The e-MBA:
Cybersex or leadership development

by Anna Pierkarski

Though she never set foot on a university campus, Shauneen Furlong recently earned a MBA degree and now has her sights set on a PhD. Furlong worked as a director with the federal e-gov program, and took many courses over the years. Returning to a traditional classroom to complete her Masters was not an option. "I travel a lot and work long hours. With an online program, I can study anytime."

Furlong is one of a growing number of executives choosing to pursue degrees over the internet. Increasingly, universities in Canada and abroad are recognizing and catering to their needs, offering courses and some full programs online. Some advertise a degree in as little as months, others in several years. Tuition costs vary widely, from a few thousand dollars to over $40,000.

While not all schools offer distance education programs, more are considering this form of teaching. Simon Fraser University introduced an e-MBA in management technology just over a year ago and last June the University of Guelph began offering an e-MA in leadership.

"The online environment is a rich and highly engaged way of learning," says Marilyn Wangler of Athabasca University, an Alberta-based school that offers all of its programs online. "It's not seen as an alternative to traditional classrooms, it's seen as better."

Not all, however, are enamoured with education via modem. "Distance education is to real education as cyber sex is to real sex, I think it is second best," advises Sandford Borins, professor of public management at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, (which does not offer an online MBA). Online programs "lack that level of contact and immediacy" that students experience in a traditional classroom. "By and large, the top professional schools have not gone to distance education. They do not have a distance education program and they do not plan to."

Terry Anderson, Canada Research Chair in Distance Education, acknowledges the prejudice against this type of learning. "It's perceived as a disruptive technology to established universities. But there is 20 years worth of research to suggest there is no difference," he says. "There's a perception problem."

For Furlong, the decision to return to school was the easy part. Sorting through the many options was far more challenging. "You think an MBA is an MBA; it's not," she says. "A lot of people take non-accredited programs, like an executive MBA," but with a PhD in her future, she found some schools would not recognize an online degree. After a lot of research and soul-searching, she selected Athabasca, a university accepted by all, and found it to be a demanding but rewarding experience. "I easily did 20 to 25 hours a week, including assignments and group work." Furlong does not begrudge the time commitment - the experience has given her a wealth of knowledge to apply in the workplace.

Furlong says she learned a lot from her peers in the program, a diverse group that included executives from the mining industry and the CEO of the Canadian division of Coco-Cola. She says being able to discuss situations in an academic environment was very helpful – in her normal workday when problems and crises arise quickly there is little time to discuss solutions. Often the group would solve problems together in an online discussion group. "You had all of these different people coming at a problem," Furlong says.

Not surprisingly, many universities are seeing more public servants applying for their programs, a trend reflected in the hiring practices of different ministries. "We're getting more and more MBAs in every job competition," says Ed Walsh, the director of staffing and compliance for the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Service Commission.

While an MBA is not essential, it is beneficial, he adds. And though a majority of the province's current managers do not have MBAs, he expects that to change. "There was a time 30 to 40 years ago when a person with a high school education would be hired. Today what we're seeing is that the trend in post-graduate education is continuing. To be truly competitive …one would be best served if they were fully armed." Furlong agrees. While the course furthered her business contacts, "I really wanted to strengthen my skill set," she says. "An MBA gave me another piece of accreditation."

Aware of the importance for public servants to obtain degrees that are relevant to their fields, such as public administration or an MBA with a concentration in leadership, Walsh says the province's Centre for Learning and Development has been working with Memorial University to start an online MBA program, and there are programs in place to help public service employees achieve their educational goals.

Anderson says he is happy schools are beginning to offer more online programs, but there are still a few challenges that need to be addressed if the field of distance education is to reach its full potential. "The big problem we have in Canada is that we don't have an effective national research agenda on distance education." He says more money needs to be devoted to finding new and effective ways to deliver education to Canadians and to find ways to assess and improve existing modes of education.

"If that's your business you need to ensure you are world class. There seems to be an assumption that we know how to do it because we've been doing it so long." Furlong has no complaints about the MBA program she completed, but cautions: "A lot of students drop out. It's very time consuming and expensive, but it's worth it."