Clarion University Students Build New Career Paths & Personal Relationships in Part Time MBA Program

新泽西州旧桥的居民里昂说：“在过去四年中，我在克拉里昂的整个学业中，我结交了很多朋友。我告诉他们，当我毕业时，我想来看看他们！”

考虑到基于Web的课程的个性化性质以及经常将学生和教师分开的身体距离，Lyons的热情是值得注意的。她说，克拉里昂（Clarion）热情的教师，有爱心的员工和敬业的同学在她的研究中增加了人类的层面，她找不到其他地方。

"The professors were interactive and so supportive," recalls Lyons, age 58. "One of the professors did a conference call with the class to give us time to talk together. And whenever I've needed to contact the MBA office for anything, everyone - especially Sharon Bauer - would just say, 'Hello Denise.' With my New York accent, they knew it was me!"

Throughout her career, Lyons has worked as a chief financial officer and computer programmer with a range of employers in New York. Prior to enrolling in one of the first Part-Time Online MBA cohorts in spring 2006, Lyons had searched for a high-quality MBA program for two years. Then one day at work on Long Island, Clarion alum and coworker Matt Seifert handed her an MBA brochure he had received in the mail.

里昂说：“我上网检查了该计划，与几个人交谈，对此感到非常好。”“ MBA核心课程非常出色，并且要获得AACSB认可的机构的学位 - 这是我在大学中想要的一切。我知道我决定参加Clarion是正确的。注册过程很容易，工作人员很容易在整个过程中帮助我；每个人都很友好。”

However, it took more than an outgoing admissions staff to convince Lyons that the Clarion MBA was the strongest choice. "The University of Phoenix had been bugging me all the time, and it always seemed to be about the money first and the degree second," she noted. "At Clarion, I quickly found out it was always about the student and the degree; that was the primary focus. My tuition was only 2 percent above the rate for state residents, at a low rate almost unheard of these days. I felt this program offered excellent financial value, but it wasn't overly easy either."

Clarion的兼职在线MBA是一项33个学分的非论文计划，专为由于距离，工作承诺或家庭责任而无法前往校园的繁忙成年人而设计。学生可以从任何位置通过Internet连接完成课程，而无需来校园。

“你能给你的职业生涯的重大推动Clarion MBA, which is one of the best values in quality graduate business education due to our low tuition," said Dr. Brenda Ponsford, MBA program director and professor. "And with today's high fuel prices, online study is an increasingly smart choice."

The Part-Time Online MBA Program offers classes each semester and during the summer term. Students can finish two to five courses per academic year, and take anywhere from 30 months to six years to complete a degree. The program is accredited by AACSB International, the premier accrediting agency for business and accounting degrees.

庞斯福德指出：“ AACSB International是任何商业计划都可以达到的最精英认证，并且得到了雇主的广泛认可。”“从AACSB认可的机构获得学位，将为您打开大门。”

That's exactly what recent Clarion graduate Gina Walker says she found when she finished the Part-Time Online MBA last December. The 35-year-old Pittsburgh resident works as a human resources representative with Schneider Downs, a Pittsburgh-based accounting firm.

"When I was considering the program, I wavered between the MBA and a Master's Degree in Human Resources," she said. "However, these days, HR has a seat at the management table, and is much more a part of running the business, and I felt the MBA program would make me a better-rounded employee."

Walker says the MBA coursework at Clarion forced her to expand her skills in many new ways. "For example, I am very involved in the open enrollment process for our employee health benefits.

"In the past, when our vendors would come in and discuss costs, I used to stand back from the math-intensive stuff. But thanks to my accounting and finance classes at Clarion, this year it made much more sense to me. I was able to get involved and actually help my company figure out the best approaches."

Clarion professor Dr. Miguel Olivas Lujan recalls his experiences working online with Walker. "Her answers to projects and assignments often made me reflect on how important it is to have professional connections," he said. "She would often bring up surveys or other studies published by the Society of Human Resources Managers (SHRM), supporting her points with arguments that are not often found in more traditional programs. I feel truly privileged that I was able to help her earn this graduate degree."

