April 20, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by Augustana University.

“I don’t know if there’s ever a right time to go back to school,” said Tiffany Facile of Sioux Falls. “However, I want anyone who is thinking about going back to school to make that decision and realize it’s a step in taking charge of your life and say: ‘I can do this. She did it.’ ”

Like many others, Facile is juggling life as a wife and mother with a demanding career. The clinical director of regenerative medicine at Sanford Health is a registered nurse and adjunct instructor, who has a master’s degree in health care administration.

Alongside helping launch an orthobiologics program and writing a research study for Sanford Health, she soon will begin the Master of Business Administration degree program at Augustana University.

“I’ve been given opportunities to join MBA programs at other schools, but something never felt right. I’ve always wanted to go to Augustana, and what drew me to this one is the legacy of Augustana,” Facile said.

Announced in November 2019 as part of Augustana’s strategic plan, Viking Bold: The Journey to 2030, to establish new academic programs, the MBA degree program is off to a great start. The 4+1 program, which provides undergraduates the ability to earn both their bachelor’s degree and MBA in five years, began at Augustana in the summer of 2020 with a cohort of 21 students. Another cohort of at least 18 students will start classes in the fall.

The university’s inaugural two-year program for working professionals, like Facile, will begin this summer. It will be offered as a hybrid program – delivered both online and in the classroom. It will provide added convenience to working adults who want the flexibility of online courses while having a classroom experience with peers and faculty.

“People are working, have children and their own types of community involvement. With the MBA, we’ve tried to consciously think about that. They’re only taking one class at a time, and they can come in once a week, be in person and network that way, but they could also take the classes fully online,” said Dr. Anissa Goehring, director of the MBA degree program. “We’ll have a mixture of offerings.” 

And, there is already a diverse group of students who have been accepted to the two-year program for working professionals, including at least two international students. The inaugural cohort generally will consist of students with approximately 10 or more years of professional experience, with backgrounds ranging from the fields of finance to health care and biotechnology. 

“I think our student diversity will be a great thing, leading to thought-provoking discussions. Let’s say we are working on a case study on ethics. To be able to hear from someone in biotech talking about the ethics of research and the manufacturing of medical drugs versus somebody in health care and the ethical considerations of patient care, you’re hearing entirely different perspectives. We’re not going to just be looking at one spoke of a wheel; we’re going to see the whole wheel, and we’re going to see all these different spokes of experiences coming together. I think that just enriches everybody,” Goehring said.

“If you aren’t listening to everybody and you’re not taking in all these different perspectives, how can you be an effective collaborator and problem-solver?”

Unique to both of Augustana’s MBA programs is its leadership academy, where students will be aligned with mentors — some of whom are Augustana alumni, but all are leaders in their respective fields. 

“We are looking for those types of leaders who want to share their experiences, who want to give back to others and the newest generation coming forward — maybe somebody they’d like to help move up to the next level,” Goehring added. “We have about 80 potential mentors already who have said, ‘I want to be a part of this, and I want to be a part of a student’s experience.’ ”

“It allows for that open, honest, mentoring behavior that often doesn’t happen,” Facile said. “This program will give me the tools and skill sets I need to be better for Sanford, better for our patients and better for those around me.”

Facile is confident the program will give her the critical thinking skills to make decisions in her field. She knows that she will continue to have to think creatively about how to provide the best care possible to patients given the ever-challenging reimbursement models in health care. 

“I think the pandemic initiated my energy — how we in health care are changing and clearly changing in a rapid-pace environment. While we have done some amazing things at Sanford, I can’t wait to see what else we can do. It’s my responsibility to make sure that I am armed with the greatest amount of information and skills to fight the next pandemic, the next … whatever,” Facile said. “There’s nothing that gives me greater satisfaction than to apply those skills into positive outcomes.”

And, never having been a student at Augustana, Facile and others can rest assured knowing that someone will be there to show them the ropes.

“I think it’s a huge advantage that all of our faculty in the program right now are full-time Augustana faculty,” Goehring said. “We can share more about Augustana in terms of the resources available, and we can plug them into different things. So they’re not just here to take classes and leave – there’s integration. I want them to really be a Viking.”

For information on how to join the program and become a Viking, please visit augie.edu/MBA. The application deadline for the summer of 2021 two-year MBA program is May 1.