Among more than 2,000 schools surveyed by The Princeton Review for Entrepreneur magazine, Hardin-Simmons University’s Acton School of Business in Austin has been recognized as having one of the top 25 entrepreneurship programs in the country, ranking 18th in the survey’s graduate category.
Hardin-Simmons University has been in partnership with the Acton MBA program since 2003. Dr. Michael Monhollon, dean of the HSU Kelley College of Business, says, “What makes the program unique is that it is taught by practitioners who have themselves started and own very successful businesses.”
“The instructors have a passion to help students become good entrepreneurs,” says Dr. Nancy Kucinski, HSU dean of Graduate Studies and director of the Austin-based program. “They pass on their knowledge of business to students and help them avoid mistakes – sometimes the same mistakes they themselves have made.”
“The program has at its core a commitment to students that includes discovering the student’s individual calling,” she says.
This 10th annual ranking by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur reveals the nation’s top 25 undergraduate and top 25 graduate programs for entrepreneurship. Acton’s ranking can be seen at: http://www.princetonreview.com/top-entrepreneurial-press-release.aspx
http://www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges/grad/0.html.
“After just 10 years in existence, the Acton School of Business has made an indelible mark in helping create the next generation of master entrepreneurs. The recognition from Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review distinguish Acton as a leader in putting future business leaders on a solid path toward entrepreneurial success,” said Tracy Balboa, executive director of the Acton School of Business.
Acton was evaluated based on key criteria in the areas of teaching entrepreneurship business fundamentals in the classroom, staffing departments with successful entrepreneurs, excellence in mentorship, and providing experiential or entrepreneurial opportunities outside of the classroom.
“We commend each of these schools not only for giving their students a first-rate classroom experience in business practices, but for their cross-disciplinary approaches to entrepreneurship education,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s Senior VP/Publisher. Franek added, “These programs stand out for the impressive ways they are supporting students with the vision and skills to create their own innovative businesses and to succeed at them.”
“The right education enhances and reinforces curiosity and creative thinking in entrepreneurs,” said Amy Cosper, vice president and editor in chief at Entrepreneur. “This ranking provides a unique look at top schools that offer the type of training, encouragement, and direction that nurtures entrepreneurial skills. It’s an excellent resource for those interested in academics as a pathway to their goals, and it can help tremendously in the discovery process to finding the right program.”
The results of the survey, along with the analysis, appear in the October issue of Entrepreneur.
About the Acton School of Business
The Austin-based Acton School of Business is a one-year, full-immersion program that starts with a boot camp each summer, explains Monhollon. The boot camp helps students prepare for the rigors of the academic program that starts in the fall semester.
Kucinski and Monhollon both emphasize the program’s hands-on approach and its emphasis on case studies as part of the key to its success. Kucinski says, “Instructors use the Harvard-like case study method that allows students to put themselves in the shoes of an entrepreneur and teaches how to ask the right questions and make sound business decisions.”
As a result of the success of the case study method taught at the Austin campus, Kucinski says, “I have adopted the case teaching method in many of my own courses on the HSU campus.”
Once a semester, Kucinski goes to Austin to help administer the highly competitive program and work with an admissions committee. She explains that the students apply to Hardin-Simmons and a committee decides to accept students based on their previous experience, education, and their passion for starting a business.
For more information about the Acton School of Business, visit www.actonmba.org.
About The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review (Nasdaq: REVU) has been a pioneer and leader in helping students achieve their higher education goals for more than three decades through college and graduate school test preparation and private tutoring. With more than 165 print and digital publications and a free website, www.PrincetonReview.com, the company provides students and their parents with the resources to research, apply to, prepare for, and learn how to pay for higher education. The Princeton Review partners with schools and guidance counselors throughout the United States to assist in college readiness, test preparation and career planning services, helping more students pursue postsecondary education.