An MBA by online

More and more people are putting education a top priority. According to the Commission on Higher Education, last year, 385,349 students graduated from college. Of this, 27 percent finished business administration and related courses. There are currently around 4.5 million working professionals in the work force.

In this age of knowledge, it is getting tougher for job seekers to get into the country’s top corporations. They must have more than just a bachelor’s degree and a few years of experience to join the job market. A master’s degree has practically become mandatory in getting a promotion or in landing the best jobs.

People who hold jobs and want to climb the career ladder have to find time to obtain a master’s degree. The answer is: online MBA (master of business administration).

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Fortunately, early this year, American City University, in partnership with Southville Foreign Colleges, has launched the first fully online MBA Program in the country, giving the Filipino professionals easy access to higher education. Dr. Rodolfo Ibañez, dean of the ACU-SFC Graduate School, says, "With the onslaught of technological advancements and globalization, those without definite core competencies will have difficulty surviving. And ACU-SFC provides a means for continuous professional development."

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Dr. Ibañez says that an online MBA recognizes that for working professionals, time is a most precious commodity, and the conventional type of teaching may not be a feasible option for them. An online MBA reduces time and scheduling constraints. The classroom can come to them anytime, anywhere. All they need is a computer with an Internet connection, and they can immediately pursue their MBA degree. Even professionals who travel a lot can even work at their computer as some airlines are now starting to offer Internet connection on board an aircraft thousands of feet above sea level.

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This system is not entirely distance-learning. Says Dr. Ibañez: "It is learning using different modes of technology. Today’s technological advancements enhance the learning process by offering services like web-based materials, real time interaction through broadband, chat facilities and bulletin board discussions. These assure the students of continuous student-to-student and student-to-mentor instruction."

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ACU-SFC offers two programs – the general MBA and MBA major in Human Resources Management. Upon completion of the program, the student will receive an international diploma coming from American City University. Enrolling in these programs is like studying abroad, without leaving the country – and, says Ibañez – "definitely a more economical and practical choice." For instance, an on-campus master’s degree abroad can easily cost $30,000, not to mention other expenses, and leaving one’s job. Online MBA allows professionals to pursue their international degree and benefit from immediate work application of their studies. The latter is a very economical feature to employers as well.

Roger Bartholomew, chairman of Southville Foreign Colleges, says that the need for world class education is a rapidly growing need as trade barriers come down and countries become more and more inter-dependent on each other for a variety of products and services. With today’s communication capabilities, knowledge and expertise can no longer be learned in isolation. Instead, education has to become international n nature and world class in its delivery if students are to be competitive. We believe that ACU programs of study offer our students an excellent academic choice and prepare them for future academic and professional challenges.

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ACU-SFC’s line-up of mentors includes industry leaders, such as Dr. Quintin S. Doromal, Frederick Dael, Robert Green, Dr. Felix Lao Jr., Ramon Medina, Gerry Plana and Tita Puanco.

American City University also partners with Personnel Management Association of the Philippines and the Philippine Marketing Association. For more information, call 820 6774 or 820 9181.

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On another front, a campaign is ongoing to help child victims in the war in Mindanao. It’s a child-to-child campaign, called "Bigas at Laruan Para sa Kapayapaan: Alay sa Mga Kabataang Nasa Gitna ng Digmaan." It was started by a group of non-governmental organizations to whom Dr. June Pagaduan Lopez, who heads Balik Kalipay, a psycho-social rehabilitation project aimed at helping children and families recover from their traumatic experiences of the armed conflicts in Mindanao. (See my Tuesday column.)

This project consists of asking children – yours, your neighbor’s, in the community – to write a message of peace to another child caught in the fighting in Pikit, Cotabato. Then the message is accompanied by a small toy – new, or use but still playable – and a ganta of rice. June says that when the package reaches the recipient, your child would have helped break what June describes as "the feeling of isolation and helplessness among the child victims of the war in the Mindanao."

The organizers are urging schools and parents in particular to support the campaign. They include the Balik Kalipay Psychosocial rehabilitation Project for Children, the Psychosocial Trauma and Human Rights Section of the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies, Girl Scouts of the Philippines, Oxfam, Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute, and Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran.

Designated drop-off points for donations are the Museo Pambata along Roxas Blvd. In Manila, Education Research Program of the UP-Center for Integrative and Development Studies in Diliman, Quezon City, and Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran in Intramuros, Manila.