MBA Director McMurtrey Earns 2023 SWDSI Distinguished Service Award

The Southwest Decision Sciences Institute (SWDSI) has named Dr. Mark E. McMurtrey as its 2023 Distinguished Service Award recipient in recognition of his achievements in research, teaching, and service. He was presented the award on March 9, 2023, in Houston, Texas at the SWSDI 52nd Annual Meeting. McMurtrey holds the appointment of Professor of Computer Information Systems and Analytics and MBA Program Director for the UCA College of Business.

The SWDSI is a division of the Decision Sciences Institute, a professional organization made up of those interested in sharing research on the study of decision processes and the application of quantitative and behavioral methods to the problems of society.

Dr. McMurtrey has also been recognized as the SWDSI 2020 Outstanding Educator; he also has been awarded the UCA College of Business “Excellence in Service” Award (2014) and the “Excellence in Teaching” Award (2017).

Dr. McMurtrey has been very active in service with DSI and SWDSI in conferences for over 30 years. Between the two he has well over 100 activities, ranging from author, discussant, reviewer, session chair, track chair, presenter, VP-Finance, Program Chair, President, and Past President. McMurtrey had a research study win the Distinguished Paper Award at the 2022 SWDSI Conference in March and competed with the winners from the other regions at the National DSI meeting in November, finishing as a runner-up. McMurtrey has also been a Council Member for SWDSI and serves on both the Strategic Planning Committee and Outstanding Educator Award Committee.

UCA College of Business Ranked Among Top 50 Most Affordable Master’s Programs in the Nation for 2023

UCA has been ranked as one of the nation’s top 50 most affordable colleges for online master’s programs in business. Just six percent of regionally accredited postsecondary institutions earned a ranking position from OnlineMastersDegrees.org (OMD). UCA’s business programs earned top honors for overall quality, affordability and commitment to student success.

“This year, we focused on the schools making it easier for students to compete in today’s increasingly difficult job market,” said Kyle Darland, co-founder of OMD. “Each ranked school offers a fully or partially online master’s program in business at a time when earning a master’s has become a minimum barrier to entry for many.”

Darland is referencing a recent survey from CareerBuilder, which found that “thirty-three percent of employers are hiring workers with master’s degrees for positions that had been primarily held by those with four-year degrees.” These employers cited an evolution of the skills needed to perform the jobs as the cause of the shift, and an increase in work quality, productivity and employee retention as the result.

“Providing students with opportunities to get a master’s online is only part of our rankings,” said Darland. “Top-ranked schools also had competitive tuition rates and/or scholarships to help drive costs down. And with grocery, gas and other expenses on everyone’s mind right now, an affordable master’s is key.”

OnlineMastersDegrees.org analyzed more than 7,700 accredited universities by using data pulled from the schools themselves and from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). After the data was compiled, OMD’s data science team then applied a proprietary algorithm to rank all qualifying schools for each of the different master’s degrees specialties. Primary data points include:

  • Academic counseling services
  • Career placement services
  • Student/faculty ratio
  • Tuition
  • Percent of students receiving school-based aid
  • Amount of school-based aid per student

To be eligible for ranking, a university must hold active regional accreditation and have at least one partially online master’s program in the ranking subject.

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COB Beta Alpha Psi Chapter Places First and Second at Regional Conference Competitions

UCA’s Theta Lambda Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi earned a first place win at the 2022 regional conference in the category of Best Practices in the Art of Engagement. Several members worked to create an escape room with a resume theme and offered the escape to teams of students. Harris Felton and Tristen Porter presented the project for the virtual competition. Because of the first place regional win, the Theta Lambda Chapter will compete against the other regional winners in Orlando this summer.

UCA students also earned a 2nd Place regional win for Best Practices in the Art of Change. Chapter members Claire DeBusk, Yulia Lyubchenko, and Kaidan Zheng shared how the Theta Lambda Chapter changed in the face of covid and the increased demands of members.  [Read more…]