Distance education MBA project management program: A case study

With its roots in systems engineering, project management is a relatively new discipline taught in the fields of Engineering, Business, Information Technology/Management Information Systems, Computing Sciences, and Operations Management. Whereas in 1993 there were 7 universities offering master's-level degree programs in project management, these days there are over 59 worldwide, yet only 5 offer such programs in the distance education mode. Distance education is no longer seen as a second-rate way of teaching; it is just different. Distance education addresses geographical, time, indirect cost, flexibility, and service needs for learners. Whereas naysayers challenge distance education on issues of student isolation, course time commitments, and program quality, strides in the field demonstrate that distance education programs do deliver high quality education. Academic teams address the isolation factor through engaging and interactive online discussions that develop a sense of community. They address the time factor by pacing students through courses, balancing the individual and team mark components, and ensuring that marks are allocated for participation. Program quality is assessed through formative and summative processes. In this paper, we examine some of the main challenges and benefits in distance education. We focus on the four roles that faculty and course development staff collaboratively undertakes to deliver courses online: the pedagogical, management, technical, and social roles. In doing so, we focus on our four project management courses and some of the practices we use in our own university to address distance education issues. We conclude with some recommendations for effective program delivery practices.