Click here for transcript
Maggie Zmija: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Online MBA Information Session. My name is Maggie and I will be the moderator for today’s webinar.
I’d like to speak to a couple of logistic items real quick. As you can see on the screen, this webcast is in broadcast-only mode, so in order to minimize background noise, please ensure that your speakers are not muted. If you have questions throughout the presentation, please do not hesitate to communicate with us through the Q&A box at the left side of your screen. We will be answering questions at the end of the presentation. We’ll be sending a link to the recording of this session after the webinar, so please look out for that in the next few days.
As you can see by today’s agenda, we will be discussing many topics ranging from online MBA program specifics to admission requirements. Most importantly, the Executive Director of MBA Programs for the Collat School of Business, Ken Miller, will be discussing what makes UAB’s MBA program stand out from the competition. As previously mentioned, we’ll be answering your questions at the end of the presentation, so please use the Q&A box on the left side of your screen throughout the webinar to submit your questions.
Now, at this time, I’d like to introduce our panelists: Dr. Ken Miller is our Executive Director of MBA Programs, as well as Professor of the Strategic Management Capstone Course within the program; and Joanne Wallace and Ariel Dixon, who are our enrollment advisors for our online MBA program. Now to kick off the presentation, I will turn it over to Dr. Miller to talk a little bit about UAB.
Dr. Ken Miller: Thank you, Maggie, and welcome to the webinar. I congratulate those of you that have engaged in this hour or so for investing in your future. It’s very important that you do that. It should be a priority in your business life and career. The MBA is a highly-regarded degree and UAB is a highly-regarded institution. Congratulations for being a part of this and pursuing your dream, I suppose.
UAB is one of three institutions in the University of Alabama system. There’s Alabama Huntsville, Alabama Tuscaloosa, and then UAB. The advantage that we have at UAB is that we are located in the economic center of the state of Alabama. We are able to draw on a lot of talent. As I sit here in my office on campus, I’m looking at the skyline of Birmingham. The tall buildings that immediately jump out are energy with Southern Company, communications with AT&T, finance with Regions Bank. Regions is also a Fortune 500 company. I see Blue Cross Blue Shield and Protective Life in the insurance industry.
I say that to say this. We can access the talent in those buildings on a regular basis and they find their way into our classrooms, both online and face-to-face as guest lecturers. In addition to that, you should note that UAB is a Carnegie Tier One Research University. That is a very select group. When Carnegie decides to hand out funding and grants, UAB is in that upper echelon. That’s very important.
The school, it’s made up of 11 academic colleges and schools. The Collat School of Business is where we offer the part-time professional MBA 100% online. It’s also important for you to know, I think, that our faculty are highly regarded academically and in practice. 90% hold a professional or academic doctorate and the vast majority of our faculty have business experience. I, for one, have 30 years experience in business. I was an owner and manager of a regional food brokerage company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Kind of been there, done that.
I think it’s important that for faculty, for business, for sure it’s important that they have actually practiced the administration of business and they have the academic credentials. When you bring those two things together, you get a pretty dynamic presentation. They maintain that professionalism through consulting in their field and participating in professional associations, among other things.
It’s also important not only that you get an MBA, but it’s important where you go to school. An MBA, and the business school in which it resides, should be accredited. Most are dual-, or singularly-accredited. At UAB, we have dual accreditation, which really separates us from the pack. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, both accredit us about every two to three years.
What does that mean? That means every two to three years we are under the microscope from associations who are looking to make sure we are holding the highest standards academically and we pass with flying colors every time.
U.S. News and World Report just recently released their rankings for the coming year. We are listed as one of the best part-time MBA programs in the country for our ground campus. Actually, top 50 out of 300 for the ground campus. Very proud of that ranking and we maintain it.
We also offer you a Green and Gold Fund experience. If you are inclined and have financial interest, the Green and Gold Fund is where we allow a team of UAB students to literally manage $500,000 worth of assets and money on Wall Street. It’s highly-regarded and we are very competitive in that Green and Gold effort. I guess I’m summing it up by saying quality matters and you want to look for that when you choose your location.
The online program at UAB is 100%. It is asynchronous and that should be important to you in that no one lecture, exam, presentation is offered at a specific time. You will have at least a week, if not two weeks, to finish any of those assignments. You will view lectures and all of these things at your flexible schedule. Asynchronous.
We have award-winning, student-oriented faculty. I think it’s important that you know that because half the value of a really good MBA experience is getting to know and network with a specific cohort. Not just the students that are going through with you, but the faculty who teach you. That networking experience gives you all kinds of leverage and opportunity going forward with your business career. Please know and be assured that our online courses are taught by the same faculty that teach face-to-face here on campus. I do both with my capstone course.
We have, in addition to that, four concentrations for those of you that want to take a deeper dive into a specific discipline. The concentrations are finance, marketing, health services, which is a core competency here at UAB, and management information systems. This is not atypical. This is normal of most quality MBA programs. Concentrations are popular. It’s a generalist degree, but you want to take a deep dive and take one more elective. Then you can come out of here with something on your transcript regarding that particular interest that you have.
The Master of Business Administration here at UAB, and sorry for that delay there in slides, but we did get it to come up, is a 36-credit-hour experience. That’s 12, three-hour courses and is generally completed within two years. If you take the concentration out, you take one more elective than the two that are required, and then all three of those electives would be in your area of interest and you would graduate with an MBA from UAB with a concentration in whatever your interest is, again, on your transcript.
We start with tools in prospective courses. There are four of those. The first four that you would take: accounting and finance for managers, management and organization, managerial economics, quantitative analysis for business managers. I simply say that so you’ll understand the text of the course. Economics is managerial economics, not micro or macro. Accounting and finance is for managers. We’re not training you to become a CPA, but we want to make sure you know how to read a balance sheet, and run the company, and deal with the accountant who brings you that balance sheet. After those four tool courses are done you move into functional core, which are more strategic: strategy and cost analysis, information technology and business strategy, topics in finance, operations and supply-chain management, marketing strategy.
Then you end with the capstone course, which I would teach. That is our ability at that point to stress all the business disciplines in one, final class. By that, I mean economics, accounting, finance, management, marketing, IT, ops management. All of those will be incorporated into my final, capstone class.
Throughout the exercise and that semester, I will stress critical thinking, which is so important in business because you deal with ambiguity and uncertainty. That is the nature of business. You have to think critically and learn to think that way.
