The Importance of Business Education
By: Welch College of Business & Technology (WCBT)
Earning an undergraduate or graduate business degree will likely boost your earning potential, but the achievement has many other benefits as well.
A rigorous business program harnesses the management theory, communication skills, time-management, global perspectives and networking savvy that make graduates both desirable job prospects in an array of fields and lifelong learners who keep pace in our increasingly digitized world.
Choosing the right path for you, and deciding what specific skills and instruction you’ll need to compete in today’s tech-based, entrepreneurial playing field takes some deep research and consideration.
Integrating Technology
The modern business world is being transformed by digital technologies. From the sophisticated software needs of accounting to cybersecurity concerns and the precise analytics that can make or break a business model, today’s successful leaders know how to blend technological innovation and business acumen. The skills to be a technologically literate business leader allows our graduates to excel in productivity, efficiency and innovation.
Learning from Leaders
The market for business school grads, especially those with MBAs or experience with data analytics, digital marketing, information technology and engineering management, is on the rise across the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employment in business and financial operations is projected to continue to grow faster than the average for all occupations up to 2029. Our solid academic program taught by professors with real-world business experience derived from years of professional practice offers our students a solid foundation.
Business Across Borders
Today’s global landscape requires leaders who understand the complex political, social and cross-cultural issues that shape international economies, business opportunities and sustainable solutions. A business education that’s both enriching and marketable starts with a firm grounding in ethical reasoning skills and an entrepreneurial mindset. It also includes international study, like those built into our WCBT business major for all students.
The SHU Solution
The Jack Welch College of Business & Technology (WCBT) at Sacred Heart University is a “pioneer” in the integration of business and technology. Our forward-thinking curriculum and cutting-edge teaching labs incorporate a rich range of experiential, cross- and multidisciplinary learning opportunities that seek to fuse business and technology to make sure all of our graduates are prepared for the 21st-century career landscape.
WCBT has undergone a top-to-bottom transformation since 2019, when we moved to the University’s West Campus, the revamped former global headquarters of General Electric. Our dynamic core curriculum infuses business courses with technology, and vice versa, and makes ample use of our world-class experiential learning spaces, including our iHub coworking space; prototyping, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity labs; a finance lab with Bloomberg terminals; and a student incubator space.
By housing both business and technology programs in one location, we have created an exciting innovation ecosystem that offers students myriad opportunities to work on their passions, collaborate with faculty on scholarly work and partner with business and tech leaders.
WCBT students acquire a “future-ready” entrepreneurial mindset grounded in ethical reasoning skills and informed by both modern global perspectives and centuries-old tradition. While not every WCBT student will become an entrepreneur, each will think like one – fully able to comprehend complex challenges, work in diverse teams and find socially sound solutions.
WCBT offers a range of undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs, including a nationally ranked MBA and master’s degrees in accounting, business analytics, digital marketing, finance, human resource management, cybersecurity and dual-degree programs in disciplines such as computer science and finance. Our courses are taught by business-savvy professionals, industry leaders themselves, who foster a mission-driven, inclusive community and a think-outside-the-box attitude to harness the benefits of technological convergence through new business models.
Our students and faculty, in concert with our corporate and community partners, emphasize purposeful leadership for both for-profit and nonprofit enterprises that keep social and environmental sustainability and accountability front and center. In fact, the College’s Center for Nonprofits is a thought leader in that arena, publishing the New England Journal of Entrepreneurship and providing our students with opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills through service to the community.
The last few years have seen a lot of changes for WCBT, and we’re not done yet. In 2021 and beyond, we plan to augment seed capital for selected student-led startups, establish a Center for Risk Governance and Emerging Technologies and launch an endowed fund for business ethics education. We hope to develop a minor in social entrepreneurship, as well as summer service projects in developing countries, and gather leading experts for an annual Symposium on Business Ethics.
The business world has been transformed by digital convergence in the past few years, and many schools are talking about adjusting their curricula and augmenting their facilities to meet the new challenges and opportunities. The WCBT difference? We aren’t talking; we are doing it.