Contact: Monty Jones, (512) 499-4363

Date: May 4, 1999

UT System News Release

The University of Texas System offers collaborative MBA Online degree

With a corporate world hungry for MBA graduates, students looking to advance their careers are finding viable options through higher education. What many aren't finding is the time to stop their personal and professional lives to head for campus.

For the past few years The University of Texas System has offered various executive MBA programs with weekend study. Now it is reaching out to students needing greater flexibility by offering an MBA Online degree plan. This collaborative degree involving eight University of Texas campuses debuts in fall 1999, with the application process underway now.

"Let's face it, even the most brilliant, exciting on-campus lecture and class discussion will not reach a student who is frazzled from the harried commute from office to campus," explains Dr. David Diltz, professor of finance at U. T. Arlington, and a participating MBA Online professor. "The student whose career entails frequent travel cannot be tied to a specific physical location one or more times a week. For these individuals and others, Internet-based educational delivery represents a way to fulfill work and personal obligations and still receive a quality, state-of-the-art education. "

Prospective MBA Online students apply for admission to the participating university of their choice, then take online courses from the other partner institutions. The degree can be completed in as few as two years or as many as six, with degrees conferred from the campus at which the student is admitted.

Course delivery is facilitated by the University System's virtual campus, The UT TeleCampus. A central service and support unit for distance education initiatives, the TeleCampus features a website similar in design to a traditional campus with admissions links, digital libraries and student support services. The TeleCampus does not grant degrees but supports the universities within the U. T. System that engage in online and distance education.

"We're not the first to offer an online MBA," says TeleCampus Director and long-time distance education advocate Dr. Darcy Hardy. "But we do have some marked advantages over other universities that do." Hardy explained that some of the newer entrants into online education are using the exponential growth of the Internet to open for-profit corporations that sell courses. "While their curriculum may be satisfactory, and a few have even succeeded in accreditation, we know from the past that students care about branding and collegiate reputation. They want a name on their degree that's significant, not only to them but also to their current and prospective employers."

"With our reputation for excellence, and more than 100 year history of conferring reputable higher education degrees, we give the students what they need - recognition, reliability and flexibility," Hardy said.

Skeptics to online learning, however small in numbers, do exist. "This kind of education is going to be around for a long time to come and you do sometimes hear concerns about quality," said Dr. Corbett Gaulden,

professor at U. T. Permian Basin, and Co-Chair of the Academic Advisory Committee designing the MBA Online program.

"Rather than be threatened by the technology and brush it away under the guise of quality concerns, I've

chosen to become involved to be certain the quality is there," Gaulden said.

Gaulden foresees dialogue with students at a level even deeper than traditional classrooms afford. "The chat rooms allow us to discuss some complex topics, at a length of discussion simply not possible in the classroom. This gives me a chance to do what I've really wanted…to ask thought-provoking questions that go well beyond the text. And, I think for the students, seeing what the others are writing in the discussion creates a healthy competition and an expanded outlook for all of the participants." Diltz concurs with Gaulden regarding the potential for greater interaction with online course delivery.

"In a traditional classroom, important concepts can be missed the first time around in lecture. The student may ask the instructor to repeat the information, but realistically, that's not always a viable option when the instructor is pressed to get through the material and classmates are restless," Diltz said. "With online delivery, a student is able to print text and review supplemental materials, such as streaming video, as much as is required in order to understand the concept. And, if the concept still isn't clear, a quick e-mail to the instructor is convenient, efficient, and personal."

"I think we'll find a rich student body because students can be in these courses when it’s the right time for their careers," Gaulden said, adding that students don't have to wait until they can take time off from work or parenting. "They get the education when their career requires it. Plus, this collaboration allows greater flexibility in course selection and scheduling."

Students in the program will be faced with the same highly selective application process that onsite students face. Admissions criteria vary slightly from school to school, but the same requirements for GMAT scores, GPAs, essay applications and more exist for the online program as for traditional programs at each of the universities. Tuition will be comparable to on campus offerings, with a marginally different fee structure.

Program leaders warn against perceptions of an easy, diploma-mill option just because of program flexibility. "This will not be an easy degree to earn," said Dr. William H. Cunningham, Chancellor of the University of Texas System. "Students will find the academic requirements and expectations rigorous and, coupled with the self discipline necessary with this model of education delivery, I expect they will find themselves substantially challenged from start to finish."

Cunningham pointed to advantages of the program including the portability of study and the mastery of technology required for degree plan completion. " At this time in our society, the language of business extensively involves technology," he said. "These students will prove more than their understanding of the current issues facing business, they will have proven that they can communicate these concepts and ideas by effectively utilizing the technological tools necessary to compete in the marketplace."