The other thing is contingency planning for ambiguity and uncertainties. That’s stressed throughout the capstone course. In that online experience, I will challenge you with mini-cases, Wall Street Journal assignments that are current events, that pertain to strategic leadership, team-based major case analysis at the end of the semester. We’ll communicate regularly through discussion boards. We will also overlay guest lecturers that I referred to that are local or otherwise. Professional development workshops will also be offered to you online. Those things overlap and compliment the academic curriculum.
What’s the long-term value of an MBA? Well, we think that the concentrations we offer you reflect the demand that’s in our economy today. We want to focus on all aspects of business. It is a generalist degree training you to run a company. Your colleagues, when you finish with a MBA, will have a new perspective of you. They will see you as someone who is able to run a business, not just work there.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor’s statistics, as you can see from the slide, projects a huge demand going forward, particularly in the medical and health-service manager field, IT, etc. But our concentrations all feed those demands as they grow. It will give you leverage. Not just leverage as an individual, but leverage in your chosen field. Because it is a generalist degree, it applies in almost any instance.
After that, it’s about leadership. You could easily become, and aspire to be, a chief marketing officer, a chief information officer, chief financial officer, a logistics director, hospital administrator because of the health services concentration. I would also add that you can be an entrepreneur. You can run your own business and there are a lot of folks out there with MBAs doing that.
Don’t forget, it would also open a door for you to perhaps consult in business because you’ve gotten a deep dive in all the disciplines, and you have a working knowledge on how to apply those disciplines. That’s the value of an MBA. At this time, I’d like to turn the balance of the formal presentation over to our enrollment advisor, Joanne.
Joanne Wallace: Thank you, Dr. Miller. My name is Joanne Wallace. I am one of the enrollment advisors for our online MBA program. I have already had the pleasure to work with some of you, as well as the privilege to congratulate you into the acceptance of our program.
Today I’m going to be talking about our term overview. Our online MBA program has three different entry points throughout the year. You can start the program during the spring session, which usually begins the first week of January; the summer session, which usually starts the first week of May; or the fall term, which traditionally starts sometime around the end of August.
We have 15-week terms, which are comprised of two, seven-week sessions. You’ll be taking them one at a time. You’ll have a seven-week course with a one-week break in between, and then your second seven-week course. Just a reminder here, our application deadline for the summer session is approaching. If you are interested in applying, our application deadline is March 27.
Ariel Dixon: Hello, everyone. My name is Ariel Dixon. I am the other enrollment advisor for the online MBA program. I’m going to be talking about the admissions requirements today. To be eligible for the master’s program, students must meet the following qualifications. They must hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited institution. You need to provide official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended. You need a copy of your resume or CV detailing progressive professional work experience. You’ll need two letters of recommendation. One is a professional reference. That is strongly advised or recommended.
You must complete the online application and pay the application of $60 for domestic applicants and $75 for international applicants. You need to provide a supplemental essay. That will be uploaded into the online application. That is 500 to 1,000 words discussing the factors that have influenced your education and career decisions. You also need to describe your professional development to-date and your goals for the future. Basically, just how will this MBA influence your ability to achieve your goals.
Then, once you’re accepted, if you have not taken a pre-calculus course with a C or better in the past five years, you’ll need to complete a business math preparatory assessment, and then also, too, we do offer a GMAT waiver for qualified applicants. That’s something we’ll have a conversation with you about during our initial conversation.
Maggie Zmija: All right. Thank you, Ariel. We will now open it up to questions. Please go ahead and use the Q&A box on your screen. We’ll start by asking the questions that we have received so far. As we’re going through these, we’ll answer as many as we can today, but if we don’t get to your question, we will definitely have an enrollment advisor follow up with you.
Let’s start with a question that comes in that says, “I come from a non-business background. Can I still pursue this program?” Ken, I’ll go ahead and turn this one over to you first to answer.
Dr. Ken Miller: Okay. Yeah, absolutely you can pursue an MBA with a non-business background. It’s a deep dive into the disciplines, but it’s not uncommon at all for folks to come to the program with degrees with nursing, or engineering, etc. Our faculty know that there are students who do not have that background initially. They deal with that on the front end of each class, kind of a really hyped prep situation, if you will. I wouldn’t be concerned at all about that. It’s a generalist degree. At the same time, if you are in our program, you’re capable. You can do the work. I would challenge you to do that.
Maggie Zmija: Okay, thank you. This next question I’m going to ask really quick is, “I have military benefits. Does your program accept those?” Ariel, if you-
Ariel Dixon: Sure. The answer is yes. You would want to contact our VA contact in order to get that set up. Of course, the Financial Aid Department. They’ll work with you towards applying that to your program while you’re here.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you. This next question that we are going to answer is, “Since this program is online, how do you conduct exams?” Ariel?
Ariel Dixon: Yes. With the online exams, what your professor will do is they will utilize … Well, if you cannot make it to the ground campus to the testing center, you would utilize ProctorU, which is an online service that allows you to take a proctored exam from the convenience of wherever you are. You need a computer with a mic and a camera, I believe, and that would allow you to sign up to take exams online.
You do have to create an account. There is a little fee associated with it, so you’re going to want to do that right away as well in the beginning of the process. Then other tests as well, you may also see instructors or professors give you a time test that’s open-book to alleviate that proctored exam.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you. This next question is, “What is the cost per credit hour?”
Joanne Wallace: Yes, the cost per hour is $1,088. This is a one fee and then books would be sold separately.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you, Joanne. This next question is, “Is it possible to move from the online to on-campus program during the course of taking courses?”
Joanne Wallace: Yes, it is possible. You would need to finish out a whole semester. You are not allowed to make a change in between semesters. This can take place by contacting your advisor. We’ll send you a term-change form or a program-change form. Then the adjustment will be made when you’re ready to come back.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. This next question is, “May we attend classes in person if we happen to be available that day?” Ken, I’m going to go ahead and direct this question over to you.
Dr. Ken Miller: Probably not. The classes generally are full. They are in particular sessions that may or may not be in sync with the online course that you’re taking. While all things are possible, I would suggest that that probably would not be an option.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you. This next question is, “What is the average book cost per semester?” Ken, do you know the answer to that one?
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah, that will vary. If you’re doing an electronic text, which you would do in my class, that textbook is around $80, $85. If you were required to buy a hard copy somewhere, that could go up to $200. But I think for the most part, our online courses deal with electronic textbooks and they’re much more affordable.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you. Ken, I have another question for you on here, too, most likely. This one says that, “I’m interested in organizational leadership and development. What electives are available that would lead in this direction?”
