11.4. Distance Education, the MBA, and the Internet

Editorial

Online MBA programs seem to be the motivating force that is pushing many otherwise traditional Colleges of Business into Distance Education. Such courses are highly marketable and many MBA courses are suitable for distribution to distance students—using the very technologies that MBA students may be familiar with in their work environment. These programs often turn out to be the "cash cows," with high enrollments and high prices.

This month's article presents information on the state of the field of distance MBA programs. What is not addressed, of course, is the highly variable quality of course offerings and the difficulty of training enough faculty to meet the demand for online instructors. It certainly diminishes the credibility of an MBA program if faculty are obviously struggling with the technology and are generally inept at teaching online.

Mauri Collins
DEOSNEWS Editor

Distance Education, the MBA, and the Internet

Mawdudur Rahman

Abstract

Distance learning has a significant impact on management education. As the demand grows worldwide for persons with a US MBA (Master’s of Business Administration) degree, the number of universities participating in distance education will grow more quickly. Technology vendors try to offer reliable and robust distance education systems. For many institutions, quality distance education programs would not be possible without the availability of outsourcing options. Distance education technologies encompass various forms and formats with a diverse mix of hardware and software.

This article provides useful information for universities and colleges exploring the offering of an MBA by distance education. The article identifies the top distance learning MBA programs and offers a look at selected comparative data on some programs. This information can be used as background information to prepare proposals for a distance-learning MBA, or by students to evaluate distance-learning MBA programs. Researchers in distance learning may use the information in this article to study how distance learning is gaining ground in many MBA programs.

Distance Education Adoption

Many academic institutions are engaged in distance education, though an accurate count is not possible because the definition of distance education is diverse. A US Department of Education (1997) survey reported that 55% of 2,215 four-year colleges and universities in the US had courses available off-site, and the enrollment of one million students was expected to triple in one year—a more rapid growth rate than previously anticipated. The Department of Education also reported that enrollment increased by 65%, student access with time-related flexibility increased by 82%, and geographical flexibility increased by 67%.

As they confront current changes, most educational planners and administrators have responded to the new phenomenon in a proactive manner. The International Association For Management Education, known as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB 1997), reported that "a recent survey of AACSB members makes clear that issues related to technology and distance learning are high on the list of both strategic and operating concerns for schools with widely varied missions and resource bases."

Distance Education Programs and Institutions

Many pioneering universities and colleges are offering quality online programs that reflect their philosophy and identity. The online programs must support the mission and vision of the institution and structure around their resource base (from full-degree programs to selected courses). Very few institutions now dismiss distance education as an option. For example, Duke University, Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of North Carolina offer distance education at varying degrees. National Technological University offers nineteen advanced technical degrees and 161 courses to corporate clients through alliances with forty-nine prestigious technical education and training providers. The clients have reduced their training costs by almost half.

Universities and colleges offer a wide variety of courses and programs. Ebeling and Bistayi (1999) prepared a list of the twenty best distance education programs, a selection of which is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Sixteen Quality Online Degree Programs

By far, distance education’s most significant impact is expected to be on management education. As the worldwide demand for US MBAs grows, more universities are likely to participate in the debate, development, and delivery of distance education. Among all distance education programs, the US’s online MBA program has gained the greatest acceptance and reputation. Duke University’s Global Executive MBA, Pace University’s MBA, the University of Notre Dame’s Executive MBA, and Ohio University’s MBA Without Boundaries are among the few well-known distance education MBA programs.

Accreditation Issues

Successful distance education programs will be those with involved faculty members who are able to fit pedagogy to chosen delivery technology. A restructured organization that is competent to support substantial distance education will provide a library that allows for online access, improved registration processes, updated technology, increased faculty training and awareness, curriculum development, and learner interactions. All regional accreditation agencies also have published guidelines for online programs accreditation.

Distance Education Students

Educational planners and policymakers are eager to learn more about the background of distance education students. e-College.com (1999) observed that female students take 28% more online courses than male students. This result was also confirmed by the Department of Education (1997) survey. In the US, the majority of students who take online courses are white. The average age is between 31 and 40. Most of these students (82%) have no prior distance education experience and have moderate computer experience. Most distance education students attend both face-to-face and online courses simultaneously. The following profile of online students was developed by eCollege.com (1999):

Profile of Online Learners
25-49 years old
54% female
83% Caucasian
77% employed over 30 hours/week
78% first-time online course
62% novice-to-intermediate computer users
50% four-year degree or higher

The relevancy of this profile is supported by a profile of a selected university’s online MBA program’s student profile:

24-45 years old
75% female
66% Caucasian
100% employed between 37-60 hours/week
100% first -time online course
100% intermediate-to-advanced computer users
100% four-year degree or higher

Most online students work more than thirty hours per week. Convenience and flexibility are the most-commonly cited reasons for taking online courses. Other reasons include the ability to fulfill course requirements, scheduling compatibility, the desire to gain experience, and the relation of the course to the job. For the MBA program mentioned above, many students also cited interests in a quality MBA, expeditiousness of the degree, improved management skills, and increased job interactivity.

