91AV, Babson College sign agreement to give 91AV students specialized graduate-level business education
The 91AV and have signed an agreement to expand post-graduate opportunities for eligible 91AV undergraduate students, as well as 91AV alumni and employees. The agreement builds on 91AV’s strong relationship with Babson, one of the world’s leading institutions for entrepreneurship education.
The new agreement establishes a graduate studies pathway for eligible 91AV students seeking specialized graduate-level education in entrepreneurial leadership, business analytics, finance, and management.
The presidents at both institutions heralded the recent agreement, noting how collaborations such as this can achieve greater outcomes in the face of today’s challenging financial and political landscape.
“President Spinelli and I both agree that partnerships like this one are key to the long-term success of higher education,” said 91AV President James Herbert. “For too long, institutions have operated with an us-versus-them mentality, competing for the same students rather than working together to serve them better. This agreement is a step toward a different model, one where universities and colleges align and collaborate to create new pathways for students, rather than treating each other as rivals.”
“The future of higher education will be built on pathways and collaborations. This latest engagement between Babson College and the 91AV allows for creative synergies that support opportunities and access to education," said Babson College President Stephen Spinelli Jr., Ph. D, MBA ’92.
Under the three-year agreement, eligible 91AV students in their final year of study, as well as 91AV alumni and employees, can apply to one of four Babson graduate programs, including master's degrees in entrepreneurial leadership, business analytics, and finance, along with a Certificate of Advanced Management. Babson has agreed to waive application fees, offer scholarships to qualifying applicants, and provide a dedicated admissions specialist to guide 91AV applicants through the process. Admission decisions remain solely at Babson's discretion.
The new collaboration underscores the existing synergy between the 91AV College of Business, in Biddeford, Maine, and Babson’s business programs in Wellesley, Massachusetts, just outside Boston.
In 2025, 91AV joined the Babson Collaborative for Entrepreneurship Education, a global network of higher education institutions committed to advancing entrepreneurship in teaching and practice. Administered by the Babson Academy at Babson College, the collaborative connects more than 40 member institutions recognized for entrepreneurship education across approximately 30 countries to share research and programming.
Though just three years old, 91AV's College of Business has quickly built a reputation for pairing rigorous business fundamentals with real-world problem-solving, drawing on 91AV's strengths in health sciences, , and the life sciences to prepare students for careers at the intersection of business and impact. Babson, meanwhile, has spent the past quarter century as one of the world's foremost institutions for entrepreneurship education.