Chapter Eight
Institutions and Curriculums
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Traditional vs. For-Profit Institutions
Although an institution’s accreditation, ranking, student body, faculty members, and the amount of student services and value-added services it may or may not provide are all important decision-making criteria, it also pays to understand what type of institution you’re investigating (in addition to its accreditation status, as noted in Chapter Four) as well as what kind of curriculum its business school is offering to online MBA students.
This chapter covers what
you need to understand about institutions, in general, and how online
MBA curriculums are organized and what kind of courses you can expect to
find in most programs.
Traditional vs.
For-Profit Institutions
Broadly speaking, colleges and universities can be divided into two
camps: nonprofit and for-profit. The majority of colleges and
universities today are either public or private nonprofit entities. In
relatively recent years, however, the rise of for-profit colleges and
universities, which are also called proprietary institutions, has
altered the landscape of higher education like never before, especially
in relation to online higher education.
A
nonprofit higher-education institution operates under the notion of
serving the public good, with all earnings being utilized only for the
institution’s improvement. A for-profit higher-education institution
operates under the notion of accruing earnings that can be utilized for
the institution’s improvement but also for the benefit of the
shareholders and/or individuals who own the corporation that runs it.
The
University of Phoenix, established in 1976, is owned by the Apollo
Group, Inc., and is the largest for-profit institution in North America.
In 1989, the University of Phoenix started to offer online programs.
For
federal aid eligibility, the U.S. Department of Education strictly
defines a higher-education institution as being “a public or other
nonprofit institution.” What this ultimately means is that although many
for-profit institutions can qualify to offer their students federal
student loans and grants, they cannot qualify to receive federal
institutional-improvement monies.
If
you want to know whether an institution operates as a for-profit or
nonprofit entity, go to the
National Center for Education Statistics website.
Fill out the "Name of
School" field to view a
description of the institution, including whether it has an agreement
with the U.S. Department of Education for eligible students to receive
federal financial aid.
Business Approach or
Traditional Approach?
So
what does all this have to do with getting your online MBA? Public
nonprofit institutions that offer online MBA programs, such as Florida
State University and the University of Maryland University College, to
name only two, are required by law to operate for the public good,
meaning that they are not driven primarily by the prospect of pleasing
“company” shareholders.
The
for-profit institutions, like corporate America, run on the basis of
applying business efficiencies that ultimately please their
shareholders. Part of those efficiencies are related to how an
institution such as the University of Phoenix advertises and markets
itself - and this is where the whole notion of nonprofit versus
for-profit gets controversial.
The
argument goes something like this: Nonprofit institutions take a
traditional academic-oriented approach to what they offer students and
do not allocate large sums of money to advertise and market their online
programs to the prospective student marketplace, although this is
starting to change in order for them to remain competitive in the
marketplace as for-profits invest heavily in advertising campaigns.
Nonprofits believe students recognize an institution’s academic
strengths through an understanding of the institution’s history of
providing education to the public. They believe that large amounts of
slick and costly advertising only exaggerate the truth about an
institution’s academic viability, and that too much competitive
advertising makes it difficult for prospective students to make wise
choices about their higher-education alternatives.
On
the other side, for-profit institutions take more of a business approach
in their relationship with students. They want students to understand
that they are proud of their educational products and services and are
more than willing to invest in sophisticated advertising and marketing
initiatives to let prospective students know that they provide
academically sound programs that are highly beneficial to helping
students reach their career goals (which is why you see so many
advertisements from these institutions all over the web).
“Just like you have fast-food chains to serve different people, you have
restaurants that serve certain people. The same notion applies to online
MBA programs. The question is where do you want to eat?” asks
Venkateshwar Reddy, dean, College of Business, University of Colorado at
Colorado Springs.
At
the end of the day, you need to review the numerous considerations that
are described throughout this book and choose the online MBA program
that’s right for you.
Another type of higher-education institution that you should know about
is the virtual university. Two that immediately come to mind are Jones
International University (JIU) and Capella University. These are
universities that offer only distance-education programs and courses and
do not have a physical campus. Both Jones and Capella, by the way, are
also for-profit institutions that offer online MBA programs.
Jones International University holds the unique distinction of being the
first virtual university to achieve regional accreditation (which it
achieved in 1999). It is owned by Glenn R. Jones, who is also JIU’s
chancellor. JIU’s main office is located in Englewood, Colorado. Capella
University is a rapidly growing virtual university, formerly known as
the Graduate School of America, and is privately held by the Capella
Education Company (based in Minneapolis).
Regardless of the type of institution offering an online MBA program,
you also need to know as much as possible about the overall academic
curriculum being provided. In short, you want to understand what courses
you have to take, as well as what they are all about. I know this sounds
rather obvious, but there is more to this than you may think.
For
one, make sure that the courses you are about to take are relevant to
today’s business world as well as steeped in the traditional
time-honored business skills that every good business manager needs to
know.
