Lisa Davis, the executive director in the office of graduate student services at UNLV’s Lee Business School, said she has spoken to many prospective students who can’t regularly make it to campus for classes.
The school now has a solution for those students.
The Lee Business School will offer fully online, module-based learning so students can pursue a master’s of business administration at their own pace. The option will debut in the spring.
“They’ll be able to work through the program on their schedule, and they won’t have to come into class,” Davis said. “I think it just provides a lot of flexibility for students. And it seems like, after COVID, a lot of people are looking for that flexibility.”
The program follows the hybrid MBA, a program UNLV launched after the COVID-19 pandemic that had students come in person for classes one week and online the next.
Even with that option, Davis said, there were still students reaching out about fully online options. She pointed to a student who worked in Ely as an example of someone who couldn’t come down to Las Vegas every other week.
A fully online program for people unable to attend in person has been “a long time coming,” Davis said.
“We’ve been talking to students that are just really busy, juggling families, work and school, and sometimes this … online format really works the best for those individuals, so they’re not having to pick and choose as much,” she said. “They’re able to balance it more.”
Students in the hybrid program will be able to take the fully online courses, as well, Davis added.
“We just admitted our largest class of students in 20 years to … our hybrid part-time evening class,” said John Baur, faculty director of the MBA program at Lee Business School. “And just last year, we reached our highest ranking ever in that program. So we’re doing really well there, and we still see that as a core offering. But really, what we’re trying to do is just provide another option on top of that.”
Baur said the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the trend of online schooling and allowed those who may have had preconceived notions about it to see how it could be implemented.
UNLV is an “access university,” he said, and wants to provide opportunities for career advancement to as many people as possible—especially in Southern Nevada. Locals like service members at Nellis or Creech Air Force bases or hospitality workers may not have the ability to attend regular classes, however.
“We’re a 24-hour town,” Baur said. “And we have to realize that we can’t just have the classes in a regular schedule that maybe MBA programs around the country do, because that’s just not who we are at the core of Las Vegas.”
He emphasized that the MBA online program is not about raising revenue, but providing more opportunities and diversifying jobs and industries in Southern Nevada. Lee Business School works with employers, organizations and business leaders to develop their programs that will hopefully turn around and meet their needs, Baur said.
“We realize that we can’t sort of lean on or have a one-size-fits-all option,” he said. “And, instead, we say, ‘OK, how can we provide the skills needed that are suitable and necessary, not only for today, but forecasting forward?’ ”
There’s a lot of excitement in the feedback Lee Business School has gotten so far about the online MBA program, Baur said.
Frank Wu, an incoming third-year student in UNLV’s dental school who is pursuing a dual MBA-DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine) degree, said it can be difficult to balance additional classwork outside of his normal course and clinic hours.
“It’s pretty demanding, and something like a full online course would really help with that—with managing our time,” Wu said. “One great thing about the MBA dual-degree program was that a lot of the classes that we took … were hybrid programs. So definitely me and my classmates really appreciated that.”
Wu said many dental students graduate with the skills to perform dentistry but not the business acumen to excel with running their own practice.
“I would encourage anyone who’s interested to apply for the program, especially if they are in dental or medical school,” he said. “I know a lot of people are on the fence because they feel like it’s going to be so much more work. But at least for me, I think it’s worth it.”
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