Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/63429
Contrary to pundit predictions, the steady growth of online learning has not augured the extinction of brick-and-mortar educational institutions. In fact, e-learning may serve as a catalyst, not for the extinction of the traditional classroom, but for its evolution. F 40 ence, however, that online educational delivery could be extremely effective. He had helped build a similar —and successful—online Master of Health Administra tion program at the University of Colorado in Denver. So, he challenged his faculty members to take another look. Two years ago, after much passionate discussion, UMSL's ive years ago, when Doug Durand became dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Missouri in St. Louis, the reactions of some faculty members to the prospect of an online MBA were clear: No way. While there was some sup- port among the ranks, for a few faculty members, e-learning simply wasn't an option. Durand knew from previous experi - The E- by Tricia Bisoux face—started with a cohort of 12 students, and has since grown to 25. Not only has the program flourished, says Durand, but participating faculty have discovered that e- learning, when paired with traditional delivery, affords edu- cators opportunities to deliver more information, more effi- ciently, to a wider range of students than ever before. "The faculty members in the online MBA program acknowledge that it is the best teaching experi- ence of their professional careers," says Durand. "They have found that students have very high expectations of the course. Not only do they want it to be relevant and up-to-date, they often want to work at light speed." Almost before they realized it, many educators have been Professional Online MBA was born. The 48-hour pro- gram—conducted 48 percent online, 52 percent face-to- BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2002 indoctrinated into a new era of e-learning, in which online methods and traditional classroom methods are merging into a hybrid model for education—what many are calling a