Distance Education Technology Providers

The present distance education movement has opened opportunities for many, and thus has attracted the skills and imaginations of entrepreneurs. Educational institutions must respond quickly to the market forces, which have created a need for reliable and robust—but difficult-to-assemble—distance education technology infrastructure. Distance education technology vendors offering to meet the demand for reliable and robust services engage in aggressive marketing campaigns. In many ways, the distance education technology vendors are promoting the distance education cause and are ensuring program quality. For many institutions, quality distance education would not be possible without the availability of outsourcing services.

Distance education vendors can be classified into four groups. Blumenstyk (1999) reported that Zastrosky of the Garner Group classified distance education vendors into three groups; a fourth is added by the author:

1. Those that sell Web tools (e.g., Blackboard, WebCT, TopClass);
2. Those that sell "groupware" (e.g., Lotus, Microsoft);
3. Those that have hitherto chiefly sold administrative applications (e.g., SCT, Oracle, and Datatel);
4. Full-service providers (e.g., eCollege.com, Blackboard, Convene, and Embanet).

Another significant development is that book publishers are providing distance education services. Among them are three leaders in the publishing field—McGraw-Hill (http://mhla.net), South-Western College Publishing (http://www.swcollege.com), and Prentice Hall’s Pearson Distributed Learning (http://www.ssdl.com). By adopting the publisher’s textbook, professors can access all the services necessary to provide a full Internet course. The colleges will be limited to selected course options only and will deal with multiple publishers' platforms, which will make integration between different platforms difficult. This, in turn, will increase the costs of coordination and faculty training. Publishers are offering, among other things, syllabus shells for use in instruction design, pedagogical materials including PowerPoint slides and reference links to journal articles, online quizzes and homework, and Web search tools.

Presently, distance education–providing institutions have an option: they can develop the distance education system in-house, or they can outsource the development. Experience so far has indicated that the size of the university and volume of enrollment have significant influence on this decision. The larger, financially stronger universities, such as The Pennsylvania State University, The George Washington University, and Carnegie Mellon University, generally provide distance education through in-house technology. Additionally, as enrollment begins to grow, universities tend to use in-house resources.

Phillips and Yager (1999) identified 195 accredited schools offering graduate programs. Table 2 lists some of those institutions that offer MBA programs online. The critical variables for the learners and the providers of distance learning programs are costs, credit hours, and onsite residency requirements. As Table 2 shows, programs vary in length, credit hours, costs, and onsite residency requirements. The wide range of options available may suit the needs of students from many segments. Any new programs may find their niche in these wide variations.

Table 2. Tuition Fees of Selected Online MBA Programs

*NA: not available
Source: Phillips and Yager (1999)

The number of credit hours required to complete an MBA degree and the total cost to the students varied among institutions. The range was $10,000 to $30,000. The University of North Carolina charged its corporate clients $90,000.

Often, colleges and universities are anxious to initiate a distance education program but, not being sure about the adequacy of technical expertise needed, follow the easier path of outsourcing. The distance education vendors promise quick, hassle-free, and complete online university services to their clients at affordable costs. eColleg.com, Blackboard, Convene, and Embanet are some of the more-recognizable distance education technology vendors. Most vendors charge per-student-per-course fees. The vendors also charge the university development fees.

Both Virginia Tech and the University of Colorado faced problems recovering their eCollege.com fees. These universities attempted to charge regular tuition rates, but later charged additional costs to the students. The students reacted positively; they saw the tuition increases as a convenience charge because distance education replaced personal costs, such as parking and babysitting fees. Many schools are charging regular tuition rates and adding the incremental charge as a technology (or related) fee.

Reportedly, 86.96% of the programs operate at a profit and 33% use their own Internet server, while 51% use their institution’s Internet server (Primary Research Group 1999). In 1998, the University of Phoenix grossed $282 million with a gross profit of $30 million. Most cyberclasses cost students more than the on-campus courses. Half of the distance education students at Duke’s Global Executive MBA were communicating by e-mail from Switzerland to Hong Kong, paying $82,500 for the program, or $1,833 per credit hour. The University of Phoenix was charging $237 per credit hour of online class, and Suffolk University $614 per credit hour.

A Sample of Schools Offering MBA by Distance Education

It is evident from Table 3 that universities use a variety of strategies to design their online programs. In terms of technology, audioconferencing, videoconferencing, streaming audio/video, telephone online synchronous chats, and CD-ROM are widely used.

Distance education can take place in three modes: synchronous, asynchronous, or a combination of both. In synchronous learning, the students attend lectures and discussions in real time, using the Internet, videoconferencing, or text chats with any combination of audio, textual, and video technologies. In asynchronous learning, the students "attend classes" on their own time with any combination of recorded audio, textual, and video technologies.

Most universities mix asynchronous and synchronous technologies to deliver their degree. A few, such as Colorado State University, use only asynchronous mode.

