Author: jeffrey.masse

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Thesis Defense: Pruthvi Bhat, Master of Science in Finance (MSF)

Pruthvi Bhat, Master of Science in Finance (MSF) student, submitted his thesis on the Effect of Foreign Ownership on Firm Performance and Shareholder Value:  Evidence from India. 

Pruthvi, also known as Pru, took advantage of the Master Thesis Option (MTO) courses to prepare and showcase his analysis of 3,000 Indian companies to investigate the effect of equity ownership by foreign promoters on firm performance and shareholder value in these firms.

Pru is grateful to have had this opportunity to conduct this research and publish his findings.  He expressed his deepest gratitude to Professor Mine Ertugrul for her guidance during his research and professor Atreya Chakraborty for his incredible support and motivation throughout his MSF journey at UMass Boston.  In addition to earning his MSF, Pru completed a Master of Science in Information Technology at UMass Boston.

 

Pru serves as an investment risk manager at APG Asset Management in New York City, a $500 billion asset management firm.  He attributes his professional success to his academic experience as a graduate student at UMass Boston and further differentiating himself by participating in the MTO research project.

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Registration and Advising Notes for Spring 2018

The Graduate Program Office would like to share with you registration notes to get you prepared.

Tara’s Return

Tara has returned to the office after welcoming her second baby girl in April. Please join us in welcoming her back to the office, as she also extends a warm welcome to all of our new Fall incoming students as well.

Advising
Advising appointments are arranged by contacting Steve.Sze@umb.edu.
  • Students with a last name beginning with A-H will be advised by Jeff Masse
  • Tue/Wed/Thu between 2:00pm – 4:00pm
  • Students with a last name beginning with I-Z will be advised by Tara Norton
  • Mon/Wed/Fri between 9am-11am and Thu between 2pm-5pm
Appointments can be scheduled outside of these hours as needed, please send a request to Steve for availability. ” Walk-ins ” will not be seen the same day for advising, so please be sure to make an appointment in advance.
Registration

Registration is accomplished by using the online Registration Request.

Use this for any issue that you may encounter in Wiser. This includes ‘permissions’  or attempting to register for MBAMGT 689 Strategic Management.

Priority is given to requests submitted this way, and are addressed within 24-48 hours (often sooner) during open registration. This is the most effective and efficient way to submit a request for help with registration. Find more details on the Registration and Helpful Links page.

Course Schedule Information
You can view the Course Catalog to see course listings for the upcoming semester.
On the left hand side of the page, look under the heading   Course Wizard,
Select the  Semester  you would like to search,
Then under  Graduate Subjects  look for:
MBAMGT [Management Courses]
MBA AF    [Accounting and Finance Courses]
MBAMKT  [Marketing Courses]
MSIS           [Management Information Science (MSIT & MSBA) Courses]
MBAMS     [Management Science Courses]
MBAACM [Business Communication Courses]
These headings will show all classes in those given areas.
PLEASE NOTE: Changes may occur to posted schedule

Changes to the schedule can occur prior to the start of open registration, so be sure to check back for any updates.

Enrollment Dates:
The registration period for Spring 2018 will begin on November 6th. Each student will be assigned an Enrollment date, based on total number of credits completed. This can be found in Wiser under Enrollment. Those with a higher number of completed credits will have access to register early in the week. Those with fewer completed credits will have access later in the week.
Please keep this in mind when submitting registration requests.

Check for HOLDS in Wiser:

Now is a good time to log into Wiser and check to see if there are any holds on your account. Holds will prevent any registration action, until resolved, and some can take time to be resolved.
Some common holds can be :
Immunization Hold [Contact University Health Services ]
Emergency Contact Hold [Can be updated in Wiser by student]
Past Due Balance Hold [Contact the Bursar’s Office or One Stop]
We hope you find this to be a helpful registration guide!
Sincerely,
Jeff, Tara, Barbara, Steve
The Graduate Program Office Team
College of Management
University of Massachusetts Boston
gradcm@umb.edu
617.287.7720

 

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Stacie Costa MTO Thesis Defense: Wednesday, September 27th at 4:30pm

Stacie Costa
Title: DEVELOPING A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS: CHALLENGES AND REMEDIES
Date/Time: Wednesday, September 27th at 4:30pm
Location: A&F Conference Room (M-5-211)
Degree: MBA with specialization: Finance

Abstract:

The United States health care system has reached a turning point where exorbitant costs and uneven care are no longer acceptable.  Costs are rising, and neither hospitals nor insurance companies have any incentive to reduce them as they just try to push costs onto one another.  Reforming the United States healthcare system will require a fundamentally different approach for all parties involved.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine and discuss the major problems plaguing the healthcare industry, specifically involving hospitals and other health care organizations.  Then, potential and actual solutions will be reviewed.  Four major categories for health care challenges and issues are discussed: Payment, Information Systems, Business Strategy, and Operations Management.

