Kent, OHIO – As the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship prepares to move to the state-of-the-art Crawford Hall on East Main Street in spring 2024, the college is seeing increased enrollment among both freshman and graduate populations. This fall, the college saw one of the largest enrollment increases on the Kent campus with an 8.1% overall increase in students.
This fall, there are 600 graduate students enrolled, a record for the college. In addition, the college welcomed a near-record 522 new full-time freshmen, which is also trending higher than recent years.
Deborah F. Spake, Ph.D., dean of the college, attributes this growth to a number of factors. A lot of the graduate student enrollment increase is due to the growth of the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program.
“Students graduating from that program are in high demand and are accepting positions in top companies earning very competitive salaries,” Spake said. “The STEM-designated MSBA degree allows graduates to use modern programming software, effectively evaluate data and recommend management decisions. This is a highly valued skillset for business professionals.”
Enrollment is also up in the full-time and online MBA programs, the online Master of Science in Accounting program and the college’s graduate certificate programs. In recent years, the college has added numerous graduate certificates to meet the needs of today’s professionals, as well as a not-for-credit Certified Business Advisor (CBA)® certificate. Graduate certificates are available in Accounting Analytics, Advanced Accounting, Business Analytics, Financial Management, Human Resource Management, International Business, Leadership and Management, Leading through Challenge and Quantitative Business Management.
“Our goal is to give today’s working professionals the skills they need and the opportunity to interact with other working professionals in an online format,” said Roberto Chavez, director of Graduate Programs at the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship.
Spake also attributes the prospect of learning in a brand new, modern business building as very appealing. Crawford Hall will include specialized laboratory spaces including the Robert M. and Janet Archer Kent Watersports Business Analytics Lab, the Robert M. and Janet Archer Kent Watersports Financial Trading Lab, the John S. and Marlene J. Brinzo Center for Entrepreneurship, the James R. Unger Global Forum, the Arthur and Susan Karas Behavioral Research Hub, as well as other modern classrooms and a business theater.
“As prospective students visit campus, they are aware that Crawford Hall is under construction and that they will have the opportunity to learn in the new building by Fall 2024,” Spake said.
Juliana Grimm, a junior economics major, looks forward to learning in the building during her senior year and as she pursues a Master of Arts in Economics degree at Kent State after graduation.
“The new building will have a lot more resources for students and will give us a place to be successful in our studies,” Grimm said. “A larger place to learn – in addition to more modern resources – can give students motivation to continue pushing themselves in their work.”
Justin Allsopp, a marketing major and accounting minor, said that a new business building will attract a broader range of students.
“The architectural design of the building is much more modern and I like that we are moving toward a cutting-edge learning environment,” Allsopp said. “I’m also looking forward to having a trading floor in the new building – that will be a great resource for students.”