Development of a Part-time American MBA Program in Luxembourg: a Case Study and Model for Future Applications in Foreign Countries

This thesis is being archived as a Digitized Shelf Copy for campus access to current students and staff only. We currently cannot provide this open access without the author's permission. If you are the author of this work and desire to provide it open access or wish access removed, please contact the Wahlstrom Library to discuss permission.This case study addressed the unfulfilled demand for the American MBA in Luxembourg, the viability of a part-time MBA program in the English language, the status of higher education in the new European Union, the efforts of a small university to obtain endorsement in a foreign country, and the development of a model for other colleges and universities which might consider such a program. The case study methodology was employed to analyze the creation and implementation of this program through the examination of survey results, governmental documents, European Union publications, and discussions with government, business and community executives. The questionnaire designed for input from the first 49 students in the program identified a higher number of women students than might be expected in the European culture, a predominance of engineering and financial backgrounds, a desire for management, human resource and entrepreneurial skills and a need for personal growth. Although increased income was an expectation, it was one of the least important factors in seeking admission. Such factors as better skills, career opportunities, self-improvement and future marketability were judged more critical by students. Additional findings included: 1) there was a need for advanced management education (MBA) in English in select foreign countries; 2) foreign governments in these select countries were willing to assist in the implementation of such programs; 3) agreements to progress with development of higher education programs could be verbal and needed not to involve written legal documents; 4) non-American businesses did support their employees seeking the advanced management education through tuition reimbursement; 5) the extension of a part-time advanced management program (MBA) from an American University, for working university degreed professionals was viable in central Europe. Among the conclusions were the following: 1) there was a distinct sequence of decisions relating to the University and the foreign country; 2) the director of the program must have complete authority and autonomy for an identifiable period; 3) the costs of the program must be shared by a foreign country and tuition income; 4) excess revenues must be reinvested In the foreign country; 5) admission standards must be strictly adhered to in accordance with the University's U.S. accreditation requirements. It is suggested, however, that further research be done on the proposed model to account for other demographic and social factors that could impact its application