The School of Business and Nonprofit Management has one goal: Prepare students for success.
hough North Park’s physical landscape has changed since Professor Ann Hicks arrived on campus 17 years ago, the thrill she gets from helping students find their career path remains unchanged.
“My students and their accomplishments become my proudest moments,” says Dr. Hicks, who last summer was named Dean of the School of Business and Nonprofit Management (SBNM). “The SBNM faculty and I greatly care about the students and do what is needed to ensure their success.”
Dr. Hicks recalls a 30-minute conversation she had with a senior business major who had a concentration in accounting. She worked closely with him as he laid out his post-graduation plans, considering whether to attend graduate school or pursue a job.
“This kind of interaction is invaluable to the student, and incredibly rewarding for the faculty member,” Dr. Hicks says.
Both at the undergraduate and graduate level, students can rely on building a one-on-one relationship with their faculty advisor.
“It’s the partnership between student and faculty that is unique to North Park—where students explore what to do with their careers and access the tools to take the next step towards advancing their career,” Dr. Hicks says.
That kind of personal attention has already paid dividends, with North Park’s Master of Business Administration program earning national recognition as one of the top MBA programs by Abound, a college guidance system for degree-seeking adults.
North Park’s program earned the honors based on its flexible scheduling, career services, transparency of financial assistance, engaged learning opportunities, and other factors.
Anthony Scola, North Park University Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing, credits North Park’s professors for the honor.
“Our experienced faculty bring their in-the-field expertise into each classroom, cultivating the skills necessary to serve as future leaders in the workforce,” Scola says.
Indeed, Dr. Hicks, the beneficiary of a liberal arts education herself, sees the value in applying the real-world skills students learn at North Park to their business careers.
As a Latin American culture major at Kansas State University, Dr. Hicks supplemented her income by working as an assistant manager at a restaurant, where she became interested in the inner workings of running a business.
She quickly acquired on-the-job skills in managerial accounting, which spurred her to take business courses in accounting and economics. She eventually changed her major to finance. Grateful for the liberal arts foundation she received studying Latin American culture during the first half of her undergraduate studies, Dr. Hicks appreciates being part of a liberal arts university where students develop critical thinking skills in addition to specific skills within their major.
“I think one of the things that sets apart the SBNM undergraduate programs is the liberal arts focus of North Park,” Dr. Hicks says. “As a predominately liberal arts school, the core curriculum that all of our students are required to take provide a broader-based education that, I believe, enhances the student’s critical thinking skills. This is a skill set that many employers in industry highly value.”
In addition, North Park’s SBNM program is unique in that it offers certificates at the graduate level. These certification programs consist of five courses revolving around a particular topic, such as finance or fundraising, that allow a student to gain skills in a particular field without necessarily completing a full degree.
Dr. Hicks notes that some students may just come for those five courses; some may come and complete a certificate and decide to remain and complete a master’s degree; and some may come for the master’s degree but focus their elective courses in a particular area and complete both the degree and a certificate.
In her new role as Dean, Dr. Hicks says she will revisit and update programs to match the needs of the marketplace, along with taking a close look at flexible hybrid options consisting of an online and in-the-classroom curriculum. As part of that process, she will continually review and update programs, something that SBNM has done faithfully since Dr. Hicks has been here.
“With the changes in higher education and the costs of higher education, it is even more critical than ever that we ensure that we are offering our students a competitive and marketable education,” Dr. Hicks says.