AN ONLINE MBA PROGRAMME ?

Online education is no longer a new fad or on trial. It is a strong and growing trend in education. The evolution of the Internet and advances in technology have made online education not only an increasingly attractive proposition, but also more dynamic than traditional forms of education, and often better suited to the needs of today's society and economy. In fact, 200 000 courses worldwide are offered online and the number is growing

Working professionals today need continuing education and life-long learning opportunities, but time and opportunity prohibit on-campus lectures. Therefore, online education is ideal, allowing students the flexibility they need to fulfil their life requirements, including balancing work, study and family life. This flexibility is a key deciding factor. .

Feedback from students on the U21Global MBA programme, distributed by IMM Global in Africa, is that they have found a solution that is convenient, but at the same time meets their expectations for quality of education and integrity - it is exciting to be part of something that is a powerful paradigm shift for online education that embraces a highly ethnically diverse student body.

One of the strong points of online education is student-centred learning. While faculty-centred learning has been recognised to have significant shortcomings, it has been difficult to break the paradigm or change the habit of lecturer/faculty centred education. Online learning does this, and moreover, is able to develop learning models which outperform the thousand-year old faculty-centred learning models. Students learn more, and develop higher level skills and competency while learning.

So, how does the true learning processes takes place “in the mind” of the learner, and what is the learner prepared to do with new knowledge and insights?

Interaction is the key to success for learning to take place through the Internet. It can take on different forms, of which some offer distinct advantages for postgraduate studies. U21Global's postgraduate programmes are backed by 19 of the world's leading universities. Students are able to engage in online discussions that connect them to counterparts across the world and they can access the U21Global library for learning resources. Active interaction between students and lecturers is through threaded discussions, e-mails and other Web-based communications tools. In addition to academic programmes, U21Global also offers a holistic approach to education online as its varied student services include academic counseling, career guidance and technical support.

The result is a vibrant global online community through which international perspectives and opinions are exchanged between students and professors with different cultural and industry backgrounds.

U21Global, which is headquartered in Singapore, launched its pioneering MBA programme in May 2003. Within this short space of time, it has successfully enrolled over 4000 students, with over 35 in Africa, including South Africa. And proof of the success of e-learning is evident in the results. U21Global enjoys a 95% student retention rate, compared to more than a 10% dropout rate in traditional institutions and over 30% dropout rate in other online institutions.

Academic rigour, consistency and quality of content, the available online research resources and systematic built in quality assurance processes are all elements that point towards an option - should be considered by those who have the obstacles of time and place when deciding on an MBA programme.

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