Dr. Ken Miller: In management, we’d be looking at management information systems, which is very strategic for that. You do get management and organization theory in your first four courses, MBA 631. We blend that, the discipline of management and organization, with information technology and business strategy throughout your experience, actually. Of course, my class is strategic management. Also, I do several sections on management theory as well. It’s embedded throughout the curriculum.
I would say, in addition to that, a global perspective is embedded throughout the curriculum. If you look at the courses we offer, there is no international marketing. We approach that because every course should have a global perspective in today’s business world. Something happened in China today that affected Birmingham, I assure you. We make sure all of our classes have that perspective.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you. This next question I’m going to ask really quick is, “Will you let us know if the business math prep assessment is required?” I’ll pass this over to recruitment.
Joanne Wallace: Yes, we will. After acceptance into the program, after the grad department has looked over your transcripts, they’re going to make the assessment as to whether you’ve had an equivalent math course within the last five years. If you have not, then after acceptance, they will send you a link in order to register and take this preparatory math class.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you.
Dr. Ken Miller: I would also add to that, we call it a pre-calculus experience, but in effect, it’s algebra. In business, algebra is what you need to be fluent in. It is not a calculus requirement.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you, Ken. That’s good to know. The next question I’m going to go ahead and ask is, “Is there a comprehensive exit exam upon completing the program?” Ken, I’ll go ahead and pass that over to you.
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah. No, there is not. Each course will have its own final exam or final exam experience unto itself. There is no exit exam.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you. I have another one for you, Ken, probably. “Does your MBA program include case studies?”
Dr. Ken Miller: Throughout. Very much a part of it. Case studies in a team-based format. We stress that because, in fact, that’s real life. When you take this degree and go back to work, it’s team-based. It’s learning how to work and play well with others, if you will. Case studies are a prominent part of that. I like to incorporate current events in mine as well. Any case study that I assign my students, we bring the facts of the case to present day because it’s much easier to do with the computer technology that we deal with today.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you. This next question is, “Is the business math assessment available online?”
Ariel Dixon: Yes. The answer is yes, that’s available online. As Joanne mentioned, you’ll receive a link from the graduate department once you are accepted into this program. There is a 10-hour course offered free of charge as well, so there’ll be more information to come once you’re accepted.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you. This next question, I’m going to go ahead and pass it over to you, Ken, again. “Is there a way for students to get questions to the professors outside of course time?”
Dr. Ken Miller: Absolutely, because the courses are asynchronous, it’s a 24/7 experience. All of my assignments are due on Sunday night at midnight but anything can be turned in and we can communicate on a 24/7 basis. You will get instant feedback from your professors. We’re very focused about that. It’s not you can only speak to us on Tuesday afternoon. Far from it. Asynchronous means 24/7.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you, Ken. We have another one for you, too. I know, Ken, you’re getting a lot of questions here.
Dr. Ken Miller: Great. That’s great.
Maggie Zmija: It is good. “In comparison with the MBA versus an MIS, can you explain the differences such as the different career paths and goals between the two?”
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah. Managing information systems is a career path in and of itself in today’s world. You’ll find that it’s very specific in large organizations. IT people, it’s a clear path. They play a large role and it’s only going to get bigger. The MBA, on the other hand, is a generalist degree. It can take you wherever you want to go in terms of business. It will give you the tools to create, run, grow, and strategically plan for success in any business endeavor. It is not a deep dive into information sciences.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you, Ken. I’m going to go ahead and take another question. I think we answered this one. This next question is this person would like to use the 9/11 or GI Bill. Is that possible?
Ariel Dixon: The answer to that question is yes. You would want to obviously get your certification of eligibility. That would be your first step. Then, of course, like I mentioned before, you would talk to our VA contact in our Financial Aid Department to set that up. They would help you with the next steps to apply that to your degree.
Maggie Zmija: This next question is, “How much time is recommended to be spent daily or weekly to achieve the MBA?” Ken, I’ll go ahead and direct that over to you.
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah, that varies with the individual and your ability to absorb information. As a rule, I tell my students on the on-campus class, you need to prep about three hours for every hour you’re in class to be fully prepared, and engaging, and to bring forth a good discussion of the issues that are being discussed. I would say anywhere from two to three hours for each hour that you’re in class.
Now, when you go online, since it’s at your leisure, you’ve got probably, in my class, you have a lecture, you have a mini-quiz, you’ll have a couple of assignments. You’re looking at probably nine to 10 hours a week in my class of involvement, engaged involvement. Could be less.
Maggie Zmija: Okay. Another quick question for you, Ken, too, is I know you touched on this a little bit earlier in the presentation in regards to your capstone course, but somebody would like to, if you could, explain in some detail some examples of work for the capstone course.
Dr. Ken Miller: You’ll have mini-cases that are maybe two pages long. They are addressing an instance, a fairly current case about something in business, and you’ll have five to six questions to answer thoughtfully with some research. Then you’d move to, with me, a Wall Street Journal assignment where I would challenge you to find an edition of the journal that is no more than two weeks old, some story that is relevant to the subject at hand or the chapter we’re in. Then you would do an overview of that, a recap of it. You would do a SWOT analysis given what you see. Then you’d offer me a strategic alternative for the outcome, what will make it better. That’s a mini-case. That’s a Wall Street Journal play.
There are discussion boards. When you turn assignments in, your teammates are challenged to respond to what you’ve turned in and you’re challenged to talk back to them about it. That’s an integral part of a strategy course as well, because you need multiple opinions. It seems to work better that way.
We’ve also got recorded guest lecturers, as I referred to earlier. We’re doing a professional development workshop here on campus in two weeks. The title of that one is, “Managing LinkedIn: Building Your Brand.” That’s very important. That’s an overlay to the curriculum. Now, the students here on campus will have this consultant speak to them about that, managing LinkedIn and building their personal brand, but I’ll also record that for you to view as well.
Guest lecturers, professional development workshops, discussion boards among your team members, current events. Then I’ll have in my class one final case analysis, which is probably a 15-, 20-page case with detail. I’ll challenge you to bring it to current day in terms of the facts. But you’ll do that analysis with a team of five to six of your cohorts. It’s very doable. Our technology here for online is up-to-speed. It’s very doable and effective.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you. This next question is, “Can I change my concentration when I start the program?”
Ariel Dixon: The answer is yes, you absolutely can change your concentration. What I’d recommend is obviously taking some of the core courses and establishing what direction you want to go beforehand. Most students know which direction they want to go, but if you’re uncertain of which one, maybe if you’re in between two, or you’re unsure if you just want to take the MBA, sometimes even taking a couple of courses in the core courses can help you determine which direction you want to go once you get a little bit more understanding.
