USD’s School of Business offers a blended learning approach with online and on-campus classes for the master of science in supply chain management and the MS in global leadership, says Bob Schoultz, director of the MSGL program. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

Earlier this year, Congress eliminated a restriction limiting federal financial aid to colleges that held at least half of their courses on a campus. That ended a regulation known as the “50 percent rule.” It was implemented in 1992 after investigations revealed that some for-profit schools were no more than diploma mills. The recent congressional action allows students to obtain financial aid for degree programs that are completely online.

While it remains to be seen how local business schools will be affected by the ruling, financial aid is just one consideration when deciding whether to earn an MBA degree in a classroom or online. Students in University of Phoenix’s online programs appreciate the flexibility when fitting coursework into their schedules. They can log in at midnight to attend class if need be, says Bruce Williams, marketing v.p. for University of Phoenix San Diego. Students also enjoy communicating with classmates “across time zones and sometimes the International Date Line.”

Phoenix has onground courses and is in its 16th year of offering online education. “The last seven or so years has really demonstrated tremendous growth in this modality, with the student population expanding to become about half of our total enrollments,” says Williams. The university’s online enrollment is on the rise in programs for master’s degrees in business, health care, technology, education and criminal justice.

Williams says the university’s online strength is the asynchronous platform. “Students don’t have to synchronize their schedule with other students or faculty.”

Online programs and onground degrees also are offered by Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University. When business schools began offering online courses, the educational community started debating the benefits of electronic instruction versus the brick-and-mortar experience. In subsequent years, administrators realized that a middle ground exists. They created programs and courses containing elements of both formats.

JoAnne Starr, assistant dean of UCSD’s Rady School of Management. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

“Some business schools are typically hybrid,” says JoAnne Starr, assistant dean of UCSD’s Rady School of Management.

Technology is incorporated in various ways at area business schools. Synchronous sessions bring students and instructors online at the same time. Business students use applications like Excel and Access to make decisions. Those who miss a class could watch a replay of it on their iPods. At National University, school supplies could include a headset and microphone. Students use these to connect online with instructors and classmates. At UCSD, business professionals in the Flex MBA program attend classes on campus. Some watch the live streaming of a guest speaker in the Bay Area, says Starr. Furthermore, students may work on a group project online or participate in an electronic chat.

Chapman University doesn’t offer any fully online programs. However, the school is consistently putting more courses online, says Ruth Black, assistant dean, distance learning. Locally, Chapman offers graduate degrees in human resources and organizational leadership. Both are traditionally onground programs. Online courses, says Black, increase the number of options students have. Reflecting on the elimination of the 50 percent rule, she anticipates that for-profit schools will have the advantage in the near future. Some business schools aren’t able to move as quickly. Black notes that implementing change at private schools like Chapman includes the accreditation process. Over the next decade, Black projects that all schools will offer more online education.

Point Loma Nazarene provides the traditional classroom format for its MBA, says Dejon Davis, graduate admissions counselor. Classes are scheduled in the evening for business professionals.

At CSU San Marcos, “we don’t have an online component for our current curriculum,” says Keith Butler, MBA director of college operations. That will change in the fall of 2007. The revised curriculum will include an individual project that will be housed electronically. “The electronic portfolio will allow students to demonstrate their MBA-level work to their current and prospective employers,” says Butler.

Thomas Green, dean of National University’s School of Business and Management, says the congressional action on financial aid won’t affect the university. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

The congressional ruling won’t affect National University, says Thomas Green, dean of the School of Business and Management. The regulation “opens up the marketplace. The big differential has to be the quality of the program. It’s incumbent upon us that our courses are current and relevant.” National offers online and onground education, and the executive MBA program is a hybrid. Green notes that some faculty and students are comfortable in a classroom; others are comfortable online. “We give them the benefit of both,” he says.

In addition, the university replaced videoconferencing with iLinc. A Web cam sends the live image of an instructor in the classroom to students in locations as distant as Afghanistan. Students use headsets with microphones to participate in the class. Their pictures are displayed on the screen when they talk. iLinc comes with a whiteboard and the system can display PowerPoint presentations. The set-up allows a South Dakota city manager to teach a class. “He brought in a guest speaker,” says Green.

Sessions can be recorded and students who miss a class can download it to their iPods. iLinc connects several MBA students at three small National campuses. They are linked electronically into a larger MBA class.

University of Southern California is concentrating on establishing roots locally. USC’s Marshall School of Business is launching an executive MBA (EMBA) program at La Costa Resort and Spa’s conference center. The resort is undergoing renovation, and La Costa is working with the school on the project, says Cherie Scricca, associate dean for the EMBA program.

Courses for the two-year EMBA degree begin in August. Students will attend classes every other week on Friday and Saturday. Scricca says the program currently doesn’t have online components. “At this point, there’s nothing (planned) in the immediate future.”

USD’s School of Business Administration offers a blended learning approach with online and on-campus classes for the master of science in supply chain management (MS-SCM) and the MS in global leadership (MSGL), says Bob Schoultz, director of the MSGL program. “Our MSGL student cohort includes many active-duty military officers, and so we use distance learning to accommodate the needs of those who are globally deployed, as well as those who live outside of San Diego,” he says. “While distance and online learning will continue to grow in importance at major universities, there is no denying the value of face-to-face interaction with fellow students and top-notch faculty.”

SDSU students in Alex DeNoble’s technology commercialization course are charged with identifying the marketable potential of technologies developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Students in the fall session evaluated five technologies; those in the current session studied four. In both sessions, students in San Diego and scientists in New Mexico held videoconferences throughout the semester.

Student groups in the recent class presented their results to scientists last month. Erica Sullivan, who returned to her alma mater for the presentations, earned her MBA from SDSU in 2002 and then served an internship at Los Alamos. She was hired there and works in business development and licensing for the Technology Management Office. Sullivan asked DeNoble and Sandy Ehrlich, SDSU Entrepreneurial Management Center director, to develop the special course. “We were very intrigued,” says DeNoble, professor of management and entrepreneurship.

Says Sullivan, “The caliber of students at SDSU is really quite good, and we have a lot of students there with strong technology backgrounds, making it a great place for the national lab to find students versed in both technology and business. Video conferencing has worked out really well. While I think there is an intrinsic value to face-to-face contact, it’s not always possible or affordable, and video conferencing is the next best thing.”

Various forms of technology are implemented in Alliant International University’s Marshall Goldsmith School of Management. “Information Technology for Decision Making” is a required graduate business course, says Rachna Kumar, professor of information systems and technology. Students work with Microsoft Office software, using Excel for general analysis and decision making. They chart scenarios ranging from the pessimistic to optimistic outcome. Rather than relying on “gut feeling” before deciding, Kumar says Excel provides “six decisions at the click of a button.”

Kumar schedules online chats for her onground classes and has students post group and individual projects online. Part of a student’s grade comes from critiquing other projects. Some international students return to their own countries during the summer and continue their studies through online courses, says Kumar.

Technology at University of Redlands includes the educational portal Blackboard, says Keith Roberts, associate business school dean. Blackboard is mandatory for MBA students and available for undergraduate business school students. “It’s a great tool,” says Roberts. Students go to Blackboard for the syllabus and course documents. They can read an item posted by the instructor, participate in an online discussion and take an exam electronically.

Redlands has web-enhanced classes consisting of six sessions. Half are online; the other three are in the classroom. Student requests prompted the scheduling, says Roberts. Initially the plan was for four online sessions, but students “want the face time.”

Today’s MBA students could be divided into those who want the in-person experience and those more comfortable online. “Everyone in higher education has to look ahead how to best deploy quality education,” says Starr of UCSD.