Ryerson’s MBA program was created in 2006 and is growing quickly.

Melissa Murray

York, U of T and Ryerson share a few common traits: location, competitive MBA programs and a commitment to producing future leaders.

But Ryerson’s MBA students say that’s about as far as the similarities go. Even those accepted into other MBA programs say Ryerson’s affordable tuition, program flexibility and friendly atmosphere play a more important role in advancing their careers than an elite reputation.

Wendy Cukier, associate dean of Ryerson’s MBA program, said students receive the same quality of education as top-ranked schools, plus a higher return on their investment.  

“Our graduates earn close to what other graduates earn, but our program costs a fraction,” she said. “Some students make the assumption that higher tuition equals better quality, but the reputation of other schools is much higher than quality warrants.”
Ryerson’s 2009 graduate salary survey revealed that students found employment within six months of graduating and earned an average salary of $85,327.

And according to the Financial Post, that figure ranks seventh out of 40 other universities in Canada that offer an MBA. Graduates from York’s Schulich and Western’s Richard Ivey School of Business, for instance, make between $90,000 and $93,000.

But while these universities — which the Financial Times and BusinessWeek ranked among the best MBA schools in the world — cost more than $40,000 in tuition a year. Ryerson students pay $15,000. The cheaper tuition resulted from Ryerson’s decision to continue receiving government funding, which allowed the university to cap tuition increases.

Schools that deregulate, however, can charge higher tuition fees. Students at U of T’s Rotman School of Management pay $65,810 — one of the highest for a Canadian MBA program. And this price difference —plus the return — convinced Nicole Ducommun to choose Ryerson over Rotman and Schulich. 

“The program is only one year long, compared to two years at Rotman and Schulich,” she said. “I wasn’t willing to commit two years without pay for going back to school, especially if it was going to cost me a fortune.”

Ducommun initially placed a higher emphasis on MBA rankings, but changed her mind after doing a bit of homework. She said she learned that Ryerson placed all of its students in internships and almost all of them received full-time jobs, compared to only 85 per cent of Rotman’s graduates.   

Susan Zabolotniuk, a 45-year-old MBA student who attended four universities, said she will spend four months in an internship while writing her major research paper.

“The school works very diligently to help students find a career that is well-suited to them,” she said. “Having had exposure to many other schools . . .    other programs lack the sense of support and friendship that is apparent in our program.”

These benefits caught the attention of Kamaljeet Singh, a manager at Ontario Education Tourism Training. He said many of his co-workers graduated from Ryerson and  now sit in managerial positions. Singh plans to do his MBA at Ryerson, citing its international atmosphere and reputation in the tourism industry. 

“The value lies in where the industry sees value. There’s no point going to London Business School if the organization I want to work for doesn’t recognize that field,” he said.

Ryerson still faces a few challenges.

Cukier says that while other schools spend millions of dollars in advertising, Ryerson’s budget limits it to $200,000. Employers also tend to show preference to graduates from their own school, she said.

“The students who graduated in 2006 are now proving that they have the same skills needed in the workforce,” she said. “When you pay $60,000 for an education, you have high expectations . . . Our graduates don’t have that same attitude.”

Mathew Deslippe, a Ryerson MBA student, said this attitude of teamwork and co-operation gives Ryerson its edge. He said his friends who went to elite schools have seen students sabotage others by ripping pages out of textbooks.

“If you are getting marks by sabotaging fellow students, then that doesn’t really reflect your skills — it reflects your skills based on how you stopped other people from achieving success.”

Last year, more than 500 students applied for full-time and  part-time spots the program.