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Prestigious Pope Center Heralds Acton MBA in Entrepreneurship Program as a Progressive Change Agent

06.28.05

Austin, Texas – The executive director of the highly regarded John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy has written an article that highlights practices at the

Austin, Texas based Acton MBA in Entrepreneurship as “an example of the kind of ‘out of the box’ thinking” that is needed at America business schools.

George C. Leef, who heads the Raleigh, N.C.-based think tank, known for introducing innovative thinking and critical analysis to the field of higher education, identified several reasons why Acton makes a difference.

“First and foremost, the faculty is composed of people who are business professionals, not academics,” wrote Leef. “Second, the school runs a fast, intensive schedule. Students complete their program in a year, during which they often work 80 hours per week. Much of the time is spent in hands-on projects. Third, there is no tenure for faculty members. Each instructor is employed on a one-year contract.

“Finally, Acton uses a very results-oriented compensation method. An instructor is paid a flat fee for teaching a course. The incentive to do well comes from the fact that the school divides up a much larger pool of money for faculty compensation based on how well each instructor does on his student evaluations. Earnings thus depend mainly on competition – just
as in the business world.”

Leef also noted that the Princeton Review, known for its annual college rankings, recently identified Acton “as having the third best MBA faculty in the country and said that its students were America’s ‘most competitive.’

“Strong accolades for so new a program.” Jeff Sandefer, a successful entrepreneur and a Master Teacher at Acton said Leef was “respected for his innovative approach to higher education.” The fact that he is willing to talk openly about problems with the traditional approach to business education “shows that Leef has the courage to challenge the status quo,” added Sandefer.

To read the entire article, visit the Pope Center web site at http://popecenter.org/clarion_call/article.html?id=2013

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