Of the 38 students enrolled in Indiana Wesleyan’s program, Mr. White is the first from the Chicago area. But some administrators from local schools fear that as online programs proliferate, more and more students will choose online MBAs from out-of-town schools rather than degrees from local institutions.
”We need to get moving on this or someone will eat our lunch,” says David K. Graf, dean of the College of Business at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, which hopes to launch an online program within the next year.
”I would suspect (online programs) will cut into the market for traditional degrees,” says Ronald J. Patten, dean of the college of commerce and the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University. He adds that for students, convenience will be the deciding factor.
Just a few schools nationwide offer mba distance education. The oldest is that of the University of Phoenix, which has featured an online degree for 11 years. Indiana Wesleyan and DeVry Inc. are the only schools offering online MBAs in Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
