Sacramento State suspends a graduate program for business executives, citing low enrollment

Sacramento State placed a master’s degree program on hiatus, attributing low enrollment numbers in recent years as why.

The College of Business has suspended its Master of Business Administration for Executive program starting this fall, according to a note on the school’s website. The program reportedly failed to enroll a sufficient number of students to break even for multiple years.

In an emailed statement, the business school dean, Jean-Francois Coget, said the program is a “self-support program,” meaning California State University, Sacramento requires the program to generate enough revenue to at least break even on the program costs.

Coget said in his email that breaking even would require roughly 30 students per cohort. A photo on the College of Business’s website showed the most recent graduated EMBA cohort, with 13 students receiving the degree.

Students who were accepted into the EMBA program for this fall were offered admission into CSUS’s traditional MBA or online iMBA programs. If they prefer to not attend the school, the university is offering a refund on their application fees, Coget said.

Though the EMBA program has struggled for multiple years, Coget said the MBA and iMBA programs have “shown growing demand,” as well as the Master of Science programs in Business Analytics, Finance and Accountancy.

What is the EMBA program?

The EMBA program was designed for “highly engaged working executives and managers” who are seeking leadership or C-suite roles in a company, the business school’s website says.

The program is more rigorous than a general MBA through CSUS, with 41 required credits over 15 months, whereas the general program requires 33 credits in an average of 30 months, according to the program’s webpage.

Eight classes made up the core component of the program, covering topics like finance, marketing and accounting. The program required students pick four other electives from a broader list of managerial topics. The program culminated with a three-month individual project.

Coget said in his statement that in the fall, the business school’s administration and faculty will be reviewing how to maximize enrollment and prioritize “innovation and service to the community” across the school’s five other graduate programs and 10 undergraduate programs.

“This is when we will decide about the future of the EMBA program,” he said.