Students and Alumni
Responses from Current Students and Alumni
(701 responses)
Findings
Describe the Olin Experience: Collaborative, Challenging, Transformative, Diverse
Why choose Olin? Students and alumni choose Olin for a variety of reasons ranging from national reputation, small class size, collaborative environment, quality academics, commitment of faculty, and veteran-friendly.
| Strengths | Challenges |
| Size of School | Job Placement Support |
| Quality of Faculty | Alumni Network |
| Olin Facilities | Midwestern Location |
Trends in Business and Higher Ed
- Data Analytics Curriculum
- Entrepreneurial Curriculum
- Global Perspective
- “Soft Skills” like Communication and Creative Thinking
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration
- Online Learning
Alumni
Alumni Satisfaction of ROI of Their Olin Education
Extremely or Somewhat Satisfied
| BSBA | 85% |
| MBA | 78% |
| PMBA | 90% |
| SMP | 96% |
| EMBA | 88% |
National Council
(30 responses)
Why choose Olin in the future?
- Entrepreneurship
- Digital Skills
- Practical Leadership
- Value/Return on Investment
- Quality of Faculty
- Interdisciplinary Opportunities
- Midwest Values
- Connection to High-Caliber Companies
General Trends and Challenges for B-Schools
- ROI
- Online Options
- Specialized Degrees
Faculty, Staff, and Senior Leaders
Individual Interviews (20): Senior WashU Leadership, Deans from all WashU Schools, Board of Trustee Members, Olin Emeritus Deans (3)
Input from Faculty and Staff Focus Groups (150+)
Findings
- Desire for Olin to develop distinct positioning
- “Midwestern Values” elicits strong but diverse responses
- Focus on Olin/WashU’s unique relationships (School of Medicine, Brookings)
- Entreprenuerial studies
- Concern about the future of full-time MBA programs industrywide
- Global and entrepreneurial studies are table stakes for b-schools today
- Olin may offer too many programs
- Olin is more collaborative than peer institutions
- Olin’s technological infrastructure needs to be improved
- How does online learning fit in to Olin’s future?
- Decentralization vs. centralization at WashU
- Expectations of the faculty: Are they stretched too thin?
- Diversity of Olin’s faculty and staff