University of Michigan-Dearborn’s Online MBA

UM-Dearborn’s online MBA program may emphasize the “UM” portion of its name, but there’s no competition with the main campus in Ann Arbor, about 38 miles away; the University of Michigan Ross School of Business doesn’t have an online MBA program. Dearborn’s, meanwhile, is ranked 36th by U.S. News & World Report, highest in the state.

In a competitive region for MBA programs — both online and on-campus — the University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Business stands out. Michael L. Kamen, director of graduate programs, credits one factor in particular: the name.

“There are a lot of universities in southeastern Michigan and more have moved into the online space, so articulating the value proposition for our degree program is something that’s really important for us,” Kamen tells Poets&Quants. “We really trade on that University of Michigan name — we emphasize the fact that we are AACSB-accredited, that the regents of the University of Michigan deem our online degree equivalent to the campus program, and that there’s no difference in the transcripts. The courses are the same, it’s just the delivery format is different.”

UM-Dearborn’s program is fully online, with no on-campus requirement, including exams, orientation, and academic advising. However, students can “mix and match” if they wish, Kamen says. The program has three intakes, in fall, winter, and spring.

It is an asynchronous, non-recorded program, with a nine-course, 27-credit core of “basic building blocks of business”: accounting, economics, business statistics, decision sciences, intro to finance, management information systems, marketing, organizational behavior, and operations management. Interestingly, the program also features a core course…

UM-Dearborn’s online MBA program may emphasize the “UM” portion of its name, but there’s no competition with the main campus in Ann Arbor, about 38 miles away; the University of Michigan Ross School of Business doesn’t have an online MBA program. Dearborn’s, meanwhile, is ranked 36th by U.S. News & World Report, highest in the state.

In a competitive region for MBA programs — both online and on-campus — the University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Business stands out. Michael L. Kamen, director of graduate programs, credits one factor in particular: the name.

“There are a lot of universities in southeastern Michigan and more have moved into the online space, so articulating the value proposition for our degree program is something that’s really important for us,” Kamen tells Poets&Quants. “We really trade on that University of Michigan name — we emphasize the fact that we are AACSB-accredited, that the regents of the University of Michigan deem our online degree equivalent to the campus program, and that there’s no difference in the transcripts. The courses are the same, it’s just the delivery format is different.”

UM-Dearborn’s program is fully online, with no on-campus requirement, including exams, orientation, and academic advising. However, students can “mix and match” if they wish, Kamen says. The program has three intakes, in fall, winter, and spring.

It is an asynchronous, non-recorded program, with a nine-course, 27-credit core of “basic building blocks of business”: accounting, economics, business statistics, decision sciences, intro to finance, management information systems, marketing, organizational behavior, and operations management. Interestingly, the program also features a core course in corporate social responsibility. Returning to the theme of setting itself apart from the regional competition, Kamen says UM-Dearborn offers a unique post-core curricular twist.

“We do most of our competing against a lot of universities in this region, so we’re unique in that we have a set of courses that come after the core that we call ‘Applied Integrated Management,’” he says. “You have to have completed specific prerequisite courses from the core before you can even take these applied courses. There are four courses in Applied Integrated Management that occur in different areas — it’s where the rubber meets the road. You’re taking what you’ve learned in the core courses as well as your own professional work experience and then bringing that together and learning how to apply it in particular cases in these applied courses.”