The answer is yes, you can change it. Of course, you’re going to want to do it somewhat before those electives are coming up. Remember, that there’s two elective options in the general MBA and three within the concentrated areas. That’s the biggest difference between the two, so just be aware of that and get ahold of us. You’re always going to want to contact your advisor in order to make that change.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you.
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah, I would support that. If you’re undecided or on the fence, take the first four courses and you’ll get a deep dive into accounting, management, economics, quantitative analysis, and you’ll get a real feel for where your interests are at that point.
Maggie Zmija: Awesome. Thanks, Ken. This next question, Ken, I’m actually going to direct over to you. “Do you receive any certifications by taking any of the classes or are they treated as equivalents?”
Dr. Ken Miller: This is not a certificate. No. It is a Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration if you so desire. We do have certificates in the School of Business, but that’s not the exercise we’re talking about here today.
Maggie Zmija: Okay. This next question, and you could probably be a little general in the way that you answer, but as far as what the grading is like, I know every course is probably unique, but with there being homework, or midterms, and final exams, that kind of thing. Ken, would you be able to answer that?
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah. I would answer it very succinctly. You’re going to be held to a higher standard than you were at the undergraduate level. At the undergraduate level, for the most part, you’ve learned acronyms. You understand terms and you enter the workforce. At the graduate level, we’re going to stress critical thinking. Critical thinking holds you to a higher standard. When you make a statement, we expect that you’ve researched that statement. It’s not a seat-of-the-pants assumption, for instance. The grades will reflect that.
There are no D’s at the MBA level. There are A’s, B’s, and C’s, and C’s are not highly thought of. The vast majority of our students have no issues making A’s or B’s, but you’re in a talented group and they aspire to be the best at what they do. Just know that you’ll be held to a higher standard and, if we admit you, we expect that you can accomplish that.
Maggie Zmija: Okay. The question next question I think we answered.
Joanne Wallace: Yeah, it was-
Maggie Zmija: “Can you do some classes on campus and some online?” No-
Joanne Wallace: -Not for the 100% online program. There are four main delivery types for UAB courses and programs that are online: Online- Programs that deliver most or all of the content online with the potential of few on-campus meetings.
100% Online- Programs that do not require any on-campus meetings
Distance Accessible- These programs combine the use of online technology with required periodic on-campus intensives.
Blended- These programs deliver at least half of their content online with the remaining content delivered via on-campus meetings.
Maggie Zmija: What about in regards to, somebody’s asking here, “Can I change my pacing for the program?”
Joanne Wallace: This is a two-year program, as mentioned earlier. You’re going to be taking two seven-week courses per 15-week semester. The electives run a little longer. I believe they’re 14 weeks. You can, by contacting your student advisor, if you need to stop out for some reason, you can come back into the program. But you’re not only allowed to take just one course, if that is your question.
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah, I would add you perhaps could change your pacing, but it’s not easily done because of the way the courses line up. What we try to do is get you in and out in a structured manner. It would not be easy to change your pacing, but anything is doable.
Maggie Zmija: Okay. This next one here is, “What types of financial aid do you offer?” I think we touched on this just a little bit.
Ariel Dixon: Sure. Financial aid is available for those who apply and qualify. We really can’t touch on that. You’d have to fill out the FAFSA in order to see what you qualify for. From there, you would work with our Financial Aid Department to determine that and to set that up, of course, to apply to your program. That would be something you’d want to fill out the FAFSA for, but apart from that, we don’t know what you qualify for, so you’d have to talk to Financial Aid.
Maggie Zmija: Thanks, Ariel. This next question here, Ken, maybe you have a better idea with experience and some of the students in class about maybe what the average age of entering students are for the program.
Dr. Ken Miller: There is no specific requirement for age. For the most part, MBA students have been out of school for three to five years. For the most part, but not always. I had in my face-to-face class a 45-year old regional manager for Wells Fargo Bank. I had two MDs and a surgeon in my face-to-face class recently. That would be the other extreme. We also have several hundred in the program here on campus, we have probably 10% of them are straight out of undergraduate school. It’s doable to come from any of those directions. On average, an MBA student has been out of school about five years in our program.
Maggie Zmija: Thanks, Ken. This next one here is directed more towards recruitment. On your appointment-scheduling tool, what is referral appointment? What does that mean?
Ariel Dixon: Good question. With the appointment scheduling, the referral appointment is in regards to if you know of someone who may also be interested in the MBA program online, you’d be able to refer them and to schedule an appointment with them. That works out best because that way if you have a really great experience with one of your advisors, either Joanne or I, you can refer your friend who may also be interested.
Of course, you’re going to have conversations with family members, friends, coworkers, the people that you network with. If they are also interested in it, that’s a great way for you to segue them into the program and just get some more information for them because every person’s experience is different. But it’s always great to refer them over and try to give them the same opportunity that you had from the beginning.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Great explanation. This next one here, Ken, I’m going to direct this over to you. You might have touched on this a little bit when you were talking about the classes. “Do you ever visit other businesses or travel to business-development conferences like an executive MBA program might do?”
Dr. Ken Miller: Face-to-face, that is occasionally done. Because we are right in the heart of Birmingham, those CEOs come to us. We had Grayson Hall in class last week. He is the CEO of Regions Bank. They generally come to us because of our location, but even when that happens, from the online perspective, we’ll record those things going forward. You won’t miss a beat.
Maggie Zmija: Awesome. This next one is directed towards recruitment. “I have tuition reimbursement available from my employer. Am I able to utilize this?”
Joanne Wallace: Absolutely, you are. It’s important, though, to contact the HR department at your company and find out exactly how they disburse the funds. Most companies will disburse the funds after final grades are posted. Please make sure that you have a backup plan, whether it is money that you have saved, that you’ll need to utilize out-of-pocket, or apply to FAFSA. But I would contact your HR department and that’s something that’s handled between our accounting service and your company.
Maggie Zmija: Okay. I think now we’re not really getting very many new questions coming in. We will go ahead and wrap this up. Thank you, all. This concludes our webinar now for today. Just a reminder that any questions that we did not get to or questions that were a little bit more specific to the individual person, we’ll definitely have an enrollment advisor reach out to you after this webinar. Everyone is also going to be emailed the link of the presentation within 24 hours.
Again, a reminder the application deadline is March 27 for the summer term. Thank you, again, to everybody that has joined us. Thank you, Dr. Miller, Joanne, and Ariel, for sharing insight into our program. If you have additional questions that you do want to ask, you can always contact either Ariel or Joanne and set up an appointment and ask those. Thank you, guys, so much for joining.
