Distance And Online MBA Courses Now Readily AvailableSecurity measures include user IDs and passwords. Exams are given by university-approved proctors, such as local librarians or human resources executives at students' companies, to ensure honesty. They started offering its Online MBA Course in September 2005 after a yearlong pilot program, says Lawrence H. Rubly, director of distance learning at the Oakbrook Terrace-based for-profit chain of post-secondary schools. About 300 students are enrolled in the program now, with roughly one-third coming from the Chicago area. The 16-course program costs $1,350 per course, compared with $1,235 for the traditional degree. Unlike Indiana Wesleyan, DeVry does not require students to meet at any time during the program. Although Mr. Rubly calls online degrees ''the hottest thing in higher education right now,'' not all local school administrators share that opinion. ''We have concluded that (online) is not the right way to deliver an education and not the best way to learn,'' says Mark E. Zmijewski, deputy dean for full-time MBA programs at the University of Chicago. Mr. Zmijewski says he and the U of C's policy committee are concerned about preserving interaction among students and professors. He cites the example of a class that calls for 80 students to meet, discuss a concept, then break into small groups for lunch and further discussion. ''I don't know if we could ever reproduce that kind of environment online,'' he says. The idea of online classes supplementing, but not supplanting, traditional on-site classes appeals to Paul Davidovitch, director of Loyola University's graduate school of business. Basic classes such as accounting and statistics would lend themselves better to the online arena, but not more complicated, discussion-based classes, Mr. Davidovitch says. Professors are concerned about how their role would change. ''We'll go from being a sage on the stage to a guide on the side,'' says Gezinus Hidding, who teaches a class in strategic information systems at Loyola. An uninterested student body has kept the University of Illinois at Chicago from delving into an online MBA program, says John J. Binder, associate dean for MBA programs. ''We have a lot of things going on, but it's not easy to say this is at the top of the pile,'' he says. UIC is looking into offering some courses online, then will decide whether an entire program is worth the effort, Mr. Binder says. Schools that offer Online MBA Course concede that, initially, such degrees won't carry the same prestige as an on-site degree. ''There will be bias early on,'' says Mr. Long of Indiana Wesleyan. ''The burden of proof will be with the institution and the student.'' |