UK group offers online MBA

Want to earn a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from 18 of the world's top universities within two years, at one-tenth the cost and without leaving your workplace?

This offer was made in the UAE by Universitas 21 Global, a UK-registered $100-million joint venture between 18 universities worldwide and Thomson Learning which delivers its courses via Internet.

"Education is a great equaliser between companies and countries. But there is a big gap between demand and supply in the education sector. But in this new era of learning, a shifting paradigm in technology and education now enables us to reach out to meet this demand," said Dr Mukhesh Aghi, chief executive officer of Universitas 21 Global during a visit to Dubai yesterday.

"Our students can attend classes at time and place that fits their schedule.

This is ideal for professionals, housewives or working mothers who cannot leave home but wish to pursue higher studies. They can earn an MBA degree within two to three years," he said.

According to Dr Aghi, Universitas 21 Global will begin accepting applications worldwide during the first quarter of 2003. For those already taking their MBAs, Universitas 21 will allow the transfer of up to three subjects or nine credits from accredited institutions to the MBA programme at the discretion of the registrar.

Transfer credits will be counted towards a Universitas 21 Global degree, but will not be included in the student's grade point average (GPA). An online student is given two to six years to finish a total of 18 subjects, broken down into ten compulsory subjects, six electives and thesis (which counts as two subjects).

While classes are set to start around March, Dr Aghi said interested students can apply now through www.u21glob-al.com. They will be notified when the application process formally begins.

The total cost of the programme would be about $4,000 a year, or between $8,000 to $10,000 for the entire programme, according to Dr Aghi. "This is just one-tenth of cost of the MBA programmes offered in the U.S. or Europe. The reason why we can offer this programme at a greatly reduced cost is because of the technology component and economies of scale," he said.

After completing a certain subject, a student must sit in any one of the more than 4,200 Pro-Metric testing centres worldwide, including the key cities of UAE and the GCC.

"Education is no longer textbook-based, but problem-based. It is no longer rote memorisation-oriented but interactive and collaborative, asynchronous and individualised," declared Dr Aghi, an Indian-Italian who is a former manager of the IBM.