Executive MBA with Online Learning at Terry College, University of Georgia

This article is a review of the Executive MBA with Online Learning offered by the Terry College of Business, University of Georgia. The Terry College of Business, University of Georgia was first founded in the year 1912 as the School of Commerce, and is today a flagship business school in the state of Georgia. It is also one of the oldest Georgia state-chartered universities in the US.

Terry College of Business has more than 140 faculties, provides world-class research and scholarship for the business communities. To date, they have been more than 55,000 graduates from the Terry College of Business.

The certified MBA program offered by Terry College of Business, University of Georgia has one of the highest average GMAT scores, which places it among the top 15 highest averages for public business schools. They are also consistently ranked among the best by US News & World Report, Business Week, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal.

The certified MBA program offered by Terry College of Business, University of Georgia was also offered at UGA’s Gwinnett campus near Lawrenceville and the Atlanta Executive Education Center in Buckhead.

Terry College’s certified MBA program is accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. AACSB was founded in the year 1916 and having an accreditation from AACSB is a hallmark of excellence in business education.

Why Should You Pursue Your Certified MBA from Terry College of Business, University of Georgia

It is now becoming a well-known factor that Leadership is critical for business success. The technological change and global competition demand business leadership that are responsive, creative, supportive but at the same time flexible. The Terry College’s Executive MBA with Online Learning is designed to develop the skills that leaders need. MBA students learn about important dimension of effective leadership and measure their own skill using a series of assessment tools. The information derived is used to construct their own personal roadmap for leadership growth.

The Executive MBA with Online Learning program of Terry College of Business devotes much focus on developing leadership qualities of the students. Students are provided with the opportunity to interact with an executive leadership coach to better understand their own strength and weakness. This interaction continues throughout the Executive Program. Participants also engage in online discussion forum that addresses different leadership topics each month.

The Executive MBA with Online Learning program at Terry College of Business, University of Georgia is delivered using a mix of traditional classroom instruction and distance learning. While classroom interaction is important to take advantage of the collective experience of the group, distance learning technology provides participants with the flexibility to learn at a time and place that is most convenient to them.

Format of Executive MBA with Online Learning at Terry College of Business, University of Georgia

The format for learning in the Terry College’s Executive MBA with Online Learning Program is distinctly different from other Executive MBA program.

The Executive MBA with Online Learning program offered by Terry College, University of Georgia is based out of Terry’s Executive Education Center in Buckhead. The Executive MBA is an 18-month program. This includes two week residencies on the campus of the University of Georgia, 21 weekend sessions in Atlanta and a 10-day international residency. The Terry Executive Educational Center in Atlanta provides a focal point and meeting place for Terry students, alumni, faculty and staff to interact with the Atlanta’s business community.

Nearly 50% of the Executive MBA content is delivered online, which allows busy working professionals the flexibility to juggle the demands of family, career and school.

The Terry Executive MBA with Online Learning is divided into 10 learning modules. There are seven 9-week modules consisting of 3 weekend classroom sessions per module and distance learning in between classes that focuses on core business knowledge and application.

There is also two 1-week modules on campus in Athens that focuses on leadership. Then, there is a 10-day international residency outside the United States that focuses on International Business.

Two modules of the Terry Executive MBA with Online Learning focus solely on leadership. The Executive MBA program kicks off with the first weeklong sessions. This is followed by the second weeklong session. Both the sessions are held at the Terry College on UGA campus in Athens.

There are seven modules that focus on core business knowledge and its practical application. Some of these courses serve as an introduction to functional areas of organisation so that you may appreciate how marketing, finance, accounting, operations and other issues interact to determine organisational effectiveness. Other courses challenge the students to think and act strategically.

The weekend courses consist of classes held all day Friday and Saturday at the Terry Executive Education Center in Buckhead. A typical module includes two courses delivered over a period of nine weeks involving three weekend sessions.
The Terry College’s Executive MBA with Online Learning focuses on the following aspects of the leadership development: Self-awareness and Personal Leadership, Vision, Execution, Adaptability, Social Influence, Developing Others and Business Acumen.

The Internet-based tools provide a structure for independent learning, while at the same time facilitate interaction among participants and the faculty members. The Online Learning activities include electronic presentations, threaded group discussions and synchronous help sessions.

The final module in the Terry Executive MBA with Online Learning Program is a capstone event. MBA students get to experience international residency during which MBA students get to visit several countries to gain perspective how business processes are influenced by various factors. During the trip, students will also be exposed to interesting blend of lectures, guest speakers, site visits, and other cultural excursions.

Curriculum of the Terry College Executive MBA with Online Learning

The followings are the curriculum of the Terry College Executive MBA with Online Learning:

Skills and Perspectives for Effective Leadership

This course from the Terry College Executive MBA focuses on the development of fundamental leadership skills, such as self-awareness, strategic thinking, creating a motivating environment, empowerment and delegation, managing change, and team processing. Students get to evaluate their current leadership style and potential, and based on one-on-one interaction with a personal leadership coach, they will develop an individualised action plan for improving their own leadership capability.

