Students can now earn an MBA at their convenience

1/9/01 - Kennesaw State University has teamed up with four of Georgia's other institutions of higher learning to offer the state's first "WebMBA."

Students from across Georgia now have the opportunity to earn a master of business administration degree over the Internet. A weekend retreat hosted by KSU Jan. 5-6 brought faculty and students together for the first and only time. The next time they will see each other will be at graduation.

"If you talk to a faculty member, it will be on the telephone and that's the closest you're going to get," KSU Associate Dean for Graduate Business Programs Rodney G. Alsup told the inaugural WebMBA class at the retreat. "What that does is, it changes the learning environment and it puts the burden of learning on the students. The old undergraduate model of learning is not going to work in this program. You're going to learn on your own; you're going to learn from each other; and you're going to learn from us-and we're going to learn from you."

The WebMBA is offered through a consortium of Georgia public universities including Georgia College & State University, State University of West Georgia, Georgia Southern University and Valdosta State University. Students applied to a particular university to get into the program. Those institutions' names will appear on their diplomas. Thirteen members of the inaugural class are KSU students.

Thirty-eight students will study and do coursework over the Internet for the next two years. Sixteen professors will monitor dialogue, provide direction and answer questions, according to KSU Director of MBA and Master of Accounting Programs Harry J. Lasher.

"When someone has a question, he or she puts it on the question board and anyone, faculty or students, can respond and discussions ensue online until the problem is solved," Lasher said. "In this situation, students have to accept the responsibility of learning even more than in a face-to-face class. This is truly a learning community we are creating, and there's a greater commitment of time and intellectual energy that's required."

Students said the overwhelming advantage to earning an MBA online is convenience. "The nature of my job and the time constraints are why I chose the WebMBA program," said Terrie English, who works at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. "I also have two granddaughters I like to spend time with and I can do this after they go home."