PSU Magazine Spring 1990

r ' MBA • via Video Distant learners are earning MBA degrees through video classes. 0 regonians in such pl aces as Pendleton, Bend and Coos Bay, are earning the first advanced degree ever offered on videotape in the state. The PSU Statewide MBA Program, inaugurated in September of 1988, allows di stant learners to earn a Master of Business Admini stration by taking two video classes a tern1 for three years. Karen Fager, a Roseburg res ident , has been in the program since its inception. "I always wanted to go back to school and take classes in the management area," said Fager. "About the time when my famil y was old enough that I could - my son was go ing off to college and my daughter was in high school - my husband was transfe1Ted to Roseburg. That took me out of an area where there were classes available ." Fager works part time at Umpqua Community College and teaches part time . With an MBA she hopes to pursue a full -time teaching or college admini strati ve pos ition. Fager and four other students meet every Tuesday and Thursday evening at Umpqua for class. The college has agreed to host the program - setting a room aside and suppl ying a staff member, employed by the program, to register students, collect fees, begin the tapes , di stribute handouts, and monitor tests. The Roseburg res idents view classes that were taped the previous week on the PSU campus. The substance and content of the course is the same, only the delivery is I INNfMTIO\IS I diffe rent, and telephone communication keeps the students in touch with the professor and teaching ass istants. "There are some di sadvantages ," sa id Fager. "You are not able to ask a question immediately which can be fru strating during the di scuss ion part of the presentations. " But with fo ur students, Pager's group can hold their own di scussions, and it is always possible to rewind the video and li sten again . During Winter tern1 , professor Les Anderson, who teaches Finance Law on campus and for the video program, met the Roseburg students half-way - in Eugene - fo r a round table talk . "I think that is far and above the requirement of a professor," Fager remarked . The Statewide MBA Program began as a joint effort between Portland State and Eastern Oregon State College . But according to the program's director Katherine Novy, it became clear that the demand for advanced education in the fi eld of business admini stration ex isted in other areas throughout the state , and the program need a broader student base to make it financially. Using colleges and community colleges as educational sites throughout the state, the MBA program serves a total of 48 students in Tillamook, Coos Bay, Roseburg , Klamath Falls, Bend , Ontario, LaGrande, Pendleton, and The Dalles. The performance statistics are good . With an average cumulati ve grade point average of 3.48, student perfo rnrnnce is equi vilent or higher than traditional students, and participants have shown a lower attrition rate than the on-campus program. Almost all the students have full-time jobs, many of them in the wood products, health care and high tech field s. "Much of the program 's success can be attributed to the maturity of the students in the program ," sa id Novy. "Those established in their career are working towards advancement and still others are attempting to make a career change." The MBA program itself also deserves high marks. It is accredited by the American Assembly of Colleg iate Schools of Business and integrates many di sciplines and approaches to the study of business. Rick Hulett , 37, is a revenues analyst for United Telephone in Hood Ri ver and ant ic ipates the program will help him advance in the company. He does the program a little differently by studying independentl y. Every Monday he receives two video tapes at hi s home . Tests are monitored at nearby Columbi a River Gorge Community College. "I have learned a lot of things that I have applied in my job," said Hulett . A full-time job, wife, toddler son, and hour commute to Portland had made attaining an advanced degree all but impossible for Hulett. He remembers, " I had just about dec ided that it wasn't worth it to get my MBA when I heard about the PSU program. I thought ' thi s is perfect. "' The program may soon expand beyond Oregon's borders. Portl and State signed an agreement last April with the Khabarovsk Institute of National Economy (KINE) authorizing the start of the first MBA degree ever offered in the Soviet Union. The program , directed by professor Earl Molander, will make extensive use of videotaped materials from the Statewide MBA Program. Facu lty exchanges have already begun between PSU and Khabarovsk . KINE hopes to initiate the full MBA program in the fall of 1990. D PSU 15