STEM Means Business: Clarkson University’s David D. Reh School of Business Prepares Students for Industry Success with STEM-Designated Programs

POTSDAM, NY, Jan. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — At Clarkson University, STEM is the path forward. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are the backbone of a Clarkson education and across its academic spectrum, STEM is the catalyst for innovation and learning. 

At Clarkson, STEM means business. 

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The David D. Reh School of Business is integral to Clarkson’s proven STEM-focused education, research and innovation ecosystem. Recently, the School’s Bachelor of Science in Business Analytics degree became the newest of several business programs at Clarkson to be STEM-designated. 

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Clarkson’s Reh School of Business is among an elite cadre of higher education institutions that offer degrees recognized by the U.S. government as STEM-designated programs. This designation indicates an advantageous impact on both students and U.S. industry and an increased level of rigor and quantitative skill development in the curriculum.    

Other STEM-designated programs within the Reh School of Business include the Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Management, Master of Science in Healthcare Data Analytics, and MBA in Business Analytics.

“The future of Clarkson is STEM. I think it’s important that we recognize the “B” in “STEM” is silent. Our business programs are STEM. They are highly analytical, highly technical and a core piece of Clarkson,” said Clarkson University President Marc P. Christensen, Ph.D., P.E. “The recognition of this STEM designation is an affirmation of what we knew to be true all along. We are ensuring that we set our students on a path to success working in business with companies that will advance technology that serves humanity.”

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“I am thrilled to announce the STEM designation for our Business Analytics program, joining a prestigious lineup that includes the BS in Engineering and Management, MBA in Business Analytics, and MS in Healthcare Data Analytics,” said Bebonchu Atems, Interim Dean of the Reh School of Business. “The expansion of STEM designation across multiple programs underscores our dedication to excellence in education, ensuring our students are equipped with the essential skills for success in a technology-driven world.”

The STEM designation provides international students with the opportunity to gain additional real-world experience in the U.S. as well. Those with a student visa can apply to extend their 12 months of optional practical training for an additional 24 months post-graduation.

Clarkson’s business programs are designed with the same STEM mindset as the corporate partners who recruit Clarkson students for industry-relevant careers.

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In This Business-Friendly State, Why Is It So Hard To Start A Private School?

Entrepreneurship is challenging in any sector, but education entrepreneurs often confront regulatory roadblocks and bureaucratic barriers that make launching a new school or innovative learning model particularly difficult.

Some of these roadblocks and barriers include occupational licensing requirements for new school founders, such as those in Nevada that prevent any non-state-licensed teacher or administrator from opening a secular private school. They can also include state accreditation requirements, like those in Iowa, that can prevent some schools, especially learner-centered ones, from operating.

These regulations can constrain the supply of new and creative schools, artificially limiting the education options available to families. This is particularly problematic now, as more states introduce or expand school choice programs that enable families dissatisfied with their assigned district school to exit and find an alternative. If existing or new regulations prevent those alternatives from sprouting, then the sustained success of school choice could be stymied.

Along with Nevada and Iowa, Tennessee is another state where it can be difficult to start a private school due to various accreditation and approval requirements. These regulations recently got even tighter.

Last year, the Tennessee Department of Education revised its rules for non-public school approval. Among the revisions were delineated seat time requirements of 6.5 hours a day, 180 days a year that can prevent flexible and creative scheduling. Additional annual assessment and state reporting protocols were added, and schools with fewer than 10 students were prohibited from getting started. These rules go into effect this academic year and can impact emerging schools like The Lab School of Memphis.

Launched in August 2021 by former public school teacher, Coi Morrison, The Lab School of Memphis is a small, regionally-accredited, secular K-6 private school that emphasizes project-based, learner-driven education in a nurturing environment with no grades or state testing. It was honored as a 2022 national semi-finalist for the prestigious Yass Prize for education innovation, as well as a VELA Education Fund “Next Step” grant recipient.

“I see these regulations as particularly threatening to new and would-be education entrepreneurs,” said Morrison, who also has an MBA. “Increased regulations for nonpublic schools threaten models like ours as they shift the focus to compliance for the sake of checking boxes, versus focusing on encouraging, embracing, and learning from new models

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