Newswise — In the past, business professionals considering pursuit of a graduate degree in business had a difficult decision to make. They either could put their career on hold for two years and go back to college full time, or they could seek out a business school that allowed them to take classes part time in the evenings.
Today, however, there is a third and increasingly popular option — one that allows successful businesspeople to maintain the momentum of their careers while adding to their educational arsenals.
That third option is the Florida State University College of Business' online graduate degree program (http://www.cob.fsu.edu/grad/online.cfm).
While taking classes online is nothing new — FSU has had a booming distance-learning program for several years — the offerings from the College of Business open the door for rising stars in the business world to hit the books on their own terms.
According to Patrick Maroney, associate dean for graduate programs in FSU's College of Business, the program was developed to provide access to graduate education for all Florida residents, regardless of where they live. Students living throughout the United States and overseas also are taking advantage of this unique educational opportunity.
"People have good jobs, and they are hesitant to give them up to go back to school," Maroney said. "We wanted to address the needs of the working professional. There also are a lot of alumni with affection for Florida State, and we wanted to provide a way for them to continue their education here."
The program also is attractive to people already living in Tallahassee."It is better than the part-time evening program for those whose jobs require a lot of travel. It is well suited for them," Maroney said.
Maroney is the Kathryn Magee Kip Professor in Life Insurance and has been afaculty member at FSU since 1981.
The College of Business offers online programs for a Master of BusinessAdministration (MBA) degree, a Master of Science in Management with a major in Risk Management/Insurance (MSM in RMI) degree and, starting this semester, a Master of Science in Management Information Systems (MIS) degree.
By the end of this school year, FSU's first online MBA class will be graduating. Fifty-five students will have completed 42 credit hours over 28 months — taking two classes a semester. This fall, 120 students are enrolled in the program.
Maroney said that while there is not a space limit in the traditional sense, there is a cap on the number of students who can participate.
"We had to determine how many students we could effectively serve through our discussion boards, group projects and other ways of interaction," he said. "We use mentors to participate in group discussions — a combination of experienced professionals and graduate students. But we have to be careful who we use, because these students know a lot, and we have to make sure we know more than they do."
Some may question how online students can get the full experience without interacting in person. Maroney said the students get to know each other quite well.
"The best gauge of their connection to each other is that a high percentage show up for graduation," he said. "From the comments we get, there is a real sense of community among the students. They have spent a lot of time together, albeit virtual. This is no out-there-by-yourself correspondence course — there is a lot of networking and teamwork. We even provide online sites for them to communicate after they graduate."
While the classes are taken in the comfort of the student's home (or office), don't be fooled into thinking that there is anything laid-back about the coursework.
"Anyone considering these programs needs to understand that they take a lot of effort — you have to be disciplined and know that you really want to do it," Maroney said. "The faculty (members) teaching the classes are the same ones in the classroom. The courses are the same, and the degrees are the same. It is in no way a watered-down version — the method of delivery is just different."
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