Beer Is Big Business: CSU Launching Online MBA in Beverage Management
January 26, 2012
Colorado State University’s new online MBA degree program with a specialization in beverage business management focuses on educating students who are ready to “tap” into the industry.
The concentration sprang from a current certification course that the school offers through the Beverage Business Institute (BBI). Coca-Cola was one of the founding donors of the BBI, and has contributed not only money but opportunities for CSU students to see the inner workings of the beverage giant.
After a test run of the specialization idea, Jim Francis, director of the Center for Professional Development and Business Research in CSU’s College of Business, and John Hoxmeier, associate professor and director of the Center for Education and Research in E-Business, found the idea was hugely popular. The school will begin offering it as an MBA specialization in Fall 2012.
School Report: Colorado State University Online MBA | All School Reports
Perfectly situated
Colorado State University’s location in Fort Collins, Colo., is sometimes referred to as the “Napa Valley of Beer” – there are 10 craft breweries located in the city, an Anheuser-Busch brewing facility and the school’s campus is located near Golden, Colo., home to Coors.
“It has been the fastest growing part of our economy in northern Colorado the past two years,” said Francis of the craft-brewing and beer industry. “It’s very viable.”
According to the Brewers Association, the number of craft breweries in America is at an all-time high. In 2010, there were 1,759 craft breweries, surpassing the previous high-water mark of 1,751 set 110 years ago. Between 2009 to 2010, the number microbreweries in the U.S. grew from 502 to 603.
“There are people from both sides of the industry that are interested in this program,” said Francis. “People who want to get into the business, people who are industry who have come up through the technical side of brewery, but not really gotten the business side and the distributors.
Francis has done consulting for the Colorado Wine Board and Coors, along with his academic work at CSU. He hopes to further develop the distribution aspect of the specialization after getting a lot of local support from distributors in the community, who saw a need for more formal education in that area.
“I think specializations in MBA degree are a major positive,” said Francis. “There seems to be cycles in MBA trends, and now, the MBA seems to be the graduate degree of choice. At CSU, we’ve even gone beyond specializations within the functional areas, so we can help people outside the normal areas of business. I think it’s a trend that’s going to continue.”
Distance education at Colorado State University
CSU has been delivering distance MBA education for 40 years. Today, students can download taped lectures onto their HP notebooks, which are included upon enrollment. There are no on-campus requirements.
Colorado State’s business school is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), an accreditation given to only approximately five percent of the world’s business schools, since 1970.
Francis foresees, depending on the size of the program, a global component where students can visit plants, breweries, distilleries or distribution centers in other parts of the world in the program’s future.
– Alanna Stage, @alannatweets
