Executive Summary / The Pacesetter

311

Executive Summary

The economy didn’t offer much encouragement, but the top 15 MBA programs in Los Angeles County still eked out a 4.2 percent increase graduates in 2001, half the increase recorded the year earlier.

Graduates jumped to 3,098, from 2,974 in 2000. Almost every MBA program in the area saw enrollment figures increase, particularly among part-time students that make up the bulk of enrollment at most local schools. Overall, enrollment of full-time equivalent students in local MBA programs rose to 6,544.

The school with the greatest decline in enrollment, California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, had 363 full-time equivalent students and ranked No. 6.

These students face a daunting hiring environment. By the end of 2001, employers nationwide confirmed they would hire 20 percent fewer college graduates in 2001-02 than they hired in 2000-01.

Amanda Bronstad

The Pacesetter

Pepperdine’s Graziadio School

The Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University in Malibu again ranked No. 1 among the Top 15 MBA programs in Los Angeles County, ranked by enrollment of full-time equivalent students.

The MBA program had 1,136 full-time equivalent enrollees, up from 1,034 the previous year. Greater growth was seen in part-time students, which jumped to 1,948, from 1,729 in 2000.

The Graziadio School, founded in 1969, is a pioneer in its evening MBA program for working adults, said interim Graziadio School Dean William Larson. Last month, U.S. News & World Report magazine ranked Graziadio School’s part-time MBA program No. 17 and its executive MBA No. 19 nationwide.

The Graziadio School will have a new dean on June 1 when Linda Livingstone, currently associate dean of graduate programs at the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University, takes over.

Graziadio has campuses in Malibu, Westlake Village, Encino, Culver City, Long Beach and Irvine and a satellite site in San Jose.

Amanda Bronstad