Ryan Kanno: The diary of an Enginerd in Hawaii

Welcome, to the rest of my life.

Today, I officially received my Masters in Business Administration from the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaii. Though it took me four long years as a part time student, I’d like to thank everyone who made it possible. Thanks for all the late nighters, the fun times running student body, but most of all, thanks for the memories. Not to mention, thanks to everyone who came to see me graduate! Whee! Since I hadn’t participated in a graduation ceremony in a few years, it was quite exciting.

At least I can say I graduated with Colt!

Go Bows!

(I’ll post videos once I can figure out how to convert them from my camera!)

And as a parting thought, the proof is in the pudding!

(Click on the diploma cover to see my flickr set!)

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Ever since my fiasco with the University of Hawai`i MBA program administration (which btw, has *never* been resolved), I’ve avoided from blogging about what a great (or lack thereof) education I’ve been receiving. I want to avoid denigratory remarks about the program because though I’ve previously bashed both the administration and educational quality of the program, I have made quite a few friends that I do hope to keep in touch with. And though I’ve *really* considered taking a few computer science classes and getting them paid for with tax payer money, I’ve decided against trying to show the administration how ridiculous and narrow-focused their policies are. (See previously referenced blog).

In any case, I digress.

The original intention for writing this blog was to rave about my Business 660 Strategy class with Professor Ito. Though I found Ito a bit quirky in his methods, strict in his grading, and peculiar with his humor – I must admit, I learned quite a bit from his course this semester. I can honestly say that this is the first time in the entire program (aside from Business 610) where I felt not only intellectually stimulated, but I actually felt that I received my money’s worth in educational value.

That’s how good the class was.

Having never had a discussion led via the Socratic method, the first few classes were an eye-opening experience. Every class would require preparation and well thought-out arguments to Harvard Business cases. Whether we focused on market responsiveness, mergers and acquisitions, or strategic policies, I really felt compelled to listen to each and every argument posed by my peers and the discussion led by the professor. From the drudgery of previous classes, this experience was refreshing and invigorating.

One semester down, two more to go.

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Having been enrolled in the University of Hawaii MBA program the last 3 years, I can honestly say that I haven’t been very impressed. No offense, but aside from the occassional diamonds in the rough like Professor Suyderhoud, Professor Ito, and Professor Robinson, the assigned work has often been nondescript and tedious. Without challenging the students, I often wonder how this program is purportedly preparing me for the ‘real world.’

Coming from a <insert shameless plug>top 5 enginerding graduate program</insert shameless plug>, I had high expectations. Three years, a lot of ‘busy work’ later, and probably ~$15,000 poorer – I’m amazed at what little I have to show. Compounding the matter is the fact that the administration is favoring the day program over the evening one, and thus, good electives are very difficult to come by.

So with that said…

Since I hold a Masters degree from another accredited university, I was curious to find out if I could transfer credits I used from a previous degree to eliminate a few electives I needed to fulfill my MBA degree. After all, the MBA requirements allow me to take 9 credits from another college – meaning that I could potentially take the exact same courses I took from my previous Masters, the only difference being is that the course at Manoa is taught by a different professor.

After scheduling an appointment and speaking to the appropriate people, I’ve come to the following disheartening conclusions. First, apparently I’m not allowed to transfer these credits because this dilutes the education I’ll receive at Manoa (Someone actually told this to me). I’m no Grigori Perelman, but this isn’t exactly the Poincaré conjecture either. I’m not exactly sure how a top 5 engineering program dilutes a middle-tier-at-best business program, especially when I’m able to take the same coursework. The argument is inane and makes absolutely no sense – not to mention is quite insulting. Second, the University apparently only wants my money, which is totally fine because based on the quality of education I’ve received up to this point – this has already been quite apparent (to me, at least). Finally, I’m truly disappointed at how people who have the power to elicit and enact change – just can’t see the forest from the trees.

Now, I’ve talked to a lot of people about this issue, and I’m not sure if people like me or whatnot, but I haven’t found a single person who hasn’t agreed with me. All the engineers at work just think that’s typical of the UH system.

I have a solution.

Either let me transfer the credits or modify the MBA requirements for people with advanced degrees, ie. audit the courses we can take to prevent us from taking courses from our past degree. The solution is so simple, yet I guess it’s too complex since it has escaped administration for all these years.

Here’s a tip UH – it doesn’t matter if you get $25 million or a thousand billion, without hiring people who can function without blinders, but more importantly, without educating and challenging your students, you’ll still be that middle-tier-at-best graduate business program that you’ve always been.

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