I’d like to speak to a couple of logistic items real quick. As you can see on the screen, this webcast is in broadcast-only mode, so in order to minimize background noise, please ensure that your speakers are not muted. If you have questions throughout the presentation, please do not hesitate to communicate with us through the Q&A box at the left side of your screen. We will be answering questions at the end of the presentation. We’ll be sending a link to the recording of this session after the webinar, so please look out for that in the next few days.
As you can see by today’s agenda, we will be discussing many topics ranging from online MBA program specifics to admission requirements. Most importantly, the Executive Director of MBA Programs for the Collat School of Business, Ken Miller, will be discussing what makes UAB’s MBA program stand out from the competition. As previously mentioned, we’ll be answering your questions at the end of the presentation, so please use the Q&A box on the left side of your screen throughout the webinar to submit your questions.
Now, at this time, I’d like to introduce our panelists: Dr. Ken Miller is our Executive Director of MBA Programs, as well as Professor of the Strategic Management Capstone Course within the program; and Joanne Wallace and Ariel Dixon, who are our enrollment advisors for our online MBA program. Now to kick off the presentation, I will turn it over to Dr. Miller to talk a little bit about UAB.
Dr. Ken Miller: Thank you, Maggie, and welcome to the webinar. I congratulate those of you that have engaged in this hour or so for investing in your future. It’s very important that you do that. It should be a priority in your business life and career. The MBA is a highly-regarded degree and UAB is a highly-regarded institution. Congratulations for being a part of this and pursuing your dream, I suppose.
UAB is one of three institutions in the University of Alabama system. There’s Alabama Huntsville, Alabama Tuscaloosa, and then UAB. The advantage that we have at UAB is that we are located in the economic center of the state of Alabama. We are able to draw on a lot of talent. As I sit here in my office on campus, I’m looking at the skyline of Birmingham. The tall buildings that immediately jump out are energy with Southern Company, communications with AT&T, finance with Regions Bank. Regions is also a Fortune 500 company. I see Blue Cross Blue Shield and Protective Life in the insurance industry.
I say that to say this. We can access the talent in those buildings on a regular basis and they find their way into our classrooms, both online and face-to-face as guest lecturers. In addition to that, you should note that UAB is a Carnegie Tier One Research University. That is a very select group. When Carnegie decides to hand out funding and grants, UAB is in that upper echelon. That’s very important.
The school, it’s made up of 11 academic colleges and schools. The Collat School of Business is where we offer the part-time professional MBA 100% online. It’s also important for you to know, I think, that our faculty are highly regarded academically and in practice. 90% hold a professional or academic doctorate and the vast majority of our faculty have business experience. I, for one, have 30 years experience in business. I was an owner and manager of a regional food brokerage company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Kind of been there, done that.
I think it’s important that for faculty, for business, for sure it’s important that they have actually practiced the administration of business and they have the academic credentials. When you bring those two things together, you get a pretty dynamic presentation. They maintain that professionalism through consulting in their field and participating in professional associations, among other things.
It’s also important not only that you get an MBA, but it’s important where you go to school. An MBA, and the business school in which it resides, should be accredited. Most are dual-, or singularly-accredited. At UAB, we have dual accreditation, which really separates us from the pack. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, both accredit us about every two to three years.
What does that mean? That means every two to three years we are under the microscope from associations who are looking to make sure we are holding the highest standards academically and we pass with flying colors every time.
U.S. News and World Report just recently released their rankings for the coming year. We are listed as one of the best part-time MBA programs in the country for our ground campus. Actually, top 50 out of 300 for the ground campus. Very proud of that ranking and we maintain it.
We also offer you a Green and Gold Fund experience. If you are inclined and have financial interest, the Green and Gold Fund is where we allow a team of UAB students to literally manage $500,000 worth of assets and money on Wall Street. It’s highly-regarded and we are very competitive in that Green and Gold effort. I guess I’m summing it up by saying quality matters and you want to look for that when you choose your location.
The online program at UAB is 100%. It is asynchronous and that should be important to you in that no one lecture, exam, presentation is offered at a specific time. You will have at least a week, if not two weeks, to finish any of those assignments. You will view lectures and all of these things at your flexible schedule. Asynchronous.
We have award-winning, student-oriented faculty. I think it’s important that you know that because half the value of a really good MBA experience is getting to know and network with a specific cohort. Not just the students that are going through with you, but the faculty who teach you. That networking experience gives you all kinds of leverage and opportunity going forward with your business career. Please know and be assured that our online courses are taught by the same faculty that teach face-to-face here on campus. I do both with my capstone course.
We have, in addition to that, four concentrations for those of you that want to take a deeper dive into a specific discipline. The concentrations are finance, marketing, health services, which is a core competency here at UAB, and management information systems. This is not atypical. This is normal of most quality MBA programs. Concentrations are popular. It’s a generalist degree, but you want to take a deep dive and take one more elective. Then you can come out of here with something on your transcript regarding that particular interest that you have.
The Master of Business Administration here at UAB, and sorry for that delay there in slides, but we did get it to come up, is a 36-credit-hour experience. That’s 12, three-hour courses and is generally completed within two years. If you take the concentration out, you take one more elective than the two that are required, and then all three of those electives would be in your area of interest and you would graduate with an MBA from UAB with a concentration in whatever your interest is, again, on your transcript.
We start with tools in prospective courses. There are four of those. The first four that you would take: accounting and finance for managers, management and organization, managerial economics, quantitative analysis for business managers. I simply say that so you’ll understand the text of the course. Economics is managerial economics, not micro or macro. Accounting and finance is for managers. We’re not training you to become a CPA, but we want to make sure you know how to read a balance sheet, and run the company, and deal with the accountant who brings you that balance sheet. After those four tool courses are done you move into functional core, which are more strategic: strategy and cost analysis, information technology and business strategy, topics in finance, operations and supply-chain management, marketing strategy.
Then you end with the capstone course, which I would teach. That is our ability at that point to stress all the business disciplines in one, final class. By that, I mean economics, accounting, finance, management, marketing, IT, ops management. All of those will be incorporated into my final, capstone class.
Throughout the exercise and that semester, I will stress critical thinking, which is so important in business because you deal with ambiguity and uncertainty. That is the nature of business. You have to think critically and learn to think that way.
The other thing is contingency planning for ambiguity and uncertainties. That’s stressed throughout the capstone course. In that online experience, I will challenge you with mini-cases, Wall Street Journal assignments that are current events, that pertain to strategic leadership, team-based major case analysis at the end of the semester. We’ll communicate regularly through discussion boards. We will also overlay guest lecturers that I referred to that are local or otherwise. Professional development workshops will also be offered to you online. Those things overlap and compliment the academic curriculum.
