Peterson Sarah The Planning Proposal

Deciding what to do After Graduating College

Sarah Peterson WRIT 3562W March 13, 2009

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Table of Contents Introduction............................................................................................. ...................3 The Problem.................................................................................... .....................3 Information Included in the Study........................................................................3 Course of Action.................................................................................... ...............3 Detailed Plan..................................................................................... .........................4 Main Goals of the Feasibility Study.......................................................................4 Research Plans.................................................................................. ...................4 Timeline............................................................................... ................................6 Conclusion................................................................................................... ...............6

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Introduction I will be conducting extensive research into the different opportunities for students graduating with business degrees. I will be looking into different Masters of Business Administration (MBA) programs and looking into the two common entry level positions for undergraduate students; loan officer and financial representative. The Problem Ashley Norcutt is in her final semester at Saint Thomas University and Amy Rzeszutek is in her final semester at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Ashley and Amy are in the process of deciding whether it is in their best interest to go to graduate school and get a MBA or start their careers. They are both looking into the same career path as either a financial representative or a loan officer, since those seem to be the areas that are currently hiring. Unfortunately, the economy is in a recession and finding a full time job and even keeping a job is very difficult. Ashley and Amy need to decide whether finding a full time job or going to graduate school is the best for them. Information Included in the Study This study will include all my findings on different universities that offer a MBA program, such as tuition costs, books, opportunity costs, living expenses, etc. It will also include research and analysis on the different types of careers such as salary, types of employers and whether companies will pay for graduate school, etc. This study in no way will be swayed to one alternative or the other. It is strictly inform students whether graduate school or having a full time position is better in the current economic state. Course of Action The first steps that I am going to complete is picking out two schools that have MBA programs and comparing and contrasting the information. Then I am going to research different companies 3

that offer the two different positions. Then I will research the two different career areas. Once I have gathered those facts I am going to do an analysis with the different information and present it to both Ashley and Amy so that they are able to make an informed decision.

Detailed Plan Main Goals of the Feasibility Study The overall goal of this study is to gather enough information so that graduating business undergraduates are able to make an informed decision about their future. Many graduating students have no idea where/what they are going to do when they graduate and by compiling all of this information into an easy to read feasibility study will greatly help students, especially Ashley and Amy, the decision makers. After I conduct all the necessary information and present it in a easy understanding way, I hope that I have gathered all the information that Ashley and Amy need to make an informed decision. Research Plans The different types of research strategies that I will be using are interviewing and web research. I will interview two different colleges Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU) and Saint Cloud State University (SCSU). Once I have gathered information from different representatives at the school I will compare it to the information I found on the website. I will gather the information into a table. The table will look like this: University

Location

In State Tuition Costs (per credit)

Graduate Job Assistantships Placement

How long it takes to complete program

Average salary for MBA graduates

MSU

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SCSU

After I have found all the information I need about the different Universities, I will move on to the economic state. The information I will need to know about this area is what is the current unemployment rate and what it is projected to be within the next couple years. After analyzing my findings on that I will move to the career area. I am going to looking into financial representatives and loan officers at U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo. I am going to speak with a Wells Fargo employee, Lisa Lenton (Senior Vice President), and ask her about the tuition reimbursement program there and I am also going to speak with an employee at U.S. Bank, Tammy Lawler (Customer Service Manager), about their tuition reimbursement program. The information I receive from these interviews will be put into the following table: Employer

How many hours do you have to work to qualify for tuition reimbursement

How long do you have to be with the company to qualify tuition reimbursement

How does the tuition reimbursement work

How long do you have to stay with the company after the program is complete

Wells Fargo U.S. Bank My next area of focus is going to be the actual career. After I do extensive research online I will compare many different areas. The following table will illustrate my findings: Career

Employment Information

Job Outlook

Projections Data

Earnings

Loan Officer Financial Representative After looking into all these different areas I think that the decision makers, Ashley and Amy, will be able to make a decision that is in their best interest. 5

Timeline I should be able to complete all my research and interviews within the next three weeks. After that it should take me about a week to finish putting everything together to create my study. I will submit my first draft online have my peers review it and make helpful comments. Then I will go back and take all those comments into consideration and complete my final draft of my study which will be submitted online by April 21, 2009.

Conclusion The reason that I believe that I am a qualified to conducted this study is that I am currently in the same situation as Ashley and Amy. I am going to be graduating and with the economy in its current status I to and wondering what the best option is for graduating students. I personally care about this issue so I am going to give it my all. This study is very important for the decision makes, Ashley and Amy, and I want to do my best to give them all the information they need. I hope that by giving them the study On April 21, 2009 that they are able to ready the study and make their decision on after graduation plans before the end of the semester.

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