When students enroll in the Colorado State University Professional M.B.A. program, which takes place in the evening, they most likely have no idea they will one day be film stars.
The class lectures are filmed live at the College of Business in Fort Collins and are the foundation for the College’s highly successful Distance M.B.A. program. These lectures will soon be viewed by a similar class of students at AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland. It’s part of a partnership agreement between AGH and the College of Business that was signed in late May.
“We have everything in place for a launch in Fall 2009,” says Senior Associate Dean John Olienyk. “The folks at AGH are actively recruiting students and we’ll be ready to go.”
On this side of the world, the M.B.A. classes are taught in Rockwell Hall in a specially designed, U-shaped, two-tiered classroom designed to facilitate discussion, but also to allow filming of the course.
“We have several cameras mounted at various points in the room, all coordinated by a production crew in a booth,” Olienyk says. “When class is over we begin the process of pressing all the recorded audio and video onto DVDs. The DVDs are shipped the next morning to students throughout the U.S. and some foreign countries who are enrolled in the Distance M.B.A. program.”
Students watch the lecture at their leisure in their homes, in airports, in hotel rooms, wherever and whenever is convenient for them. Olienyk says.
“It’s a great benefit for people with jobs or family constraints that prevent them from coming to campus. The Distance students watch the same lectures and complete the same assignments as the on-campus students; they just don’t participate directly in real time,” Olienyk explains.
“Now we are embarking into new territory by offering the program to students in Krakow. AGH is arguably the top science and technology university in Poland,” he says. “Its graduates have a good science-based education, but as they advance in their careers they recognize the need for additional business skills.”
Students in the Distance M.B.A. program normally work independently, but there will be an added feature for the students in Poland. “In Krakow, once a month, the students will come to campus to meet with a Polish professor to discuss some of the topics being covered in the course,” Olienyk says.
“That professor will offers insights into how some of the subject matter needs to be treated differently in Poland.”
Such programs are a high priority for Colorado State.
“This fits nicely with our turn toward globalization, which is one of the key academic thrusts of the College,” Olienyk says. “We will be sending some of our faculty members to Krakow each term to meet with the Polish students and professors, and as technology allows, we will develop ways for Polish and American students to interact directly with one another.” Meanwhile, the Distance M.B.A. program and partnership gives Colorado State on-campus students “a chance to become rock stars,” Olienyk laughs. “Their faces are going to be seen all over the world.”
Photo Cutline: Deans Ajay Menon and Lech Bukowski, of AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland, meet in February to discuss the international memo of understanding (IMOU)between the College of Business and AGH. The IMOU, which concerned the Distance MBA program scheduled to launch in Poland in Fall 2009, was signed in May 2008.