BUSINESS MANAGEMENT,
the Hesston Way
For Debbie McAlister, director of Hesston College’s new School of Management, her time on campus has been a journey from building a program like most other institutions had, to creating something no other school offers. McAlister was hired to craft a program that delivered a bachelor’s degree in business management, the third such bachelor’s program at HC. She has done that. But she has also created a program that in its content and outcomes is uniquely Hesston College. “What intrigued me about the position here at Hesston College is the opportunity to build a program, to get it off the ground,” said McAlister. “I was also attracted to the potential of a new program and the open-mindedness of Hesston to try something new, to be creative with it.” But most other colleges and universities offer business degrees of some type. “We realized we needed to do something a little bit more creative, because we have a lot of competition out there,” McAlister said. “Almost every higher ed institution has a business program. So we wanted to make ours a little bit different, and recruit and draw in a specific quality of students.”
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ALMOST EVERY HIGHER ED INSTITUTION HAS A BUSINESS PROGRAM. SO WE WANTED TO MAKE OURS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, AND RECRUIT AND DRAW IN A SPECIFIC QUALITY OF STUDENTS. Debbie McAlister
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So what sets Hesston’s bachelor’s degree program apart from the offerings of other institutions? “We had to be creative in what we offer the students,” McAlister continued. “One of the unique aspects of this BA program is the travel component, which allows students to engage in the people, plan and purpose of organizations and talk to working professionals. They get to see how these decisions play out, or how it doesn't play out, and see the difference between the two. They'll be able to see how you can be profitable and also focus on those values.” Vickie Andres, professor of business at Hesston College since 1989, also identifies an emphasis on values as a differentiator