Walker, who also earned a B.S. degree in Human Resources from Clarion University in 1996, recalls that Clarion professor Dr. Jim Pesek pushed her especially hard to build greater expertise in the human resources field. "I had the HR course with Dr. Pesek both as an undergraduate and a graduate," she recalled. "He gave us a lot of direction but also the opportunity to learn on our own. Although I had already been working in the field for 10 years, he showed me that there is always something new to learn."

在线优势

除了相关的课程和强大的教职员工外，沃克说，由于其在线交付系统和灵活的课程时间表，她选择了Clarion的MBA课程。“由于我是一名全职员工，所以我很长时间工作。我必须找到一个适合我的日程安排和工作需求的程序。

I had looked into the program at Waynesburg University, which required students to attend evening classes. "I wondered, 'Is online a better choice for me?' Once I enrolled at Clarion, I soon realized how perfect it was for me, with the flexibility I needed."

里昂说，起初，她不愿意作为年龄较大的学生尝试在线学习，但很快意识到这并不是那么困难。她回忆说：“早在1990年代，我的本科学位工作与计算机无关，所以这有点令人生畏。”“有一天晚上，我坐下来哭了。我记得在想，'这不是给我的。我做不到。'我完全不知所措。

与沃克一样，里昂与雇主一起度过了长时间，这迫使她仔细管理时间以学习和写作。从新泽西到曼哈顿的90分钟上下班，当作业开始时，她的工作日期经常使她筋疲力尽，而她的工作时间却经常使她精疲力尽。

Olivas Lujan recalls Lyons' early online study experiences at Clarion. "When she took her first MBA course with me, she had not been back to school in 14 years and kept thinking she would never be able to work, commute and continue her education," he said. "For me, it has been a great pleasure and an honor to see that Denise is done with her coursework, ready to graduate and rise to new heights with an AACSB International-accredited MBA from Clarion on her resume."

Rather than be defeated by her demanding work schedule and the online coursework format, Lyons used it to learn the material and build a network of friends with classmates.

"For example, in the marketing class with Dr. Ponsford, I had to form a team with three other classmates. We would talk each week, and it really felt like we were running a company together. I formed some really nice friendships, and even today, I still correspond with those people."

Walker also used her online coursework to build professional networks and meet new people. "Being online, I really didn't feel like I missed out on the networking part of things," she said. "With the group projects, many of my classmates were around Pittsburgh, so we could always talk on the phone or get together to go over an assignment."

However, Walker noted that anyone considering online study must remember that it requires strong initiative and personal responsibility - much like going to work each day. "It was kind of a shock to come back to school after being out for so long," she said. "Online study really requires you to be an adult - to meet deadlines and figure things out on your own. That's the big difference between undergraduate and graduate work."

根据里昂,这是一个ll about earning your graduate degree, not purchasing it. "If it's about purchasing your degree, you are in the wrong school," she said. However, if you are looking to earn your degree, then you are probably in the right school. At the graduate level, you should know that it is much more complex. Be prepared for hard work and long hours. At the same time, know that these are great professors here at Clarion."

Professors in the Part-Time Online MBA Program draw upon a broad mix of academic expertise and business experience in their teaching and research. All faculty hold doctorates, and have worked extensively in their fields.

"Our faculty work hard to ensure that the students enrolled in the Part-Time Online MBA program achieve the same learning outcomes as those enrolled in our traditional face-to-face program," Pesek said. "Students in the online program are expected to integrate cross-disciplinary knowledge in business decision making, demonstrate ethical reasoning and analytical thinking in their decision making, and effectively use technology and data analysis in business problem solving.

“在课程中，我们还强调了领导力的重要性以及在多样化且复杂的全球环境中运作的经理所需的技能。由于我们许多兼职的在线学生都在全职工作，因此他们有机会在日常工作中应用业务和管理概念和实践。”

关于克拉里昂大学

Located 70 miles north of Pittsburgh in northwestern Pennsylvania, Clarion University is a public, state university with an annual enrollment of 5,500 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. The university sits on an historic 100-acre campus with 43 buildings including the Carlson Library, two dozen computer laboratories, and a $35 million science and technology center. Clarion University offers 27 nationally accredited programs, which is the most in the state system.

了解更多信息

Anyone interested in finding out more about the Part-Time Online MBA or other Virtual Campus programs at Clarion University should call 1-866-272-5612, send e-mail tovirtualcampus@www.pumanvillage.com或者go online atwww.www.pumanvillage.com/virtualcampus/