Rosemary Hartigan, professor and director of business and executive
programs at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC),
explained that all courses within the UMUC program are constantly being
updated. “Our students demand it,” she said, adding that “certainly
there are also management classics out there written in 1980 or even
earlier that still have a lot of validity today. But when students see
an article that is old, they will question it.”
Regis MBA Professor Ed Cooper noted that just because a program might
use case studies that may not be current does not mean that a curriculum
is out of date. “Some of the best lessons are historical lessons,” he
said. “The base issues and situational business context may be just as
relevant today and provide lessons from the past.”
You’ll find course descriptions on school websites, but most really
don’t tell you much, which is why, as I mention throughout this book,
you have to speak with school administrators and professors to glean
information about the actual content of courses. See Chapter Ten on
course objectives and learning outcomes for more information about
teaching and learning styles used in online MBA programs.
MBA
courses, in general, are geared toward helping the student develop
strong managerial skills that can aid in the overall decision-making
processes that enable a business to succeed. All online MBA programs
have core required courses, also frequently referred to as foundation
courses, that cover certain aspects of business that all MBA graduates
must understand. Examples are marketing, accounting, finance, economics,
statistics, organizational structure and theory, technology management,
business strategy, business ethics, international strategic management,
entrepreneurship, and business law.
Core required courses are very similar across the landscape of online
MBA offerings, it’s just that they all have different course titles and
descriptions. For instance, a core required marketing course might be
titled marketing and brand management, marketing strategy and planning,
or marketing management. All cover everything a business manager needs
to know about evaluating and managing a marketing department or
marketing plan. For accounting courses, you’ll see such titles as
accounting foundations, managerial accounting, and introduction to
accounting. All cover what every business manager needs to know about
accounting.
Regardless of what core required courses are called, you have to take
them, unless you may have taken an equivalent course somewhere else that
the school will consider as transfer credit. Every school has different
policies with regard to the possibility of granting course waivers and
transferring credit.
Quantitative and
Qualitative Courses
Many MBA professors and administrators refer to courses as being either
quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative courses have a lot of math
and/or statistical analysis and basically deal with numbers and factual
information. Qualitative courses are more about decision making and
management issues that may or may not require a related numeric element.
The
quantitative courses, in particular, require that you have a certain
amount of math skills, such as how to work with spreadsheets, and a good
understanding of basic business math, from algebra through calculus, as
well as knowledge of statistics, accounting, and finance.
Qualitative courses, which are typically conceptual by nature, are
generally viewed as being easier and more fun to take than quantitative
courses. Examples of qualitative courses are marketing, business
communications, entrepreneurship, and human resources management.
“Some courses are more numerical, factual, and quantitative in nature,
but even these courses will be geared toward what you are going to do
with the numbers,” said M. Rungtusanatham, faculty director of the W.P.
Carey MBA - Online Program at ASU. “How are you going to use those
numbers in the decisions you need to make? Other courses may not have as
many numbers to deal with and may involve more complex situations, such
as how do you motivate an employee?”
Depending on the overall curriculum, you may or may not have the option
of taking electives. Some business schools outline the entire course of
study for you (see lock-step cohort model that follows), explaining
exactly what courses you have to take; or the school may offer a
relatively limited number of elective courses within various categories.
Other schools allow you to choose from a long list of elective courses
after you have completed a set of core required courses.
Often the set of electives you decide to take can become a
concentration, if you complete, on average, 12 to 18 credits in a
particular subject area, such as finance, technology management,
international business, supply-chain management, or human resources
management.
Overall, the choice of electives varies greatly from school to school.
As you review complete curriculums, you need to consider the required
courses as well as possible electives to choose the best fit in with
your career goals.
If
you prefer to have all of your coursework very clearly spelled out for
you in advance, with no room for electives, the lock-step cohort online
MBA program format was made for you. As mentioned in Chapter Six, a
lock-step cohort online MBA program is one in which a group of students
are enrolled in a program and all take the same predefined courses
together and in the same sequence as strictly outlined by the school.
Some institutions that offer online MBA programs, such as the University
of Florida, Drexel University, Arizona State University (ASU), and UMUC,
have lock-step cohort programs. Depending on the school, an
average-sized cohort would contain about 30 students, and that may be
broken down into smaller cohorts of 5 to 6 students who work on team
projects together. The smaller cohorts will change through the entire
length of the program, but the larger group of 30 may remain the same up
through graduation day.
The
beauty of a lock-step cohort program is that it facilitates strong
relationships with fellow students, and these relationships could
develop into meaningful business networking opportunities throughout
your business career. Additionally, the strictness of a predefined
program in which you take specific courses at specific intervals of
times, along with the support systems that develop among students who
are all doing the same thing, are strong motivators to complete your
course of study on time, which is particularly important in the online
learning modality. According to Rungtusanatham, “we know from experience
and from research that when you have individuals learning remotely,
there is negative pressure for them to continue unless they can feel as
if they belong to something and that there are others in the same
situation, under the same learning agenda, whom they can rely on from
both a teamwork and interaction perspective.”