Authors and scholars who write about health care challenges often discuss remedies to them.  These potential solutions from the literature are discussed in order to understand their feasibility.

Ultimately, the best way to find out if these potential solutions are viable is to ask someone who deals with these challenges every day.  Many health care administrators, physicians, nurses, and managers were interviewed to see what they thought about the potential solutions.  While many of them agreed with the literature solutions, they also recommended different solutions and offered new findings and insight.

The interviews with health care professionals led to a new framework for change.  Recommendations are then made based on the feedback from these interviews.  No matter which department they work in, these health care professionals unanimously emphasized the need for positive and productive company culture, standardization in all areas, and further staff education as ways to reduce cost.  The results show that these overarching themes will have a major impact on the industry as a whole, regardless of the challenge it faces.

 

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Finding your class room at the UMass Center – One Beacon Building

If your room is listed in Wiser as UMassCenter, 1 Beacon St Boston, your class will be held off of the main harbor campus. It will instead be held in downtown Boston, at the One Beacon Building, in the lower level.

Example – Room: UMassCenter 1 Beacon St Boston

One Beacon Wiser image

Once you arrive at the One Beacon building, you will find the UMass Center, and the classrooms in the lower level. Look for the hallway in between the Santander Bank, and Rebecca’s Cafe. You will see the sign for the UMass Center.

You can get to the One Beacon building by way of the MBTA, using either the Red line or Green line stops of Park Street or Downtown Crossing. There is also parking available on site.

One Beacon Boston map Highlighted Park St and Downtown MBTA stops

One Beacon Building Highlighted with MBTA stops Park St and Downtown Crossing. 

 

 

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Finding your class location and the CM Grad Programs Office

With the start of the new academic year here, the Graduate Program Office would like to provide a location guide to help you find your way around campus, to your classroom, and to our office location.

CM Grad Program Offices

CM Office Sign in HallwayThe Graduate Program Office is located in the McCormack Building, on the 5th floor. Here you will be able to find the offices for Jeff Masse, Tara Norton, and Steve Sze.

Presently the elevators adjacent to the office are being upgraded, but you can take the elevators down the hall (near the Beacon Fitness Center, from the 1st floor), then take a right once off the elevators on the 5th floor, and head down the hallway to our office suite.

Steve.CM.Office.Welcome

Look for the ceiling sign indicating “Graduate Office”. To make an appointment with an advisor, email Steve.Sze@umb.edu, and he will assist in scheduling an appointment for you.

Classroom Locations: “How do I locate my classroom?
What does W-01-0058 or UMass Center mean?”

  • WISER will list class locations with the following notation; the first letter is for the building, the next number is for the floor, and the final number is the room. Typical building locations are:
    • W- Wheatley
    • M- McCormack
    • Y- University Hall
  • So W-01-0058 would be located in Wheatley Hall, on the 1st floor, in room number 58.
  • NOTE: Some classes are held at our downtown Boston location, at One Beacon Street, at the UMass Center. Classes located there will be noted as:
    • UMass Center– One Beacon Street, Downtown Boston
  • Directions and Maps:
    • For detailed directions to classrooms on the Harbor Campus– 100 Morrissey Blvd
    • For detailed directions to classrooms at the UMass Center– 1 Beacon St, Boston
    • Here you will find the  Campus Map

 

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MS Finance accepted for participation in the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program

Students gathered around a computer University Affiliation Program, CFA Institute

Dear College of Management Community,

The College of Management is pleased to announce that the MS, Finance degree program (MSF) of the Accounting and Finance department has been accepted for participation in the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program. The CFA UAP requires that 70% or more of the designated program curriculum parallels the study materials of the CFA Institute Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK).

A special word of thanks for this affiliation goes to (1) KoEun Park, Assistant Professor of Accounting and Finance, who will serve as the Principal Contact Person with the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program, (2) Lucia-Silva Gao, Associate Professor of Accounting and Finance, for shepherding the College’s application through its various stages of development with the CFA UAP, and (3) members of the Accounting and Finance department curriculum committee for their detailed mapping of the MS, Finance curriculum with that of the CFA CBOK.

Thanks again, and congratulations!

Jim

James L. Grant, PhD
Associate Dean of Graduate Programs
College of Management

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Degree Diplomas Mailed Late Summer/Fall

The College of Management Graduate Programs Office would like to once again congratulate all of our recent Spring and August graduates upon having completed (or wrapping up!) their degrees.


