to other firms, Branen said. If the program starts up, it would likely draw students from a broad array of North Idaho companies, he said.

This fall, Boise State University launched a similar Master of Business Administration program with the backing of Micron, Hewlett-Packard and Idaho Power.

“A lot of large companies use executive MBA programs as part of their succession planning,” said Kirk Smith, associate dean in Boise State University’s College of Business and Economics.

BSU began the planning for its executive MBA program three years ago. Companies were asking for a graduate business degree tailored to working professionals, Smith said.

Twenty-eight students are enrolled in the first class. Many come from larger companies, which help pay for their schooling, though other students are entrepreneurs running their own companies.

BSU’s two-year course costs $38,000, including books and a week in Mexico City at an international business institute. Through the institute, the students will get to interact with other executives from a dozen different countries, Smith said.

If UI develops an executive MBA program, Branen said it would also include international travel, perhaps to China or India.

UI is taking a broad look at educational needs in Bonner and Boundary counties, Branen said. Earlier this fall, UI started offering master’s degrees in educational leadership to teachers in the two northern counties. Thirty teachers signed up for the class, which prepares them to become administrators.