Proposal for a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree Program

EXPEDITED PROGRAM APPROVAL

SUBMITTED TO THE

MASSACHUSETTS BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Submission Date: August 17, 2006

FRAMINGHAM STATE COLLEGE

100 STATE STREET

FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS

We are confident that the academic integrity and rigor of the MBA program’s degree requirements will produce graduates who have mastered the required learning outcomes and who are competitive in the field as mid- to high-level managers. The integrity and rigor of coursework and the program are ensured through:

1. The assessment of learning, presented in the subsection "Program Assessment";
2. Strong participation by full-time faculty, who advise and teach in the program;
3. Syllabus guidelines for faculty - see Appendix P;
4. Adherence to a prescribed course sequence;
5. Faculty evaluations;
6. The Capstone Seminar;
7. Student e-Portfolios and other methods of Program Assessment referenced in the subsection "Program Assessment".

In addition to affordability and convenient location, the proposed Framingham State College MBA program is distinctive from existing MBA programs in the MetroWest area in several aspects, which include (1) the four-credit course model and (2) the availability of hybrid and online courses. The four-credit model supports course design and content that explores the subject area at greater depth than that of three-credit courses. Students have more opportunities to explore and develop specific areas of interest within the discipline. The model also provides increased contact with faculty and peers, allowing students to build stronger professional relationships.

The second distinctive aspect of the program is the availability of hybrid and online courses, which provide increased scheduling flexibility for working adults, as well as reducing costs related to commuting. Online courses also provide opportunities to develop and improve communication and coordination skills essential to virtual teams, which are increasingly used in business.

One of the distinctive aspects of Framingham State College’s MBA program is the availability of hybrid and online courses. The rigor of online courses at Framingham State College is ensured in a variety of ways.

1. There is a full-time Director of Distance Education, through the Office of Academic Technology and Distance Education, who oversees online learning and teaching, and provides a variety of training opportunities and support services to students and faculty, including online and on-campus workshops, conferences, a 24/7 help line, and online tutorials.
2. Faculty who teach online courses are evaluated by students and by the Chair or Coordinator, as with on-campus courses.
3. Framingham State College faculty are conversant in the use of instructional technology. They have been using Blackboard, the College’s web-based learning system, to enhance and supplement their on-campus teaching since 2000.
4. The Blackboard learning system allows for a high level of student participation and collaboration. Faculty are instructed in the latest online pedagogy, in order to develop interactive, stimulating and challenging classes. Students actively participate in virtual classrooms through the use of discussion boards, virtual teams, standard chat rooms, and chat rooms with “white boards”. Additional collaborative features added for the coming academic semester are Course Journals, Personal Reflection Journals and Group Journals.
5. Online classes are designed to meet the learning objectives specified by the AACSB.
6. Online learning is assessed through many of the same methods used for on-campus classes, such as written assignments, projects, reports, timed tests, and virtual classroom participation.
7. The syllabi for online versions of courses in the program, such as 12.942 Marketing Management included in Appendix Q, demonstrate the level of rigor and depth that is expected at the graduate level.
8. The College actively participates in Massachusetts Colleges Online ("MCO") a state-wide consortium of State Colleges and Universities

Three graduate courses were selected and compared and contrasted with their undergraduate counterparts, to demonstrate their integrity and rigor. They are presented below.

The current syllabus for 12.280 - Applied Organizational Theory and Management (undergraduate) is given in Appendix R.

The proposed syllabus for 24.904 - Management and Leadership (MBA) is given in Appendix S.

The key differences between the two courses are summarized in Exhibit 28.

The current syllabus for 12.300 - Managerial Finance I (undergraduate) is given in Appendix T.

The proposed syllabus for 12.978 - Financial Management (MBA) is adapted from a syllabus in use in another MBA program by one of the professors who is to teach the course at Framingham State College is given in Appendix U.

The key differences between the two courses are summarized in Exhibit 29.

The current syllabus for 12.371 - Marketing (undergraduate) is given in Appendix V.

The proposed syllabus for 12.942 - Marketing Management (MBA) is given in Appendix Q.

The key differences between the two courses are summarized in Exhibit 30.