A Typical Residency

The Friday through Sunday residencies following the Orientation Residency follow a consistent pattern.

Friday—
  • Final integration and rehearsal of the teams' Project presentations
  • Lunch
  • Team presentations to the faculty and a panel of industry experts
  • Feedback from the experts and faculty
  • Hotel check-in
  • A free evening to allow final preparation for the Module examination the following morning
Saturday—
  • The module examination
  • Lunch
  • Student rating of the Module Director and Team Facilitator and an evaluative debriefing on how the Module went
  • Announcement of teams for the next Module
  • Introduction of the next Module
  • Breakout sessions for teams to organize for the upcoming Module and plenary presentations that provide a foundation of data and methodologies for solving the Module's complex business problem
  • Celebratory dinner, usually off-site
Sunday—
  • Hotel check-out
  • Continued faculty presentations and team breakout sessions related to the Project
  • Final session and adjournment
In more detail—

On Friday morning of a 3-day residency, EMBA students come to the Downtown Conference Center, 157 William Street, in lower Manhattan between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m., where they join their Project teams for a final rehearsal before their afternoon presentation. Each team uses a breakout room outfitted with an LCD projector to rehearse the flow and timing of their presentation and conduct a final check of their PowerPoint slides and Project briefing book in which they provide supporting documentation for their conclusions and recommendations.

Presentations begin after lunch and continue until all teams have presented and received immediate feedback. Presentations are limited to 30 minutes, followed by 15-20 minutes of feedback from a panel of industry experts who are selected for their knowledge of the problem or issue that was the Project's focus. The experts lead the give-and-take after the presentations. Faculty may join in the immediate feedback, but their primary feedback is contained in their evaluation of the quality of each team's solution of the Project's problem, which is provided within a few days of the conclusion of the residency. After the presentations are concluded, students check into their hotel and spend the evening interacting with each other and preparing for the Module examination.

The Saturday morning examination, scheduled from 9:00-12:00, is completed individually in the main meeting room. The exam samples subject matter from the entire Module, not just the Project, and is a quality check to make sure individual students are grasping the principles and methodologies related to each Module. Students are encouraged to use information from the Internet and their own work during the Module in their answers. They are expected to work individually and are not allowed to collaborate with each other or with others in constructing their responses.

After lunch, students complete electronic surveys rating the Module Director and Team Facilitators and reporting their perception of their mastery of the learning objectives stated for the Module. The session concludes with a group debriefing on the Module in which students are encouraged to describe what worked, what didn't, and how the Module could be improved.

Following the debriefing, teams for the upcoming Module are announced. Team membership changes with each Module. The faculty takes into consideration individual student's strengths in creating each Module team, striving to create teams that have comparable skills sets and that provide the opportunity to work with as many classmates as possible over the course of the program.

Individuals (on occasion pairs) from the six-member faculty team take the lead as Module Directors based on their academic specialty. For example, the accounting faculty member leads the Module that focuses primarily on accounting issues and the finance faculty member leads the finance Module. The other faculty members act as Team Facilitators when they are not directing a Module, providing general support for their teams during the Module and arranging for input from specialists as needed.

The Module Director is responsible for "setting up" the problem student teams will attempt to solve during the Module and to present methodologies and data sources related to the Module's underlying academic subject matter. Since all Modules in the EMBA program are interdisciplinary, it is not unusual for the Director to enlist help from his or her colleagues on the faculty team during the Module set up on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. In addition to presenting the Module's Project, the Director also briefs the students on the Learning Exercises (usually three) that they will complete individually during the Module and on other requirements, such as Blackboard-based discussion boards.

 

Cycle 7 during Orientation Week, August 2006

Lunch at the Pace Downtown Conference Center Executive Dining Room

With three day residencies and intense group projects, your colleagues in the Pace EMBA become like an extended family, providing a strong personal and professional support network.

"This program fit into my work/life priorities extremely well. The on-site and remote components of the EMBA program were the selling points for me. I was able to manage working full-time and going through the program pregnant with my third child. The small class size added to the personal attention that you received to ensure you performed well with the program. The key takeaways for me since leaving the program is managing team projects, especially with individuals who work remotely. My confidence in public speaking has also increased tremendously. Thanks for providing a quality program that allowed me to continue to work and spend time with my family."

 Kathy Fitzpatrick, Cycle 2
Finance Director, Americas
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.



Cycle 7 Orientation Week BBQ with faculty chefs: Prof. Andrew Varanelli, Management & Management Science, and Prof. James Gould, (back to camera), Marketing, August 2006


"I joined the EMBA at Pace University because of the "real life" aspect of the program. Interestingly, whenever I explain to individuals how the program works, I always get the same response, "This sounds like The Apprentice." The only difference is we do not get fired!"

 Andrew A. Ewen, AVP, Cycle 6
Export Product Manager
The Bank of New York
Breakout sessions are scheduled both on Saturday afternoon and Sunday to allow teams to meet alone and with their Team Facilitators to clarify the requirements of the Module and set a plan for their work during the 11 weeks before they return to present their conclusions and recommendations at the next residency.

On Saturday evening, students, faculty, and staff enjoy dinner together at a lower Manhattan restaurant to celebrate finishing a Module and to generate energy for the next challenge.

The Module Director and other faculty complete their presentations related to the new Module (Project and Learning Exercises) on Sunday. The residency closes in mid-afternoon.