Leveraging Online Educationfor “International Exchange”

of Part-Time StudentsWCET Annual Conference

23 October 2009

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Agenda Introductions Motivations Partner Selection Agreement Specifics Development and Promotion First-Hand Experiences Current Status / Future Plans

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Introductions Lee Freeman, Ph.D.

Associate Dean of Administration Associate Professor of MIS

Alessandro Odorico Project Manager Special Bids at Telecom Italia Program graduate in July 2009

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COB Online Courses Started in 2001 100% online Students represent:

28+ states 14+ countries Nearly every industry Nearly all levels of organizations

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Motivations Part-time MBA students with full-time jobs Global business management issues One of the first fully web-based MBA

programs in the United States International partnerships in place Our attempt to develop our existing partnership

into something much larger and more sustainable by using distance learning

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Partner Selection Traditional university partnerships in Northern

Italy for several years Student exchanges Curricular development Joint research

Similar student profiles for better match Fondazione CUOA (University Centre for

Business Administration), Vicenze, Italy

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Agreement Specifics Courses Costs Students Timelines Certificate

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Development – Course Refreshes Six-month maintenance and update process Highlights:

Clear organization and directions Clear expectations for participation and

assessment Improved sense of community Improved interactivity and engagement Time-zone (international) friendly!

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Development – Expectations Stay current Share thoughts and opinions Complete work on time Be an active participant Be responsive Be honest and ethical Be autonomous

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Development – Training On-site training Full binder with screenshots Q&A about…

Course expectations Course set-up Pedagogical differences Worries and concerns Accounts and system access

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Development – Help and Support Extensive communication with helpdesk and

other support personnel/providers Full access to all support functions Encourage students to work with instructor On-location contact with partner

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Development – Administration Timelines Communication Student status

Tuition and fees Accounts and access Registrar

Books

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Program Promotion CUOA

New program of part-time students Required participation

UM-D None needed; courses are regular part of program

First-Hand Experiences Pre-course preparation Coursework Cultural differences Exchange of ideas Advantages to part-time students Perceptions of peers

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Current Status / Future Plans Winter 2008 was first semester Third cohort in winter 2010 Expand the program geographically

Pacific Rim South America

Expand the program structurally More courses to choose from More semesters to enroll in More courses taken per student

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Questions??? Please feel free to ask any questions… now or

in the future Lee Freeman

lefreema@umd.umich.edu 1-313-593-5248

Alessandro Odorico alessandro.odorico@telecomitalia.it

Thank you for your time and attention!

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Profiles of Partner Institutions The University of Michigan-Dearborn’s College of Business is an

AACSB accredited institution with a full-time faculty of 50. The College of Business offers a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) with concentrations in Accounting, Finance, MIS, Marketing, Management, Supply Chain Management, and Human Resource Management. Additionally, eight graduate degrees including an MBA, an MS-Finance (Dearborn and Hong Kong campuses), an MS-Accounting, an MS-Information Systems, and 4 dual/interdisciplinary degrees are offered. Current enrollments are 1350+ undergraduate and nearly 600 graduate students. Over 110 graduate students from 28 states and 14 countries are completing their MBA and MS-Finance degrees fully online.

The CUOA Foundation is a management school that operates at the national and international levels. Founded in 1957 as a post-graduate training school, it is one of the most active centers in Italy for the development and promotion of managerial and entrepreneurial skills in the private and public sectors.