Master’s courses go online

For three years, Columbia College has been offering full undergraduate degree programs online. Beginning in January, students in the school’s master’s in business administration program will also be able

to pursue their degrees online.

Gerald Brouder, president of Columbia College, said the college’s first online graduate program has been four years in the making. The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools granted accreditation for the MBA program in September.

“We just wanted to be sure we had the right faculty, the right delivery mode and the right market,” Brouder said.

Gary Massey, associate dean of Adult Higher Education and director of the Online Campus, said that flexibility for students to work around their daily lives was a main benefit and selling point of the program.

“Many grad students have to balance home life, other jobs and kids,” Massey said. “Half of the campuses are on military bases, and they have long and strange hours. The online schedule is good for them and for soldiers in combat zones.” Massey said that since the classes are online, soldiers

can complete their school at night while still completing their military work during the day.

Brouder also said that the program will benefit students later in their work life in terms of “potential for promotion and higher salary.”

The classes will have scheduled times for online discussions during which all students must contribute. This is in contrast to a big lecture hall where only a few students can engage in a discussion at a time.

Columbia College has 32 campuses located nationwide, six of which offer graduate programs.

The online program will consist of five eight-week sessions, which will be offered beginning in January 2007 and again in March, June, August and October. It differs from other institutions in that students can take one eight-week session in a class setting and one online to meet the requirements for a degree.

Randerson said the online course offers more flexibility than in-class sessions, and that students can leave and return to the online sessions at any time.

Students can earn their MBA online in 15 months, as opposed to the standard two-year graduate program. The cost is $290 per credit hour, plus a $55 application fee for students who do not already have a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College.

The online MBA program is more expensive than the classroom graduate program, which is $270 per credit hour. However, Massey said, the overall cost is less expensive because the degree can be obtained in less time. Randerson said that typically, online graduate programs cost between $30,000 and $40,000; at Columbia College the final costs add up to a little more than $10,000.

Massey said Columbia College is working on adding more online graduate programs, including a degree in criminal justice administration that could be in place as early as next year.

“We think it is going to be very big and popular because of the affordability and convenience,” he said.