Online MBA Programs Valuable to Warfighters
As more colleges offer online MBA programs and market them to the military, online learning’s adoption rate continues to grow among servicemembers.
by Erin Flynn Jay, MAE Correspondent
How are colleges connecting servicemembers to their online MBA programs? A number of schools focus on educating the military, working with them to adjust schedules as needed. An online MBA is attractive to many servicemembers who need the flexibility and seek to learn management and leadership skills.
“Choosing the right school for an online MBA program is serious business. How do you choose a program that prepares you for military or civilian leadership and management positions while letting you perform your duties?,” said Dr. Gary A. Massey, associate dean for Adult Higher Education & Online Campus at Columbia College. “By choosing an affordable, online MBA provider that specializes in educating the military.”
Columbia College was among the first schools in the country to provide educational opportunities geared specifically for military students, offering on-base classes in 1973. Today one-quarter of its 25,000 students are military or a military dependent and 17 of its 34 campuses are on military installations including Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The college has a military backbone: Five of six associate or assistant deans are ex-military and the president himself a veteran. Columbia College is also fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and the North Central Association, and the online MBA program meets the same accreditation standards as the on-campus MBA. Approximately 70 percent of the courses are taught by terminally or professionally qualified instructors who receive additional, intensive training in online education.
GetEducated.com also recently ranked Columbia College fifth in the top 40 of the “Best Buy MBA” category. This ranking recognizes Columbia College for offering a high-quality online MBA at $10,980, compared to providers who charge $40,000 or more.
MILITARY SPECIALIZATION
- Massey shared some facts about Columbia College and its online MBA:
- Columbia College is geared toward military education as their history illustrates.
- Accelerated program: Taking as little as one course per session, servicemembers can earn an MBA in about two years. Classes last just eight weeks, with sessions starting in January, March, June, August and October.
- A traditional MBA prepares you to manage in the military and business worlds.
- Tuition for the online MBA is $305 per credit hour. That’s total, with no hidden fees or additional assessments.
- Columbia College is an eArmyU school and a participant in the Navy College Program Distance Learning Partnership.
Columbia College has been awarded the Ray Ehrensberger Award by the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Commission on Military Education and Training for demonstrating excellence in serving military members and their families. The college was cited for its innovative partnerships with the military and private sector in educating military learners and the quality of its online programs available to military and civilian students throughout the world.
“Military commanders and civilian employers recognize the experience and leadership you have gained,” said Massey. “Make the most of your military and civilian life with an MBA that prepares you to manage and lead.”
eLearners.com and EarnMyDegree.com connect prospective students to online learning providers. EarnMyDegree.com has launched a Guide to Online Education for the Military (http://www.earnmydegree.com/onlineeducation/military/). The guide features special rates from ten online colleges so active duty members, guards, reservists, veterans and immediate family members of military personnel can receive an online education. In addition, eLearners.com offers a Guide to Military Education (http://www.elearners.com/guideto-online-education/military-online-education1.asp), which explains tests military personnel can take to earn college credits and how an online education works.
ONLINE ATTRACTIVE TO MILITARY
“By more schools offering online programs and expressly marketing the fact that they welcome military students and accept military credit for transfer, they are better connecting servicemembers to online programs,” said Terrence Thomas, chief marketing officer for eLearners.com. “In fact, the number of schools that are actively marketing online programs has tripled in the last two years, and we will see that growth continue.”
Online learning is an extremely attractive option for servicemembers due to its flexibility and command support, Thomas continued. Its adoption rate among servicemembers will continue to grow as more traditional colleges (state and private colleges) offer more online programs. In addition, more schools are working with family members of those in the military, with many even extending the same military discounts to family members.
Many of the world’s top programs are seeking ways to get in touch with service personnel to inform them of the opportunities they have to offer. They are turning more and more frequently to events like the QS World MBA Tour and World Grad School Tour to reach out to these personnel.
The QS World MBA Tour provides an opportunity for candidates to research business schools and make informed education choices. Students get the chance to meet face-toface with representatives from many of the world’s top business schools.
“QS realizes that there is a great need for military personnel to have access to information on all of the higher degree programs available today,” said Dawn Bournand, marketing/ communications manager for QS World MBA Tour. “Through the QS World MBA Tour and World Grad School Tour, we endeavor to offer the most up-todate complete information on the market today.”
QS World MBA Tour and World Grad School Tour have made reaching out to service personnel a priority for this year’s tour. “To get the word of mouth flowing and to show appreciate for all military personnel, free entry to this year’s events will be given upon proof of their service status,” said Bournand. QS World MBA Tour and World Grad School Tour seek to help U.S. schools that offer higher education programs better connect with servicemembers through North American fairs in 11 major cities. At each event, service personnel with I.D. will be given free entry and the opportunity to meet directly with admissions officers and alumni from many of the country’s top programs.
