MBA online

How would you like to earn your master’s degree on business administration (MBA) right in the comfort of your home?

Well, you can do that now while sipping your favorite drink and resting on the sofa.

How? Online.

The De La Salle Graduate School of Business (DLSU-GSB) now gives students the option to experience online learning and earn their MBA degrees via the Internet.

Dr. Benito Teehankee, instructional technology professor of the DLSU-GSB, says they expect 150 to 200 students will be taking the MBA.Online@GSB program this semester and "attend" virtual classes.

Teehankee says the program’s students now enjoy the so-called "mixed-mode" courses where they meet their professors face-to-face eight times a term – unlike the usual 14 times – and do the rest online.

"We are now starting our Business Ethics course on a full online mode this month. Students will only meet their professor during the first day of orientation and goal-setting and all other activities will be done on the Web," he says.

Mixed approach

You may be wondering how the MBA online’s mixed-mode approach goes. Here’s how: The professor begins the class, which may have 10 to 40 students, in a face-to-face session and initiates discussion of a topic. The students read assigned materials for concepts, applications and cases then go online to take the readiness quiz and review materials as needed. Then they go to the online conference to share insights and ask questions to their professor. The students submit their output face-to-face or online as required by the teacher.

Consultations with the professor can also be done online through the mixed mode. If a student wants real-time consultation, he logs on to the online course during the professor’s pre-announced virtual office hours. The session is stored for the reference of other students.

Group presentations are done either face-to-face or online. The students make their presentations in the traditional classroom and discussion begins. Then they put a Powerpoint presentation online for discussion with other students. The presenting group answers online questions and the professor synthesizes the report and makes directive remarks.

At the end of the term, the students take credit examinations face-to-face. "On a full online mode, all activities are done online," says Teehankee.

Benefits and challenges

Students who have attending the MBA online program are all one in citing its benefits. These include self-paced learning; having a rich source of information; having available learning tools like virtual calendar, e-mails, electronic bulletin boards, etc.; and accessibility of their course anywhere, anytime.

However, they note certain challenges that still need to be hurdled in making online learning successful.

For example, there are minimum requirements to meet if a student wants to join a virtual classroom. For an acceptable learning experience, a student must have a computer with at least a Pentium 200 processor, a 32-megabyte memory, a 33.6 modem and Internet access. The computer must also have an Internet browser, a word processing software, Powerpoint and Excel 97.

Such things are not difficult to meet, one may say. But another challenge is how to have a fast and reliable Internet connection.

Teehankee says that if the connection is slow, a student would rather attend the physical classroom than take the course online. Many students note heavy Internet traffic from an ISP to La Salle. And the slow processing of data is another thing to contend with. In online learning, they say, the faster the computer, the better.

Not for everyone

At present, the MBA online program is still considered one of the options available to students. Teehankee admits though that it is not for everyone.

The new learning environment MBA online offers still has to settle some issues on technology and infrastructure as well as the readiness of the student and his teacher. For one, the technology and infrastructure involved have yet to prove their dependability. As Teehankee says, power outages could send the classroom in virtual haywire.

However, the program provides a convenient option to technology-literate and self-propelled learners. To become successful learners, Teehankee says one must first master the use of technology. And to end up a truly learned individual, one must have practiced self-motivation in the beginning, and discipline and focus throughout the program.

"Without these important qualities, a student is bound to get lost in cyberspace," he says.

How about the readiness of the teacher? Teehankee admits that this is a completely distinct issue. The online teacher needs to be technology-ready and, no doubt, must be skillful in motivating students who do not see him.

"If it takes a whole lot of effort to motivate a student who is in front of you, then it takes more effort for someone who does not see you," Teehankee says.

The last thing that should be considered for the online program to succeed is the content. By far, only discussion-heavy courses can benefit from this environment. Teehankee says courses that involve other activities, particularly those that demand physical presence, may not be suited in an online setting.

These issues notwithstanding, students taking the MBA online program say its benefits far outweigh its problems. As one student says, missing a day in school because of traffic, going somewhere else or being sick is the least of his concerns.

"Now I can attend classes anywhere I am," the student says. "It feels good to be free to learn at your own pace."

Boon or bane, online learning is here. Ready or not, students and teachers face a whole new world of education out there.