Online MBA Class

Terrill Cosgray, Executive Director of Kelley Direct, visited Seattle last week to host a dinner for prospective students. When asked if I would be interested in attending the dinner, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I have had a great experience working on my MBA in the Kelley Direct program so far, and I wanted to share my insights and experience with the prospective students.

The dinner was held at the Canlis Restaurant. The food was delicious, the service was phenomenal, but the best part of the evening was the great discussion we had with everyone in attendance. In addition to the prospective students, there were other current Kelley Direct students as well as alumni. It was fun to share experiences and get everyone’s perspective on the program. I really appreciated hearing the alumni speak about how the MBA they earned through Kelley Direct has helped them progress in their careers. One talked about how his degree helped him get a great promotion at Microsoft. Another other talked about how Kelley Direct Career Services helped him get a new job at Amazon.com.

I chose the Kelley School of Business because it is a highly rated business school, and the Kelley Direct program is, in my opinion, the best distance MBA program. I have been very pleased with my decision, which is good considering the significant investment I have made in the program both in terms of time and money. I am receiving an excellent education and I have already been able to apply things I have learned in my classes to my present job. 

I was asked by one of the prospective students about work-life balance in the program. He wanted to know if it was really possible to take 6 credits per quarter while working full time. I told him that it can be challenging, but it is possible. Anything of value requires sacrifice. That is true of getting a quality MBA education. I have had to sacrifice sleep more than anything else. Luckily, I have the support of my family at home and my boss at work. That makes a big difference. The flexibility of the online MBA format provided by Kelley Direct fits my lifestyle and makes it easier to keep everything in balance.

I look forward to staying in touch with the people I met at the dinner. They are all a lot of fun to hang out with. I hope the information I gave the prospective students was helpful. It would be fun to see them in one of my classes in the near future. 

Working in teams is an important part of most MBA programs. This is certainly true in the Kelley Direct distance MBA program. One of the things that I have enjoyed most about the Kelley Direct experience so far is the interaction I have had with fellow students and especially the team members I have worked with in each class. 

Teamwork starts in the first in-residence on campus where everyone is assigned a team with whom they do all of the class work, presentations, etc. My team at the in-residence (pictured above) was awesome. They are all very intelligent and brought unique perspectives from their diverse professional backgrounds. We worked hard, but we also had a lot of fun together. I learned a lot from each of them.

For students who are new to the Kelley Direct distance MBA program, here are a few suggestions for forming teams:

Networking

Take advantage of every opportunity to network. Get to know as many people in the program as possible. That way you will know who you would want to work with in future classes. The best place to start this is during the in-residences. I made an effort to meet as many people as possible at my first in-residence in Bloomington. Most of the people I have chosen for my teams are people I met at the in-residence.

When I was deciding between MBA programs last year, I sought input from a current Kelley Direct student. He gave me really good insight into the program and great advice on how to be successful. He highlighted the importance of networking at the in-residences:

“As you move forward, you have friends in the program (which is good because there tends to be a lot of group work interaction) who have each others' back and that comes in very important! Through email and Skype calls, cell phones and Facebook pages, I am in constant contact with my classmates. The interaction, support, and camaraderie are wonderful.”

Time Zones

Consider the impact of time zones. Coordinating schedules can be difficult because everyone in the program has a full-time job as well as other responsibilities. Finding a time when everyone is available for a team meeting poses a unique challenge in an online MBA program because the students can reside all over the world. 

In my Economics class, I choose teammates who live on the west coast like I do. Since we were all in the Pacific Time Zone, coordinating schedules was a little easier. My Marketing professor put us in teams based on our time zone too. Same-time-zone teams can be helpful for scheduling, but time zone should not be the only criteria in forming a team. Some of the strongest teams I have had were with teammates who live on the other side of the country.  

Diversity

Choose teammates with complimentary skills. Some of my most effective groups were with teammates whose strengths complimented my weaknesses or lack of experience. If you have less experience in a particular subject, it can help to have someone on the team whose area of expertise is that subject. My team in my Finance class was very successful, in part because we had someone who worked in the financial industry. The Kelley Direct student body is very diverse, both culturally as well as professionally. Utilize that diversity in your teams.

What’s up KD? I hope that this message finds you well.

It’s been a month – so I figured I’d drop in, and say hello. Things for me are going okay, just busy. I’m in the middle of looking for a new job, working my old job, being a parent, and being a KD student. So, as you can imagine – I have really appreciated the flexibility of KD this past month.

As for this blog, I figure that I would give you some advice on financial aid – since it’s that time of the year. Right now, I pay for KD with a combination of employee contributions and federal loans. It is a good package – not the best, but I am definitely grateful for all of the support that I get.

I know that if any of you are like me, you wondered how you would be able to pay for an MBA – especially if your company doesn’t pay for it. Here are a couple of things to know that have been helpful for me.

•   Fill out a FAFSA.

• Talk to your Human Resources Department.

