CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Most students in the first graduating class of the University of Illinois’ online-only Master of Business Administration program don’t live in the state.
About 73 percent of the 66 students graduating Saturday aren’t residing in Illinois, the News-Gazette reported . The program launched January 2016.
“The first students who applied had to take a leap of faith,” said Jeffrey Brown, dean of the Gies College of Business. “But we were blown away by the quality of the students, the significant work experience they had, the intellectual curiosity and their passion for learning what we were there to teach them.”
Most students enrolled in the program already have careers and are looking to advance to a managerial position, Brown said. Students range from 22 to 61 years old.
The online MBA program has increased the school’s visibility, with students living in 46 states and 56 countries, said Arshad Saiyed, the university’s executive director for online programs.
“We’re able to reach a market we wouldn’t have been able to serve with the residential programs,” he said.
The university created the business school’s iMBA program to participate in the growing market for online MBAs and give students a more flexible and affordable degree option. The online program costs $22,000 total, while the on-campus MBA program costs almost $60,000 for Illinois residents.
Madison Industries founder Larry Gies gifted the business college $150 million in October, which has helped keep the program’s cost low.
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Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com
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