Another Business School Launches An Online MBA

The University of North Georgia (UNG) is launching its own online MBA program. UNG’s Mike Cottrell College of Business will offer new students an online option for its MBA program starting this fall.

“The current face-to-face part-time program will only be available to students currently in the program and only for the next academic year,” Mary Gowan, dean of UNG’s Mike Cottrell College of Business, tells Fortune. “The fully online program will be offered starting in the fall semester and will be the only Cottrell MBA for new students going forward.”

NUMBER OF ONLINE MBA PROGRAMS UP 85%

UNG’s decision to move online follows the current trend and popularity of online programs. In the past five years, the number of online MBA programs in the US has increased 85%, according to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

It’s a decision that school officials say will help expand greater access to the program for prospective students outside the state.

“We have been closely watching what is happening with other MBA programs across the country and know that the only way to grow our program is to make the move to online,” Gowan says in a press release. “I’ve talked to a number of deans around the country who have had great success with such a move, so we are paying close attention to lessons we can learn from their journeys to make sure we have the resources lined up for success.”

Success can mean many things. For one, school’s decision to move online means more than just expanding access to its program.

“This also can build the diversity of our classes, helping students to learn in an environment that better reflects the environments in which most of us work every day,” Dr. Wendy Walker, MCCB associate dean for faculty and graduate programs, says.

UNG students will be able to start their online MBA this summer through completion of one of the business school’s graduate certificate programs. The program currently offers graduate certificates in cybersecurity, entrepreneurship and innovation, and technology leadership. According to Fortune, UNG plans to add a fourth graduate certificate, ethics and compliance, in summer 2023.

Sources: University of North Georgia, Fortune