Change is in the air at area campuses with graduate business programs, ranging from new attention to ethics courses to changes in the school calendar. Some campuses have revised master of business administration business programs while others have launched new graduate efforts.

In October, UCSD named a dean for its new Graduate Management School. Robert S. Sullivan, dean of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill begins Jan. 1. UCSD will offer full- and part-time master of business administration programs, executive graduate business degrees and a doctorate in business administration. Enrollment for the charter class is slated for fall 2004, says spokeswoman Pat Jacoby.

This fall, the University of Redlands unveiled its redesigned MBA program. Studies begin with “Preface to Leadership,” a three-week, one-unit course that replaces an introductory course. Students still receive orientation and work on a case study, says Keith Roberts, MBA program director and lead faculty member for telecommunication and policy.

Also new at University of Redlands is an “Ethics in Management” course. Previously, one course covered law and ethics, which now will be offered in separate courses. Roberts says the revised MBA program relies heavily on the Blackboard Internet portal. Through Blackboard, students can participate in online discussions and download a course syllabus.

The new program also brings the option to substitute four Web-enhanced, global-business emphasis courses for classes in the traditional MBA business program. While some students attend a course like marketing, Roberts says, others may take global marketing. The other international courses are global political economy, global finance and global business strategy. For the Web-enhanced courses, students go to a classroom for the first and last sessions of the four-week courses. The middle two sessions are online.

At the University of Phoenix, the Internet now plays a greater role. This summer, MBA students and faculty began using “rEsource,” an Internet portal that electronically delivers course materials, says Michael Reilly, College of Business and Management chair for the San Diego campuses.

Reilly says the change to electronic delivery generally reduces the cost of course materials by about 60 percent. Graduate course textbooks can cost from $100 to $250, he says, and electronic material can be delivered for a flat fee of $48.

The lower cost reflects a reduction in expenses such as the printing, distribution and warehousing of books. “Students can still buy a hard copy of the text, we call it a retext, for about $40 more,” says Reilly. “We appear to be on the threshold of a new era. We will soon be able to have a textbook that represents current business trends and thinking with up-to-date research.”

University of Phoenix creates a Web page for each student on the university’s faculty/student Web site. The page provides access to “rEsource” and other services, such as a virtual writing lab and online pre-course labs in economics, quantitative analysis and finance/ac-counting.

The University of California, Irvine is launching a third section of its fully employed MBA program. “We’ve seen a great interest and demand,” says JoAnne Starr, assistant dean of MBA programs for UCI’s Graduate School of Management. The new section starting in the spring quarter will admit between 40 and 50 students. The scheduling change gives students more flexibility, says Starr. Those who enroll in the spring can complete their degrees in 27 months.

Also new at UCI was “The Enron Case,” a two-unit interdisciplinary course that looked at Enron from the perspectives of ethics, law, economics, journalism, accounting, finance and organizational strategy. Enron whistleblower Sherron Watkins was a guest speaker. While the course has ended, an Enron case study from the Darden School of the University of Virginia can be viewed at www.darden.virginia.edu.collection/index/htm.

At National University, the “Leadership and Ethics” course now is a prerequisite for graduate business studies. The course requirement reflects a focus on ethics across the degree program, says university spokesman Hoyt Smith. He notes that the university’s decision to focus on ethics came before the public learned about Enron and other corporate scandals.

Ethical behavior serves as the course framework for “Leadership and Ethics,” says instructor Michael Bishop, a lieutenant with the district attorney’s office. Bishop heads the Special Operations Division and is responsible for investigating allegations of election violations and criminal conduct by public officials. His prior assignment with the D.A. involved investigation and litigation of white collar crime.

“Both work into the current view of the leadership course. It’s not that the class changed; the environment changed. We expect more of our leaders,” says Bishop, who has a graduate degree in leadership. His course draws on contemporary issues, case studies and some historical events with an emphasis on moral leadership and leadership as a service activity.

Bishop says guidelines related to assessing sexual harassment can be applied to leadership. He asks students, “Is the leadership activity something you want the public to know about? Your mom? The moral compass test is whether you’re comfortable telling someone about it.”

Ethics courses have long been taught at Alliant International University, says Ali Abu-Rahma, assistant dean of the business college at the San Diego campus. That site housed the school formerly known as United States International University. The founding of Alliant in 2001 brought together USIU and the California School of Professional Psychology.

With that change, all courses except those in the business college changed from the quarter to the semester schedule. This fall, the business college went on the semester calendar. Abu-Rahma says some students were concerned that it would take longer to finish a degree on a semester schedule, but he explains that the type of term doesn’t affect the length of time in school because students take fewer courses during a quarter.

Chapman University is reintroducing its master of arts in criminal justice program, says Bob Hertel, criminal justice program manager. Last offered in 1997, the program, slated to start next April, is the “logical second phase to (Chapman’s) bachelor of arts in criminal justice,” says Hertel. “Sept. 11 made a big difference; it put the focus on safety and security.”

He described the 36-unit program as an interdisciplinary study of criminal behavior and society’s response to it. Hertel expects the program to attract students from professions such as law enforcement, the military and security. Instructors will be drawn from law enforcement, corrections, law and other specialties such as forensics.

A new name reflects the change at the Keller Graduate School of Management/DeVry University. The San Diego center housing Keller will begin offering undergraduate degree programs in January, says Thomas Horstmann, center director. Since the graduate term started in November, the two degree programs are on different schedules until July. At that time, courses for undergraduate and graduate programs will be on the same track. Courses will be eight weeks long. Keller has scheduled 10-week courses.

The University of San Diego has several new business programs and institutes. This year, the School of Business Administration created a master of science in information technology program, a joint MBA/MS in Information Technology and an Information Technology Institute, says Stephani Richards-Wilson, director of MBA/MSIT Student Affairs. Classes start next May for USD’s new MS in Accountancy and Financial Management. The program will serve as the basis for completing the 150-semester-hour requirement that most states mandate for certified public accountants, says Richards-Wilson.

The university’s Supply Chain Management Institute developed a new one-year program that offers a graduate certificate in supply chain management, “designed for high-performing executives involved in the development and management of supply chains,” says Richards-Wilson.

Some new courses are in store for San Diego State University’s executive MBA program, says Candace Williams, program director. Next year’s offerings include “New Product Innovations,” “Negotiations” and “Launching A High-Risk Business.” The school also begins its first full year under the leadership of scientist and former biotech executive Gail Naughton as new business dean.

At California State University, San Marcos, the MBA program became entirely state-supported last May, says Keith Butler, program operations manager. “Students can receive the same quality California State degree in 16 to 28 months in evenings and/or Saturdays, all for less than $5,000 for tuition and books,” says Butler.

Expect the climate of change to continue at area campuses. Richards-Wilson of USD says the Real Estate Institute is developing a new program. Elaine Worzala, a researcher in real estate studies, serves as institute director and a professor. She also will work on the development of an MS real estate program.

At SDSU, a faculty retreat held this fall could lead to more curriculum revisions for the executive MBA program. Williams says courses offered in fall 2005 could include corporate entrepreneurship and a simulation game that serves as the capstone course taken at the end of the graduate program. Also under consideration is a “Contemporary Challenges of Leaders” course, says Williams, which could rotate content to cover “hot new topics.”