Thunderbird on Lookout for Laureate Education Replacement: MBA News

Following the rejection of the Thunderbird School of Global Management's plans to form an international partnership with Laureate Education late last week, the business school’s spokespeople have announced that the school is now looking for alternative offers to help bolster its international recognition.

The alliance with Laureate Education, a for-profit education company, had been first announced last year. The plan was part of an effort to help maintain the Thunderbird School of Global Business’ reputation as a leading global business school by helping to launch its programs internationally with modern technology, according to Larry Penley, the school’s president, in an interview with the Financial Times in 2013. Part of this plan included the launch of an undergraduate business degree.

The planned team up with Laureate Education however had caused controversy among the Thunderbird School of Global Management’s community, spurring fears that the school was dumbing down its programs, particularly the Thunderbird MBA. The Thunderbird Independent Alumni Association has since reported a committed fund of US$17 million to go towards supporting the future of the school, making clear that it would be prepared to stump up the funds that the partnership with Laureate Education would have generated.

“There are funds available from hundreds of alumni,” the executive director of the TIAA, Will Counts, tells the Financial Times. “To be honest, I think [we] could raise whatever it needed.” The association has a list of developments this money must be used for however, including a restructuring of the Board of Trustees and the hiring of new teaching professionals.

President Penley “startled” by rejection of Laureate Education partnership

The Laureate Education partnership plan was rejected by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), the accreditation body of US universities, which Thunderbird School of Global Management remains accredited by. Despite the controversy around the plans, this rejection came as a shock to President Penley. “To me higher education at this point needs innovation. To me [the decision] is inconsistent given the way education is going,” he explains to the Financial Times. “The divide between a for-profit and a not-for-profit is eroding. In my mind we have to look at the outcomes, not whether the organization is a for-profit or a not-for-profit company.”

Thunderbird School of Global Management needs US$24 million to clear its debts and has a limited timescale to regain partnership in the aim of international development.  “We must move quickly to remove ambiguity for prospective students and to retain high-quality faculty and staff,” says Professor Penley.