50 BCBusiness march 2018 alana paterson
degrees, like a master of €nance, or the
master in environmental economics
and management at Thompson Rivers
University in Kamloops. For Terzic, it
meant enrolling in a program that he felt
would prepare him for anything.
Fewer Canadian students have been
seeking
MBAs in recent years, adding
another challenge for business schools.
Sixty-two percent of the country's
MBA
institutions are experiencing declining
applications from domestic students,
according to a 2017 Graduate Manage-
ment Admission Council survey. Many
are turning to international recruitment,
with 78 percent taking more applications
from abroad. International students
represent 64 percent of applicants to
Canadian
MBA programs and have an
even stronger presence at some schools.
They €ll more than 85 percent of the
seats at Vancouver Island University's
MBA classes.
International students are particu-
larly drawn to full-time, two-year degrees
because such programs make them eli-
gible for three-year post-graduation work
permits from the federal government,
which in turn gives them a path to per-
manent residency. They often can't get
student visas to study part-time.
Domestic and international students
alike have ever-increasing options as
business schools work to fulœil their
changing demands. Larger institutions
are diversifying their course and pro-
gram o•erings, as well as their delivery
models. At Sauder, students can choose
from a smorgasbord of
MBA and non-MBA
programs in areas like €nance, entre-
preneurship and business analytics.
They can study full-time or part-time.
Smaller institutions try to excel in par-
ticular niches. For example, if you're a
working professional who wants an
MBA
education with face-to-face interaction
and classes on weekends, University of
Northern British Columbia's program
was made for you.
"Our program actually is a full-time
program," says
UNBC's MBA director,
bACK TO SCHOOL
Jill Schnarr, a VP at
Telus, was among the
first to earn a uVic
MbA tailored to the
company's employees
