Online MBA

In her free time, Lydia King is an IT and management professor at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business who is pursuing an MBA program through the school’s P5-million Online School Management System.

"I am earning a degree on a schedule that minimizes disruption of work or personal pursuits," said King.

The system, which is part of the P250-million, five-year IT budget of Ateneo de Manila University, is currently applicable in AGSB and its off-site campuses in Sta. Rosa, Laguna; Subic; and Cebu. Eventually, the system will be extended to the Ateneo School of Government, Ateneo Information Technology Institute, and Ateneo Law School.

"The web-based system provides convenience. It has eliminated queuing. A student can register and pay their fees tuition as well as attend classes in managerial accounting, marketing management, operations management, quantitative methods, and strategic management in the comfort of the office or the home. Real time data on class lists, transcript of records, adding or dropping of subjects, adjustment of slots, and grade submission and other activities can be generated online," said AGSB assistant dean Albert Buenviaje.

Acceptable

For online courses, core subjects are taught online as well as through the conventional classroom method.

"With mixed mode learning, we are addressing the major roadblock to online schooling, which is the minimized interaction between and among students and teachers," said Buenviaje.

Based on a recent survey among AGSB students conducted by the Philippine Survey & Research Center, Inc., 52% of the respondents believe the chances of promotion are higher after obtaining an MBA and 88% of the respondents find the Ateneo MBA program relevant to their present work.

"There is more interaction among online students. It is not the same with 100% conventional teaching methods where the teacher feeds the information to students," said King. "Here, we follow Edgar Dale’s cone of experience theory that says people remember 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what they hear and see, 70% of what they say and write, and 90% of what they perform as a task."