Undergraduate Management Students MAP Their Future

In the fall of 2006, the College of Management introduced a co-curricular required program, known as the Management Achievement Program (MAP). 

MAP is designed to develop and enhance each student’s professional demeanor and to increase their market place competitiveness.  While UMass Boston students unquestionably have the knowledge, skills, and strong work ethic to succeed, MAP has provided a way to pull it all together and give students the extra polish that employers seek.

“MAP consists of unique opportunities such as career development workshops, Master Classes, on-site visits to companies, and networking events,” says Dean Philip Quaglieri. “In addition to cultivating their professional demeanor, our students have the opportunity to synthesize their academic and professional goals and experiences thanks to their increased involvement in the college and local business communities.”

When students enter the College of Management, the number of MAP points, or "MAP Miles," they must complete is based upon their earned credits at the point of admission. Students earn miles by attending MAP-designated events, which are typically worth 50, 75, or 100 MAP Miles.

Students must complete 75 percent of their required miles before registering for the capstone course Strategic Management, which is required to graduate. Students who complete 100 percent of their miles requirement by the time of graduation receive a notation on their transcript stating so.

Andrea Goggin, the college’s outreach and communications director, works closely with faculty and staff to develop and implement the college’s marketing and outreach strategies.

“Our faculty believed students would benefit from a program where they had the opportunity to enhance their professional skills, and one that provided them a competitive advantage during the job search process,” says Goggin.

In response, the college’s senior-administrative team began by pooling and connecting existing activities:  speaker forums, campus visits by employers, campus career fairs, career services workshops, student organization events, and academic success workshops. Goggin then branded and implemented MAP by creating promotional materials and, with the help of MSIS faculty, developed logistical procedures for tracking student progress in real time.

During the 2010-2011 academic year, students met, listened to, and spoke with experts both on and off campus:  Michael S. Noetzel Managing Director of Institutional Relationships for TIAA-CREF, Jules Pieri, founder and chief executive officer, The Daily Grommet; Floriane Dehne, director, alliances and business development, The Americas, Lufthansa Star Alliance; Christopher Probyn, chief economist and managing director, State Street Global Advisers; Dan Phillips, founder and director, UMass Boston Entrepreneurship Center; Dan Reicher, former director of climate and energy initiatives, Google; and Michael Doto, senior vice president, ING Investment Advisors, to name just a few.

“You can also think of MAP as a professional orientation program. Most MAP activities require minimum professional etiquette and some of them, such as interview seminars and networking events, are specifically designed to address this important issue,” observes Goggin.

Their well-coordinated efforts are part of our learning objectives which are included in our Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation review.  After a rigorous evaluation process, the AACSB informed Quaglieri in January 2011 that the college had maintained its accreditation status, a standard of excellence earned by less than 5 percent of the world’s business schools.

Moreover, the College of Management was recently named an outstanding business school by The Princeton Review, and will be featured in its 2012 edition of The Best 294 Business Schools.