Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

MBA Finds Home at Tysons Corner

Capitalizing on one of the region’s fastest growing business sectors, the McDonough School of Business will debut a new evening Masters in Business Administration graduate program at the Tysons Corner Center in Vienna, VA in partnership with the conference center network Convene.

Debuting this fall, Georgetown’s MBA Evening graduate program will open up its new location in Tysons Corner, Virgina, an up-and-coming area of greater Washington in close proximity to the Capitol. The program will be housed in a Convene conference center. Convene, a conference center network based in New York City, is hoping to expand and engage in the greater D.C. community.

“I think that we would really like to be an active participant in the community at large, in the professional community at large, and we see ourselves as being an intellectual anchor to the community…our primary service is to bring people together from the entire surrounding business community,” Co-Founder and Principle at Convene Chris Kelly said of his company’s collaboration with Georgetown.

According to Kelly, Convene’s location is the most technologically advanced venue in the Corner, which is the state’s largest, fully enclosed shopping center.

“The extent of the technology and services and comfort that we offer are far more extensive than what would has ever been associated with a typical classroom,” Kelly said of the brand new location.

McDonough School of Business Senior Associate Dean Romanelli agreed.

“It’s absolutely high-end and provides the kind of technology and other sort of support that we need to make it the quality of our educational offerings,” she said.

In preliminary surveys to decide the new campus’ location, administrators determined that Northern Virginia is one of the three fastest growing business regions in the country.

“It is attracting not only the kinds of people that will help us to continue to solidify our position in greater Washington as the premier business school, but it also attracts the type of young professional who’s perfect for our evening MBA program,” Romanelli said.

The Tysons Corner location is aided by its position on the new Metro Silver line, which will facilitate access to the suburb when it opens in spring 2014.

“I can’t even imagine going from work to school and having to commute an hour in between the two,” full-time MBA graduate student Cameron Anderson (GRD ’15) said.

Laura Beyer (GRD ’15), also a full-time MBA student, added that the lack of a metro stop in Georgetown makes it a less accessible option for a commuting student.

“I think it’s just a convenience thing. Georgetown is a really difficult place for people to get to,” Beyer said.

The new Silver Line will also ease a growing traffic congestion problem in the area.

“1800 Tyson’s Boulevard is one, if not the most proximate buildings to the Tysons Corner metro stop. At present, probably the largest single objection to doing things at Tysons is that there’s a lot of traffic there as kind of like a consequence of its boom, so I think the metro line will both relieve the congestion and also provide a much more convenient option for people who choose to use it,” Kelly said.

In accordance with its new location, curriculum at Tyson’s Corner will offer students opportunities unique to Convene’s business-oriented atmosphere and location.

“What I think we’re building is something that’s the same but different,” Romanelli said. “You don’t want to think about this as 45 students sitting out there in Tysons somewhere, but as the nucleus of a new presence for the business school.”

Additionally, the MBA students taking their courses at Convene will have the chance to immerse themselves in an environment more corporate than Georgetown’s undergraduate-centric main campus
“ Every single aspect of our service is much more geared around the corporate environment that your Evening MBA students might be interested in, as opposed to having them go back to a college campus, which is not always where Evening MBA students are coming from; they’re more likely to have already acclimated themselves to a corporate environment,” Kelly said.

Although Convene will serve as the host for the MBA program, providing it with resources and classroom space, the curriculum will be entirely created by Georgetown. “What happens inside of the classroom is 100% up to Georgetown,” Kelly said. 1800 Tysons Boulevard is Convene’s first location outside New York City, and while its New York City locations also host classes for Columbia Business School, New York University, and Villanova, Convene’s three-year commitment contract with Georgetown’s MBA program is the most extensive, Kelly said.

“For us this kind of marks a potential new chapter for us as a company, and we’re really excited to be working on that with Georgetown,” Kelly said.

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