What’s the long-term value of an MBA? Well, we think that the concentrations we offer you reflect the demand that’s in our economy today. We want to focus on all aspects of business. It is a generalist degree training you to run a company. Your colleagues, when you finish with a MBA, will have a new perspective of you. They will see you as someone who is able to run a business, not just work there.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor’s statistics, as you can see from the slide, projects a huge demand going forward, particularly in the medical and health-service manager field, IT, etc. But our concentrations all feed those demands as they grow. It will give you leverage. Not just leverage as an individual, but leverage in your chosen field. Because it is a generalist degree, it applies in almost any instance.
After that, it’s about leadership. You could easily become, and aspire to be, a chief marketing officer, a chief information officer, chief financial officer, a logistics director, hospital administrator because of the health services concentration. I would also add that you can be an entrepreneur. You can run your own business and there are a lot of folks out there with MBAs doing that.
Don’t forget, it would also open a door for you to perhaps consult in business because you’ve gotten a deep dive in all the disciplines, and you have a working knowledge on how to apply those disciplines. That’s the value of an MBA. At this time, I’d like to turn the balance of the formal presentation over to our enrollment advisor, Joanne.
Joanne Wallace: Thank you, Dr. Miller. My name is Joanne Wallace. I am one of the enrollment advisors for our online MBA program. I have already had the pleasure to work with some of you, as well as the privilege to congratulate you into the acceptance of our program.
Today I’m going to be talking about our term overview. Our online MBA program has three different entry points throughout the year. You can start the program during the spring session, which usually begins the first week of January; the summer session, which usually starts the first week of May; or the fall term, which traditionally starts sometime around the end of August.
We have 15-week terms, which are comprised of two, seven-week sessions. You’ll be taking them one at a time. You’ll have a seven-week course with a one-week break in between, and then your second seven-week course. Just a reminder here, our application deadline for the summer session is approaching. If you are interested in applying, our application deadline is March 27.
Ariel Dixon: Hello, everyone. My name is Ariel Dixon. I am the other enrollment advisor for the online MBA program. I’m going to be talking about the admissions requirements today. To be eligible for the master’s program, students must meet the following qualifications. They must hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited institution. You need to provide official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended. You need a copy of your resume or CV detailing progressive professional work experience. You’ll need two letters of recommendation. One is a professional reference. That is strongly advised or recommended.
You must complete the online application and pay the application of $60 for domestic applicants and $75 for international applicants. You need to provide a supplemental essay. That will be uploaded into the online application. That is 500 to 1,000 words discussing the factors that have influenced your education and career decisions. You also need to describe your professional development to-date and your goals for the future. Basically, just how will this MBA influence your ability to achieve your goals.
Then, once you’re accepted, if you have not taken a pre-calculus course with a C or better in the past five years, you’ll need to complete a business math preparatory assessment, and then also, too, we do offer a GMAT waiver for qualified applicants. That’s something we’ll have a conversation with you about during our initial conversation.
Maggie Zmija: All right. Thank you, Ariel. We will now open it up to questions. Please go ahead and use the Q&A box on your screen. We’ll start by asking the questions that we have received so far. As we’re going through these, we’ll answer as many as we can today, but if we don’t get to your question, we will definitely have an enrollment advisor follow up with you.
Let’s start with a question that comes in that says, “I come from a non-business background. Can I still pursue this program?” Ken, I’ll go ahead and turn this one over to you first to answer.
Dr. Ken Miller: Okay. Yeah, absolutely you can pursue an MBA with a non-business background. It’s a deep dive into the disciplines, but it’s not uncommon at all for folks to come to the program with degrees with nursing, or engineering, etc. Our faculty know that there are students who do not have that background initially. They deal with that on the front end of each class, kind of a really hyped prep situation, if you will. I wouldn’t be concerned at all about that. It’s a generalist degree. At the same time, if you are in our program, you’re capable. You can do the work. I would challenge you to do that.
Maggie Zmija: Okay, thank you. This next question I’m going to ask really quick is, “I have military benefits. Does your program accept those?” Ariel, if you-
Ariel Dixon: Sure. The answer is yes. You would want to contact our VA contact in order to get that set up. Of course, the Financial Aid Department. They’ll work with you towards applying that to your program while you’re here.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you. This next question that we are going to answer is, “Since this program is online, how do you conduct exams?” Ariel?
Ariel Dixon: Yes. With the online exams, what your professor will do is they will utilize … Well, if you cannot make it to the ground campus to the testing center, you would utilize ProctorU, which is an online service that allows you to take a proctored exam from the convenience of wherever you are. You need a computer with a mic and a camera, I believe, and that would allow you to sign up to take exams online.
You do have to create an account. There is a little fee associated with it, so you’re going to want to do that right away as well in the beginning of the process. Then other tests as well, you may also see instructors or professors give you a time test that’s open-book to alleviate that proctored exam.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you. This next question is, “What is the cost per credit hour?”
Joanne Wallace: Yes, the cost per hour is $1,088. This is a one fee and then books would be sold separately.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you, Joanne. This next question is, “Is it possible to move from the online to on-campus program during the course of taking courses?”
Joanne Wallace: Yes, it is possible. You would need to finish out a whole semester. You are not allowed to make a change in between semesters. This can take place by contacting your advisor. We’ll send you a term-change form or a program-change form. Then the adjustment will be made when you’re ready to come back.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. This next question is, “May we attend classes in person if we happen to be available that day?” Ken, I’m going to go ahead and direct this question over to you.
Dr. Ken Miller: Probably not. The classes generally are full. They are in particular sessions that may or may not be in sync with the online course that you’re taking. While all things are possible, I would suggest that that probably would not be an option.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you. This next question is, “What is the average book cost per semester?” Ken, do you know the answer to that one?
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah, that will vary. If you’re doing an electronic text, which you would do in my class, that textbook is around $80, $85. If you were required to buy a hard copy somewhere, that could go up to $200. But I think for the most part, our online courses deal with electronic textbooks and they’re much more affordable.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you. Ken, I have another question for you on here, too, most likely. This one says that, “I’m interested in organizational leadership and development. What electives are available that would lead in this direction?”
Dr. Ken Miller: In management, we’d be looking at management information systems, which is very strategic for that. You do get management and organization theory in your first four courses, MBA 631. We blend that, the discipline of management and organization, with information technology and business strategy throughout your experience, actually. Of course, my class is strategic management. Also, I do several sections on management theory as well. It’s embedded throughout the curriculum.