Table 3. Description of Selected Online MBA Programs

E-mail

E-mail can be used in one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many mode. Generally, e-mail provides an asynchronous mode of communication between students and the professor. E-mail technology is used by most professors in educational institutions. It is an easy and quick method to remain connected with the students. It might be used for cyberoffice hours or as a discussion room in asynchronous mode without the specific time constraints. However, e-mail also can be used in synchronous mode. E-mail can be used to receive homework and project reports from students.

Chat Room

Chat rooms are synchronous learning tools and provide a great learning experience in online courses. Students perceive that chat room discussions contribute more to educational value than traditional classroom discussions. Once a chat room session is completed, a record can be logged in a chat room archive. This archive provides a record to which the students and teachers can refer. A student who has missed a chat session can review the log and submit his or her comments. Students get a sense of live participation through the chat discussion. The new technologies are offering one-way audio and two-way text chat with much success.

Blumenstyk (1999) reported that, in a 1998 UCLA survey, over 50% of incoming freshman used chat rooms, 66% communicated via e-mail, and 90% used the Internet for homework.

Threaded Discussion

A threaded discussion is similar to stored electronic mail except that it is an asynchronous discussion—a log of a discussion that occurs over a predetermined period of time. In MBA courses, a threaded discussion can be an optimal medium for case discussion as students are allowed to prepare answers, reflect on other students’ responses, and respond to each other. These discussions also are archived for future use. In MBA courses, professors can use interesting and relevant thread topics regularly for students to write short essays and allow others to make comments.

Whiteboard

A relatively new technology, a whiteboard acts as a chalkboard during a chat room discussion. Instructors are able to insert diagrams, text, or other relevant materials that can be discussed in chat sessions. This allows students to look at information without switching between windows.

Web Site

The course-related Web sites support online courses. Fully developed online courses use Web sites for various course-delivery options, such as:
1. Syllabus
2. Textbook (for authors, or for those wishing to connect with a publisher)
3. Lecture notes
4. Quizzes and exams
5. Announcements about the class
6. Instructions about the process
7. Streaming audio video
8. Live audio/video

Streaming Audio/Video

The professor’s lectures are available in asynchronous mode to the students through computer-mediated video-camera and audio systems. The videos and audio recordings are archived on the server and can be viewed at any time during the course.

Videoconferencing

Video/audio signals are sent from the professor’s location to an offsite location. Old Dominion University has one of the largest videoconferencing systems, with one-way video/two-way audio—i.e., the course material is delivered by satellite downlink to offsite locations. This is a point-to-point system: students are not required to have their own PCs, as they attend classes at satellite locations.

Online education technology also uses support from audio, facsimile, one-way video broadcasting, CD-ROM, and even surface mail.

A full-service online university vendor such as eCollege.com should be capable of providing all these services, including linking with university’s admission, registration, financial aid, accounts office, and library.

Conclusion

Distance education is moving from an alternative form of education to a more-widely accepted model. Soon it will move from the fringe to the mainstream. Furthermore, quality distance education is the result of a shift from teaching-centered to learning-centered education, focusing on student achievement, not teacher inputs.

Educators will be trained to utilize technology to better pedagogy. Information available on the Internet will now be easily accessible to be used in the classroom, elaborating on concepts and ideas that will enhance, not hinder, the educational process.

Distance education is a strategy that, when adopted, will connect educational institutions with students and faculty as part of a widespread information-exchange network. This network will deal in volumes of information in real time, employing only the most current, relevant information and technologies.

Using distance education technology in delivering MBA programs has become a desirable option for many universities. Universities that offer online MBAs not only are providing "anytime, anywhere, and anyplace" options to the students, but also are focusing on maintaining a high quality. They need to compensate for the loss of physical campus presence by offering a higher-quality program. An online MBA usually attracts better students who want flexibility, convenience, and quality.

Distance education is a reality of the future. Many more models and methods will be developed and debated. The excellent forms of distance education will contribute significantly to the rigor and relevance of the future higher education. Dedicated researchers and serious scholars need to put their stakes in distance education by overcoming the present hesitancy and fear of losing ground. There is no ground to lose. Distance education and traditional education will coexist as integral parts of the education system.

Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges Wendy Fischnaller for contributions to this article.

References

AACSB. 1997. [online]. Feb. 21, A23. Available at www.acadymyonline.com/aacsb

Blumenstyk, G. 1999. The Marketing intensifies in distance learning. The Chronicle of Higher Education 45 (31): April 9. A27.

eCollege.com. 1999. Who's learning online: A profile of students taking online courses. May. Research Report # 99-176.

Ebeling, A., and S. Bistayi. 1999. [online]. Twenty top cyber-universities. Forbes Magazine. Available at http://www.forbes.com/forbes/97/0616/5912084a.htm

Phillips, V., and C. Yager. 1999. The best distance learning graduate schools: Earning your degree without leaving home. Burlington, MA: Princeton Review.

Primary Research Group. 1999. The survey of distance learning programs in higher education. New York: Primary Research Group.

US Department of Education. 1997. Survey of distance education in higher education institutions.

Author Information

Mawdudur Rahman, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of Online Programs
Suffolk University
Boston, MA 02108

Phone: 617-573-8372
Fax: 617-723-0139
E-mail: mrahman@suffolk.edu

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