Receiving Your Diploma in the Mail

Once final degree requirements have been verified by the Registrar’s office, degree diplomas will be sent out to print, and then mailed to the address that is on file in Wiser for each graduate.

This can actually be a lengthy process, and so you can expect to receive your diploma in the mail in either late summer (August) or early Fall (September/October) depending on your exact graduation date (May or August).

This is also a good time to log into Wiser to verify the address on file is the one you would like to have your diploma mailed to.

If you have any questions you can contact the Registrar’s Office for details.

Congrats again, and have a great summer!

 

–

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Salary Negotiation Workshop: June 13

Title Advance Your Career
TUES
June
13

6 p.m.
Salary Negotiation Workshop:
AAUW Work Smart
complimentary workshop

Integrated Sciences Complex
1st Floor, Suite 1400
UMass Boston
Certified American Association of University  Women (AAUW) salary negotiation facilitators will conduct a workshop designed to help you negotiate for a new job, as well as for earned raises or promotions. In the two-hour workshop you’ll gain confidence in your negotiation style through facilitated discussion and role-play. You’ll learn:
About the gender pay gap, including its long term consequences

How to identify and articulate your personal value

How to develop an arsenal of persuasive responses and other negotiation strategies, including how to get a raise or promotion

How to conduct objective market research to benchmark a target salary and benefits 

Why is negotiation so important?

AAUW’s research on the gender pay gap shows that, one year out of college, women are already paid significantly less than their male counterparts. Women who work full time take home 80 cents for every dollar a full-time male worker is paid.  

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International Student & Scholar Office launches new FB page

The International Student & Scholar Office (ISSO) of UMass Boston has launched a new Facebook page, titled “F-1 Status at UMB“.

The page is geared toward providing information and updates to students on F-1 visa status about immigration and employment opportunities.

ISSO is also working across the campus to share information and gather important news for F-1 students about employment opportunities through this page, such as working with the Office of Career Services.

Visit the new ISSO Facebook page through the link above or here:
https://www.facebook.com/umb.isso/

or Visit the ISSO home page here: https://www.umb.edu/academics/global/isss

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Applying for Graduation: May and August 2017

To graduate on May 31, 2017 – You must apply for graduation by March 10th 2017

To graduate on August 31, 2017 – You must apply for graduation by March 10th 2017

All graduate students must apply to graduate. Applying for graduation assumes that you intend to finish all of the university and major requirements as outlined by your degree program, by the term you selected. You must apply for graduation through WISER and additionally complete and submit the paper Degree Application for your program with unofficial transcript to the Registrar’s Office by the dates listed above.

Directions are below. You can find Frequently Asked Questions here

Graduate Students

All graduating students must declare their intent to graduate by:
Applying for graduation online through WISER,
AND by Completing the degree application form found at the bottom of the page HERE.

Once you have applied for a graduation date, the Bursar’s Office will bill you for the $200 commencement fee. This is mandatory fee.

To Apply for Graduation:

  1. You must apply through WISER. Once logged in, select | Academic Planning > Planner > Academics > Apply for Graduation |
    1. Click on the program you plan to graduate in and it will bring you to another screen.
    2. From the drop down menu select the term of your graduation. PLEASE NOTE: FALL=DECEMBER; SPRING=MAY and SUMMER=AUGUST. Click continue.
    3. On the next screen, select submit and, if you are eligible, to apply you will receive a message that you have successfully applied for graduation. If you are not eligible to apply, it will let you know and you will have to rectify the problem.
    4. Please print a copy of the confirmation for your records. (Print from a computer that will print the date on form).
  2. THEN complete the appropriate degree application form at the bottom of the page HERE.

Please submit the completed Degree Application with a copy of your unofficial transcript to the Registrar’s Office by the application deadline.
Applications can be faxed to 617.287.6242, emailed to graduate.records@umb.edu or brought directly to the Registrar’s Office on the 4th floor of the Campus Center.

  • You can drop off, email, or fax your completed degree application with an unofficial transcript to the Graduation Team in the Registrar’s Office.
    Email:records@umb.edu | Fax: 617.287.6242. | Registrar’s Office, 4th Floor,  Campus Center

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

  • Review a current degree audit or transcript to ensure that you have met all university, degree, major, and minor requirements.
  • All incomplete “INC” and blank grades on your record must a grade by the end of the term you plan to graduate.
  • Clear all financial obligations to the university. Please check with the Office of Financial Aid to meet any requirements relating to your aid or loans.
  • Confirm that your mailing address and phone number are current in the WISER 

View more FAQs here