I would say, in addition to that, a global perspective is embedded throughout the curriculum. If you look at the courses we offer, there is no international marketing. We approach that because every course should have a global perspective in today’s business world. Something happened in China today that affected Birmingham, I assure you. We make sure all of our classes have that perspective.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you. This next question I’m going to ask really quick is, “Will you let us know if the business math prep assessment is required?” I’ll pass this over to recruitment.
Joanne Wallace: Yes, we will. After acceptance into the program, after the grad department has looked over your transcripts, they’re going to make the assessment as to whether you’ve had an equivalent math course within the last five years. If you have not, then after acceptance, they will send you a link in order to register and take this preparatory math class.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you.
Dr. Ken Miller: I would also add to that, we call it a pre-calculus experience, but in effect, it’s algebra. In business, algebra is what you need to be fluent in. It is not a calculus requirement.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you, Ken. That’s good to know. The next question I’m going to go ahead and ask is, “Is there a comprehensive exit exam upon completing the program?” Ken, I’ll go ahead and pass that over to you.
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah. No, there is not. Each course will have its own final exam or final exam experience unto itself. There is no exit exam.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you. I have another one for you, Ken, probably. “Does your MBA program include case studies?”
Dr. Ken Miller: Throughout. Very much a part of it. Case studies in a team-based format. We stress that because, in fact, that’s real life. When you take this degree and go back to work, it’s team-based. It’s learning how to work and play well with others, if you will. Case studies are a prominent part of that. I like to incorporate current events in mine as well. Any case study that I assign my students, we bring the facts of the case to present day because it’s much easier to do with the computer technology that we deal with today.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you. This next question is, “Is the business math assessment available online?”
Ariel Dixon: Yes. The answer is yes, that’s available online. As Joanne mentioned, you’ll receive a link from the graduate department once you are accepted into this program. There is a 10-hour course offered free of charge as well, so there’ll be more information to come once you’re accepted.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you. This next question, I’m going to go ahead and pass it over to you, Ken, again. “Is there a way for students to get questions to the professors outside of course time?”
Dr. Ken Miller: Absolutely, because the courses are asynchronous, it’s a 24/7 experience. All of my assignments are due on Sunday night at midnight but anything can be turned in and we can communicate on a 24/7 basis. You will get instant feedback from your professors. We’re very focused about that. It’s not you can only speak to us on Tuesday afternoon. Far from it. Asynchronous means 24/7.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you, Ken. We have another one for you, too. I know, Ken, you’re getting a lot of questions here.
Dr. Ken Miller: Great. That’s great.
Maggie Zmija: It is good. “In comparison with the MBA versus an MIS, can you explain the differences such as the different career paths and goals between the two?”
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah. Managing information systems is a career path in and of itself in today’s world. You’ll find that it’s very specific in large organizations. IT people, it’s a clear path. They play a large role and it’s only going to get bigger. The MBA, on the other hand, is a generalist degree. It can take you wherever you want to go in terms of business. It will give you the tools to create, run, grow, and strategically plan for success in any business endeavor. It is not a deep dive into information sciences.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you, Ken. I’m going to go ahead and take another question. I think we answered this one. This next question is this person would like to use the 9/11 or GI Bill. Is that possible?
Ariel Dixon: The answer to that question is yes. You would want to obviously get your certification of eligibility. That would be your first step. Then, of course, like I mentioned before, you would talk to our VA contact in our Financial Aid Department to set that up. They would help you with the next steps to apply that to your degree.
Maggie Zmija: This next question is, “How much time is recommended to be spent daily or weekly to achieve the MBA?” Ken, I’ll go ahead and direct that over to you.
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah, that varies with the individual and your ability to absorb information. As a rule, I tell my students on the on-campus class, you need to prep about three hours for every hour you’re in class to be fully prepared, and engaging, and to bring forth a good discussion of the issues that are being discussed. I would say anywhere from two to three hours for each hour that you’re in class.
Now, when you go online, since it’s at your leisure, you’ve got probably, in my class, you have a lecture, you have a mini-quiz, you’ll have a couple of assignments. You’re looking at probably nine to 10 hours a week in my class of involvement, engaged involvement. Could be less.
Maggie Zmija: Okay. Another quick question for you, Ken, too, is I know you touched on this a little bit earlier in the presentation in regards to your capstone course, but somebody would like to, if you could, explain in some detail some examples of work for the capstone course.
Dr. Ken Miller: You’ll have mini-cases that are maybe two pages long. They are addressing an instance, a fairly current case about something in business, and you’ll have five to six questions to answer thoughtfully with some research. Then you’d move to, with me, a Wall Street Journal assignment where I would challenge you to find an edition of the journal that is no more than two weeks old, some story that is relevant to the subject at hand or the chapter we’re in. Then you would do an overview of that, a recap of it. You would do a SWOT analysis given what you see. Then you’d offer me a strategic alternative for the outcome, what will make it better. That’s a mini-case. That’s a Wall Street Journal play.
There are discussion boards. When you turn assignments in, your teammates are challenged to respond to what you’ve turned in and you’re challenged to talk back to them about it. That’s an integral part of a strategy course as well, because you need multiple opinions. It seems to work better that way.
We’ve also got recorded guest lecturers, as I referred to earlier. We’re doing a professional development workshop here on campus in two weeks. The title of that one is, “Managing LinkedIn: Building Your Brand.” That’s very important. That’s an overlay to the curriculum. Now, the students here on campus will have this consultant speak to them about that, managing LinkedIn and building their personal brand, but I’ll also record that for you to view as well.
Guest lecturers, professional development workshops, discussion boards among your team members, current events. Then I’ll have in my class one final case analysis, which is probably a 15-, 20-page case with detail. I’ll challenge you to bring it to current day in terms of the facts. But you’ll do that analysis with a team of five to six of your cohorts. It’s very doable. Our technology here for online is up-to-speed. It’s very doable and effective.
Maggie Zmija: Thank you. This next question is, “Can I change my concentration when I start the program?”
Ariel Dixon: The answer is yes, you absolutely can change your concentration. What I’d recommend is obviously taking some of the core courses and establishing what direction you want to go beforehand. Most students know which direction they want to go, but if you’re uncertain of which one, maybe if you’re in between two, or you’re unsure if you just want to take the MBA, sometimes even taking a couple of courses in the core courses can help you determine which direction you want to go once you get a little bit more understanding.