• Understand your financial award.

Well, those are just my tips. I hope that you find them helpful. Until next time, I’ll catch you later KD.

When I started the Kelley Direct distance learning MBA program, I had no doubt that I would be getting a high quality education.  Kelley is, after all, a top-tier business school.  Even so, the KD program has surpassed all my expectations.  The classes are very engaging, challenging, require lots of teamwork, and are structured to emphasize real-world application of the material.  Add to this the in-residence weeks, and "online MBA" doesn't even come close to describing the experience I've had so far. 

There are two in-residences built into the Kelley Direct program, and each is a week-long, 1.5 credit class held on the beautiful IU campus in Bloomington, IN.  I recently returned from my second in-residence, the one that marked the start to my final year as an MBA student, provided valuable face-to-face time with fellow classmates, and deepened my connection with Kelley and IU.   

My 2^nd year in-residence week was packed full of lectures, team projects, and networking events.  The days were long and exhausting, but Kelley's "work hard/play hard" culture consistently shined through.  Each morning began with a group breakfast followed by a day full of lectures.  Now, I realize that eight hours of lectures may not sound even remotely appealing, but each class session was so engaging and entertaining that I had no trouble staying focused.  Over the course of the week, we were taught by four professors and every single one had a terrific sense of humor, practical knowledge that made us eager to learn, and a remarkable ability to capture and keep our attention.  I can say, without any hesitation, that I absolutely loved the lectures and interactions with my professors and classmates.  Eight hours go by quickly when you're laughing (and learning) the whole time.

Teamwork is a big part of the KD program, and the in-residence is no exception.  So, after a day of lectures, we typically had a team assignment due by the next morning.  However, unlike in the 1st year in-residence, we were now experienced MBA students.  We had an entire year of classes under our belts, were equipped with new skills, and were able to tackle assignments confidently and efficiently.  Case studies - no problem!  It was very rewarding to see how much I had learned since the start of the MBA program and to know that, just one year later, I was so much more effective at completing these difficult assignments.

We also had quite a bit more time to socialize and network than during the 1st year in-residence.  After all, we had survived an entire year of classes, and our reward, the chance to explore Bloomington and strengthen relationships with one another, was well-deserved!  Our evenings included a dinner at Assembly Hall, a formal dinner with faculty and staff, a social night at Nick's, and multiple team dinners at some of the local restaurants.  One day we even had a special guest speaker, Marshall Goldsmith, a former Kelley alumnus who was in town to be honored at the IU Business Conference (bit.ly/99Ouq9).  A New York Times best-selling author, Marshall shared some of the lessons he teaches to executives around the world, gave us a copy of two of his books, and even stayed late to do a book signing.  This was an added bonus to an already fantastic week!

The in-residence weeks are such an invaluable part of the KD program.  Yes, it is hard to take off work and leave family and friends for a solid week of class.  Yes, the week is incredibly demanding and exhausting, requiring an intense amount of focus and creativity.  The ability to balance personal, professional, and student life is undeniably a challenge.  However, it is possible, and it is very much worth it.

Nothing can really prepare you for the first bill you get when finally start your MBA program.  It is a time of thoughtful reflection for sure as you work through the loan paperwork or dip into hard earned savings.  However, as I was recently paying that first bill of mine, I realized that my experience in Kelley Direct was already starting to pay off. 

After a very long, but engaging week at my first in-residence (C511 Organizational Development and Change), I returned to work to find a number of projects and assignments in a state of disarray, including a very large project where I am the technical adviser and a key stakeholder.  Initially dismayed at missing a week and seeing such an important project fall even further behind, I met with some other members of the steering committee to see what needed to be done to get things back on track.  As we began to discuss the issues, it was quite an exciting feeling to realize that the tactics and strategies I had just learned about from Prof. Sheri Fella were very applicable to my current dilemma.  And, instead of continuing down what would very likely have been a path of failure, I was able to apply the techniques Prof. Fella had shared with us to the change process this project was trying to manage.  Long story short, instead of weeks, even months, of fruitless work, mounting frustrations, and loss of interest, I was able to diagnose and recommend actions that have immediately put the project back on track, renewed interest and energized the project team, saving us a significant amount of time and money.

Why was I able to have this impact?  At Kelley Direct, you learn from the best faculty of any business university online.  Not only do they really know the academic side of business, but they have amazing real world experience.  Sure, I could have chosen another part time MBA college at a fraction of the cost and likely have covered the same theories and subject matter.  But world-class faculty make a difference, and that is where Kelley Direct has really distinguished themselves from other online MBA colleges.  Prof. Fella was not only one of the most engaging instructors I have ever had, she was excellent at making sure we all understood how to take the material she was presenting and turn it into something concrete and actionable.  Being able to immediately act on what you are learning is definitely key to making it pay, and is why I am glad I chose Kelley Direct.  Plus, paying that first bill was a lot easier knowing that I had already used what I had learned to save my organization time and money, earning some much valued career credits along the way.