The
negative side of a lock-step cohort is that you are locked in, meaning
that for approximately two years you are encouraged to enroll in each
term, regardless of what may be on your future agenda. In most cases,
however, schools are flexible about this and will allow students to drop
out of a cohort and then drop in later and enter a new cohort where they
left off. Also most schools will allow students at least five years to
complete a two-year lock-step program. However, depending on your
circumstances, dropping out and coming back in might not be the best
option, especially if you happen to be in a really tight group of very
experienced and knowledgeable professionals that is working very well
together.
Many MBA programs have built up sound relationships with corporations
that result in changes to the courses being offered to students. In an
effort to stay modern, schools seek out the advice of business managers
about what kinds of courses they should develop. At schools such as
Capella University and the University of Phoenix, for example,
professors in their online MBA programs are mostly practicing
professionals who frequently contribute their insights to the overall
makeup and design of the school’s curriculum and course content. At ASU
and at Indiana University, their histories of offering customized MBA
programs to major international corporations has helped to form online
curriculums that have remained up-to-date on some of the latest business
practices and strategies.
For
example, “Companies have told us that they need people who have project
management skills,” said Rungtusanatham. “So we have a course titled
Project Management and another titled Management of Technology and
Innovation, which represent an attempt for us to help managers
understand that change is something that has to be planned for and
executed properly.”
Rungtusanatham further explained that through one-on-one
conversations with executives and former students from companies such as
Deere & Company, United Technologies, Lucent, and Chevron that have
participated in customized corporate programs offered by the W.P. Carey
School of Business, as well as through direct and indirect feedback he
obtains from working professionals enrolled in the courses he teaches,
the W.P. Carey School has been able to create an academic-development
environment that is continuously changing and improving.
As
a prospective online MBA student, you need to take a look at whether the
school you are considering has any corporate influences affecting its
course content and overall curriculum-development processes. One
important and relatively basic question you can ask is this: “Please
tell me how your school is keeping up with modern business practices?”
For
instance, business ethics courses are popular today due primarily to all
the corporate scandals that have occurred in recent years. Thus, since
the spring 2004 term, the University of Maryland University College
(UMUC) has integrated business ethics components into all courses in its
online MBA program. “We are religious about keeping our course materials
up-to-date,” said Hartigan,
“Students are very skeptical of material that is not up-to-date, and
they will call us on it.”
Another approach you can take when investigating a curriculum is to
examine how a complete course of study as a whole learning experience
will encapsulate everything you need to know to succeed in the world of
business. This is where the term integration comes into play. At UMUC,
the integration of business ethics components into its overall
curriculum is only one part of the online MBA program’s complete
curriculum integration process, said UMUC’s Hartigan. Themes are
integrated throughout the online MBA program, making courses more like
“combinations of subjects. There is not just a marketing course, or a
business law course, or a business ethics course. Instead, we integrate
these subjects, and others like quantitative methods, throughout the
curriculum.”
Aspects of a Well-Designed
Program
According to Bartholomew Jae, former vice president of products for
Acadient, a Boston-based company that designs graduate-level business
courses for higher education, students should look for the following
elements in an online MBA curriculum:
•
Standards based. Is the
curriculum built according to regional and/or professional accreditation
standards?
•
Highly structured. Do the
students know exactly where they are in the program, how they are doing,
and what they need to do next? Do they understand the purpose of each
assignment in a course and how to get help when they need it, as well as
how they will be graded?
•
Learning outcomes-oriented.
Every module, course, lesson, or assignment within the overall
curriculum should tie back to a desired learning outcome (see Chapter
Ten).
•
Balanced workload. Are
courses designed so that you have a reasonable period of time to
complete self-paced assignments, as well as team-based assignments,
along with enough time to actively participate in discussions related to
such assignments?
•
Highly interactive. Students
should be engaged through a variety of methods, including exercises,
graphics, and assignments that keep them in contact with their fellow
students and the faculty teaching the courses.
•
Transparent technology.
Students should encounter minimal distraction from the usability and
reliability of the technology being used.
•
High-quality content. The
depth of the content within courses should be educationally rigorous,
accurate, and clear.
•
Flexible instructor influence.
There should be built-in flexibility for instructors to change
assignments on-the-fly to reflect current events and changes in
regulation or practice.
•
Individualized. Faculty need
to cater to various adult learning types and styles to ensure that ample
opportunities are available for students to reflect upon their
understanding of the material being taught and apply them to real-life
scenarios.
•
Highly relevant.
Courses should have abundant examples that help students understand how
the knowledge and skills they are learning will be applied to actual
work situations.
The Details Beneath the
Surface
As this chapter informs you, there’s a lot of detail beneath the surface of an institution itself and the way it organizes its online MBA at the program level. In the next chapter, the details trickle down to the course level and the types of educational technologies you’ll typically see in an online course. In Chapter Ten there are more details, including information on a variety of teaching and learning techniques and strategies that online MBA programs use to ensure that you are actually learning something of value.
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