The answer is yes, you can change it. Of course, you’re going to want to do it somewhat before those electives are coming up. Remember, that there’s two elective options in the general MBA and three within the concentrated areas. That’s the biggest difference between the two, so just be aware of that and get ahold of us. You’re always going to want to contact your advisor in order to make that change.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Thank you.
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah, I would support that. If you’re undecided or on the fence, take the first four courses and you’ll get a deep dive into accounting, management, economics, quantitative analysis, and you’ll get a real feel for where your interests are at that point.
Maggie Zmija: Awesome. Thanks, Ken. This next question, Ken, I’m actually going to direct over to you. “Do you receive any certifications by taking any of the classes or are they treated as equivalents?”
Dr. Ken Miller: This is not a certificate. No. It is a Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration if you so desire. We do have certificates in the School of Business, but that’s not the exercise we’re talking about here today.
Maggie Zmija: Okay. This next question, and you could probably be a little general in the way that you answer, but as far as what the grading is like, I know every course is probably unique, but with there being homework, or midterms, and final exams, that kind of thing. Ken, would you be able to answer that?
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah. I would answer it very succinctly. You’re going to be held to a higher standard than you were at the undergraduate level. At the undergraduate level, for the most part, you’ve learned acronyms. You understand terms and you enter the workforce. At the graduate level, we’re going to stress critical thinking. Critical thinking holds you to a higher standard. When you make a statement, we expect that you’ve researched that statement. It’s not a seat-of-the-pants assumption, for instance. The grades will reflect that.
There are no D’s at the MBA level. There are A’s, B’s, and C’s, and C’s are not highly thought of. The vast majority of our students have no issues making A’s or B’s, but you’re in a talented group and they aspire to be the best at what they do. Just know that you’ll be held to a higher standard and, if we admit you, we expect that you can accomplish that.
Maggie Zmija: Okay. The question next question I think we answered.
Joanne Wallace: Yeah, it was-
Maggie Zmija: “Can you do some classes on campus and some online?” No-
Joanne Wallace: -Not for the 100% online program. There are four main delivery types for UAB courses and programs that are online: Online- Programs that deliver most or all of the content online with the potential of few on-campus meetings.
100% Online- Programs that do not require any on-campus meetings
Distance Accessible- These programs combine the use of online technology with required periodic on-campus intensives.
Blended- These programs deliver at least half of their content online with the remaining content delivered via on-campus meetings.
Maggie Zmija: What about in regards to, somebody’s asking here, “Can I change my pacing for the program?”
Joanne Wallace: This is a two-year program, as mentioned earlier. You’re going to be taking two seven-week courses per 15-week semester. The electives run a little longer. I believe they’re 14 weeks. You can, by contacting your student advisor, if you need to stop out for some reason, you can come back into the program. But you’re not only allowed to take just one course, if that is your question.
Dr. Ken Miller: Yeah, I would add you perhaps could change your pacing, but it’s not easily done because of the way the courses line up. What we try to do is get you in and out in a structured manner. It would not be easy to change your pacing, but anything is doable.
Maggie Zmija: Okay. This next one here is, “What types of financial aid do you offer?” I think we touched on this just a little bit.
Ariel Dixon: Sure. Financial aid is available for those who apply and qualify. We really can’t touch on that. You’d have to fill out the FAFSA in order to see what you qualify for. From there, you would work with our Financial Aid Department to determine that and to set that up, of course, to apply to your program. That would be something you’d want to fill out the FAFSA for, but apart from that, we don’t know what you qualify for, so you’d have to talk to Financial Aid.
Maggie Zmija: Thanks, Ariel. This next question here, Ken, maybe you have a better idea with experience and some of the students in class about maybe what the average age of entering students are for the program.
Dr. Ken Miller: There is no specific requirement for age. For the most part, MBA students have been out of school for three to five years. For the most part, but not always. I had in my face-to-face class a 45-year old regional manager for Wells Fargo Bank. I had two MDs and a surgeon in my face-to-face class recently. That would be the other extreme. We also have several hundred in the program here on campus, we have probably 10% of them are straight out of undergraduate school. It’s doable to come from any of those directions. On average, an MBA student has been out of school about five years in our program.
Maggie Zmija: Thanks, Ken. This next one here is directed more towards recruitment. On your appointment-scheduling tool, what is referral appointment? What does that mean?
Ariel Dixon: Good question. With the appointment scheduling, the referral appointment is in regards to if you know of someone who may also be interested in the MBA program online, you’d be able to refer them and to schedule an appointment with them. That works out best because that way if you have a really great experience with one of your advisors, either Joanne or I, you can refer your friend who may also be interested.
Of course, you’re going to have conversations with family members, friends, coworkers, the people that you network with. If they are also interested in it, that’s a great way for you to segue them into the program and just get some more information for them because every person’s experience is different. But it’s always great to refer them over and try to give them the same opportunity that you had from the beginning.
Maggie Zmija: Perfect. Great explanation. This next one here, Ken, I’m going to direct this over to you. You might have touched on this a little bit when you were talking about the classes. “Do you ever visit other businesses or travel to business-development conferences like an executive MBA program might do?”
Dr. Ken Miller: Face-to-face, that is occasionally done. Because we are right in the heart of Birmingham, those CEOs come to us. We had Grayson Hall in class last week. He is the CEO of Regions Bank. They generally come to us because of our location, but even when that happens, from the online perspective, we’ll record those things going forward. You won’t miss a beat.
Maggie Zmija: Awesome. This next one is directed towards recruitment. “I have tuition reimbursement available from my employer. Am I able to utilize this?”
Joanne Wallace: Absolutely, you are. It’s important, though, to contact the HR department at your company and find out exactly how they disburse the funds. Most companies will disburse the funds after final grades are posted. Please make sure that you have a backup plan, whether it is money that you have saved, that you’ll need to utilize out-of-pocket, or apply to FAFSA. But I would contact your HR department and that’s something that’s handled between our accounting service and your company.
Maggie Zmija: Okay. I think now we’re not really getting very many new questions coming in. We will go ahead and wrap this up. Thank you, all. This concludes our webinar now for today. Just a reminder that any questions that we did not get to or questions that were a little bit more specific to the individual person, we’ll definitely have an enrollment advisor reach out to you after this webinar. Everyone is also going to be emailed the link of the presentation within 24 hours.
Again, a reminder the application deadline is March 27 for the summer term. Thank you, again, to everybody that has joined us. Thank you, Dr. Miller, Joanne, and Ariel, for sharing insight into our program. If you have additional questions that you do want to ask, you can always contact either Ariel or Joanne and set up an appointment and ask those. Thank you, guys, so much for joining.