QS World MBA Tour and World Grad School Tour are looking for a representative for each military base to share information about the Fall North American Tour with their colleagues. Cash and/or prizes will be given based on the percentage of military personnel who reserve and then come to the tour through each representative. “Thanks to programs like the QS World MBA Tour and World Grad School Tour, the world’s top graduate and MBA programs are able to reach out to service personnel and inform them of all that their schools have to offer,” said Bournand.
Since 1947, University of Maryland University College (UMUC) has offered education services to military servicemembers and their families. A barrier to military pursuing their degrees while in the service is that they never know where they will be stationed tomorrow. UMUC offers convenient online classes so servicemembers can take the courses they want, wherever and whenever they want them. “In our MBA program we don’t have separate demographics on numbers of students who are active duty and/or recently left the military in our classes,” said Dr. Bob Goodwin, executive director of the MBA program in UMUC’s Graduate School of Management and Technology. “We have one or two students in [each of] our sections; sections being about 20 to 25 students.”
UMUC has attracted a number of military students to the MBA program since its inception in 1999. The online program has specific advantages. “Students can complete the work at times that are convenient to them within certain structures. If you are stationed overseas, you don’t have to participate in some live conference call that’s going on in a different time zone,” said Goodwin. “The assignments are structured so you can turn them in at a time that’s convenient for you.”
ONLINE MOST CONVENIENT
This fall, students will be able to complete the program in 24 months on a part-time basis; previously it has taken longer. “All of our students are part-time adult learners. When we began it, we had 100 students; now we have over 2,000,” Goodwin said. “Any student can opt to take 100 percent online or a hybrid class—partially online and partially face-to-face. Between 85 and 90 percent of the students end up taking the 100 percent online (program). Even though the majority of our students are from the local area, they find the online to be the most convenient.
“Our military students do quite well in our classes—the skills they learn in the military in terms of time management and organizational skills serve them well in our classes,” Goodwin said. UMUC is always delighted to help serve the military needs, he added.
Gary Woodlin has been an online student at UMUC for the last four to five years. He is taking his 20th class online. The program gives him the flexibility to log in at various times as opposed to if he had to go to a scheduled class. Woodlin has been in the Army for more than 13 years and a student at UMUC for about six of those. Woodlin expects to finish the MBA program in December. Because he still has seven years left in the military, he is strongly considering the doctorate program in management. He plans to maximize the seven years he has left “utilizing the great education I’ve gotten at the University of Maryland by maybe teaching other servicemembers if I go to other localities—anywhere where they might need teachers at service locations.”
He said the military and civilian sectors are different “but being able to blend the two together to give a more strategic global or a broader aspect of how individuals do things” is what he could teach other servicemembers.
“The online MBA program has really broadened my horizon; it has made me a more well-rounded individual,” Woodlin said. The skills he has learned have opened his eyes and made him look at things in a different light. He cited his first class of marketing and the concept of understanding stakeholders and customers as being beneficial.
A long-time supporter of servicemembers and their families, Jones International University (JIU) offers high-quality, accredited doctorate, graduate and undergraduate academic programs in the fields education and business—all delivered in a flexible, 100 percent online format for ultimate convenience.
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR MILITARY
“We’ve provided educational scholarships and assistanceships to not just active but retired, honorably discharged as well as Reserve [military]. We provide that same service to their family and dependents,” said Richard C. Thompson, Ph.D., dean, School of Business at JIU. “We have a number of spouses of servicemembers in our university.”
Anybody who is in the military and pursuing a master’s program receives a 20 percent scholarship off JIU tuition. It works very well for servicemembers to be 100 percent online—“the flexibility for them to be able to sit in class regardless of where they are stationed is a huge advantage for students,” said Thompson.
In addition to JIU military scholarship benefits, tuition assistance is available to eligible family members of U.S. service personnel who have been accepted to JIU. Admissions counselors have military experience and can assist warfighters in navigating their many tuition assistance options to ensure that they take advantage of all the benefits available to them. Counselors will help with the complexity so students can minimize out-of pocket costs and focus on their career. For specific information on tuition assistance, members can consult the Website for their service branch.
The JIU MBA is a 12 course program; all courses take eight weeks. Students can complete the program in two years. “The university was designed from the beginning to be online. We were the first fully accredited online university,” Thompson said. “We’ve created programs and courses that work extremely well in this environment. We were one of the pioneers in this area. Our military students find it is one of the best educational experiences they can find online.”
Thompson added that there is a good working relationship between their service counselors and anybody in active military. Counselors work enthusiastically to make adjustments to schedules when students get shipped overseas.
JIU is adding the school to military portals so servicemembers in every area will have easy access getting into the university. ♦