My grandfather recently posed a question to me in an email. He wrote:

I would like to hear about the program for your Master Business Adminstration degree. My experience in grad school was that many of the professors felt that their course was the only one we took so they seemed to load us up on things to do outside class. This is not a problem for you? What do you experience?

I don't know about other Online MBA Universities, but I would say that the faculty completely respects our time. As a distance learning program, 100 percent of the students in my cohort have full-time jobs (in addition to spouses, children, pets, hobbies, etc). The faculty seems to understand the competing demands in our lives. Through the technology we use, the professors routinely poll us as to the best time to conduct virtual office hours or conduct live lectures.

So do they ‘load up’ on us? Only to the point where we learn the material. Many of the classes have group assignments so we can ‘divide and conquer’ and rely on each other’s skill sets to enhance our learning. For example, I just got off of a video conference call with my Econ C530 group and one of my team members is a financial analyst. He led the discussion on net present value and answered many the group’s questions. I believe the three of us would have struggled had it not been for the fourth’s subject matter expertise.

The professors themselves are available anytime through email (with a response time between two and 24 hours). My econ professor offered to meet with me in person (as I am local to Indianapolis) should I have trouble with some of the concepts (and by concepts I mean calculus … what is a derivative of a function, you ask? Me, too).

So far, I have been completely satisfied with the workload in my first two classes.  I am feel that I will be able to earn my business degree online without sacrificing my family or work.

The Kelley Direct Online MBA program (unlike many other Distance MBA Programs) requires applicants to take the GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test).  It is a critical portion of your application for a couple of reasons.

The first is that it is one of the few portions of your application that you can control.  You cannot change your undergraduate transcripts (unless you have deep pockets, know the registrar and have no morals - if this is you, please apply elsewhere; the Kelley School doesn't need you).  You can't change your work history or your accomplishments.  Your GMAT score is something you can control. 

The second is that it your score is important.  I lost count of how many times the faculty mentioned our cohort's GMAT average (it climbed 10 points from the previous year).  Your score is not everything, but it is something.  The GMAT is an objective measure about how you perform against your peers.  Don't get me wrong, I have yet to be asked in any of my MBA classes a standard GMAT work rate question.  But, it shows that you have the motivation to learn (re-learn?) skills and apply them in a time-constrained environment.  Further, it demonstrates to the admissions staff that you have the ability to operate autonomously (which is what an Online Masters in Business requires).

So what do you do?  Buy a book.  Get on Amazon.com and buy ONE study guide (I used the official GMAT book, but I think any would do).  Start going through the practice problems.  Identify ones you are struggling with (work problems, for example).  If your book doesn't do a good job of explaining how to solve them, search for additional resources online.  There are (literally) hundreds of free sites with additional practice problems, tricks on how to solve different types of problems, and strategies for the exam itself.  Once you are confident, take one of the two practice tests that the GMAC (the folks that run the GMAT) provides when you sign up for the test.  This will give you a good judge of how you are progressing.

Then, keep practicing.  I say that because I was reviewing practice questions the morning of the exam and one that I reviewed was almost identical to a problem on the actual test.

So, study up.  Remember that no one cares that you will can figure out the amount of water in a cylinder that is 4 feet high, has a diameter of 2 feet and is 60 percent full.  What they do care about is that you are motivated enough to a) prove that you are smart enough to learn it b) demonstrate that you can learn it on your own and c) prove that you have learned it in the form of a standardized test.  It is these characteristics that separate Kelley Direct students from those enrolled at other online distance MBA programs.

I often get questions from prospective online mba students about our in-residence requirement. I want to take a moment to talk about the in-residence and its importance to a student's learning experience.

All of our degree programs require an in-residence experience. The Kelley Direct in-residence takes place over the span of one week (5 days) on the Bloomington, Indiana campus. During this week students are oriented into Kelley Direct and Indiana University, learn about our course delivery technology and meet with other students.

The in-residence is the students’ opportunity to connect with Indiana University as a whole. Although students are usually pursuing a distance MBA program this week allows them the chance to visit the campus and attend on campus events. All students receive IU identification cards and have full access to the IU bookstore.

This week is not just a week-long orientation; students take a 1.5 credit course toward their degree. The basis of the course is about organizational change, and students are put into groups to complete assignments and compete in a case competition. In actuality, the week is pretty intense and many students stay up into the early morning hours working on course work.

I think the in-residence is a great benefit for individuals considering their local part time MBA program. The in-residence helps to bridge the gap between those two experiences.

The biggest advantage of in-residence is the networking opportunities. Each evening students are provided an opportunity to network with the entire incoming class. Many strong relationships have been built during in-residence and many students team up with other students to take classes together throughout their MBA/MS experience.

Overall, the in-residence is a way to bring people together who are considering distance MBA programs or an online MBA school.

Learn more about In-residence here: http://kd.iu.edu/aboutkd/inresidence.htm