Economic Analysis for Business Leaders

In this course, the Terry College Executive MBA introduces the basic tools of microeconomics and macroeconomics to analyze management decisions and competitive strategies of firms in a market economy. These include the microeconomic concepts of supply and demand, production, cost, and market structure. The concepts from microeconomics are combined with macroeconomic issues related to fiscal and monetary policy to form a solid understanding of the relationship between the structure and performance of the business firm and the economic environment is which it operates.

Analytical Tools for Decision Making

This course from the Terry College Executive MBA enhances the analytical skills of business managers who must make decisions based on quantitative data, in particular in environments characterized by significant uncertainty. The topics of the course include sampling, estimation and inference, regression, simulation, decision analysis and constrained optimisation.

Financial Accounting and Reporting

Every good MBA course should have a course in financial accounting and reporting. This course addresses the basic concepts that underlie the preparation and use of accounting information utilized in the preparation of financial statements for shareholders and other external users. Topics of study include concepts of accounting (such as cash vs.. accrual), the format and content of financial statements, and interpretation of corporate annual reports.

Managerial Finance

This is another important course in MBA. This course from the Terry College Executive MBA considers the responsibilities, concerns, and methods of analysis employed by corporate financial managers, and the role of financial markets and institutions in the modern economy. Topics of study include capital structure, dividend policy, asset evaluation, capital budgeting, risk analysis, and portfolio theory.

Marketing Management

This course of the Terry College Executive MBA explores the foundation of strategic and tactical decision-making in marketing through intelligence gathering, environmental analysis, positioning of market offerings, and market segmentation. Topics of study include marketing management thinking, analyzing customers and competition, positioning strategy, product development, relationship logistics, and integrated marketing communications.

Operations Management

This course of the Terry College Executive MBA examines how operational processes can be designed and managed to ensure that goods are produced and services delivered in a timely manner with the cost and quality characteristics required by customers. Emphasis is place on effective decision-making to determine how people, facilities, inventories, and information can be managed to create and maintain competitive advantage for the firm. Topics of study include process analysis, operations planning and control, total quality management, and operations strategy.

Enterprise Risk Management

In this course, the impact of the cultural, economic, regulatory, and organizational environment in which a business operates on enterprise risk are investigated. The emphasis of the course is on appreciating the various sources of risk and how they interact to form an overall risk profile of the firm. This holistic view recognizes the importance of risk, regardless of its source, in affecting a firm's ability to achieve its strategic objectives.

Internet Technology and Strategy

In this course in the Terry College Executive MBA, the strategic use of Internet technology to support organizational goals and increase organizational performance is explored. The course provides an executive's guide to Internet technology and network computing, as well as models for identifying strategic opportunities.

Advanced Leadership Skills

This course from the Terry College Executive MBA focuses on processes for negotiating and resolving practical and ethical conflicts encountered in business environments. A key objective is to allow participants to interact with their personal leadership coach in reviewing progress towards leadership goals, and to revise individual action plans accordingly.

Financial Analysis and Cost Management

This course from the Terry College Executive MBA applies basic principles of finance to a broad array of management activities. Topics of study include financial forecasting with an emphasis on cash flows and financial needs, valuation of ongoing operations, evaluation of production alternatives, cost accounting systems, and advanced capital budgeting.

Strategic Management

Elements of traditional corporate strategy with principles of large-scale organizational change to produce an overview of strategic management as an organic process for adapting the firm to its changing environment are combined in this course. Topics of study include practical issues related to mental frameworks and human behavior, environmental and competitor analysis, and change implementation.

Legal and Regulatory Issues

An enhanced level of awareness of many legal issues that directly impact the way that leaders conduct business is created in this Executive MBA course. The course is designed to develop an understanding of legal and regulatory topics to gain an appreciation for the role of effective business/government relationships. Topics of study include legal institutions, contracts, public law, employees, and international law.

Marketing Strategy and Decision Making

This course of the Terry College Executive MBA focuses on the integration of marketing concepts and their application to strategic decision making. Topics of study include marketing in the knowledge economy, developing a market-focused organization, understanding customers and competitors, relationship management, and the impact of organizational variables on customer satisfaction.

Service Operations Management

Best practices in the service sector by analyzing leading-edge firms and the strategies they employ to create and maintain competitive advantage are explored in this Terry College Executive MBA course. Emphasis is placed on the close coordination of marketing and operations in the design and implementation of service delivery processes. Topics of study include the importance of developing both human and technical skills among employees who represent the most critical point of contact between the service organization and its customers, and the role of technology in changing the nature of the service delivered and/or the way in which the service is delivered.

Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation

This course from the Terry College Executive MBA examines the new venture process, from idea generation to startup to harvest. Emphasis is placed on the generation of a complete business plan for a new product or service.

International Residency

The objective of this course is to expose students to the business challenges and opportunities in selected countries. The program incorporates economic, political, social, cultural, and organization issues through a mix of lectures, guest speakers, site visits, and cultural excursions.

Acceptance Requirements and Criteria for the Executive MBA with Online Learning at Terry College of Business, University of Georgia

The following describes the Terry College of Business Executive MBA’s acceptance requirements and criteria.

Students who gained from the MBA are those who have demonstrated significant leadership capability and those who show the potential for further development. Students are expected to actively participate in highly engaging and interactive educational experience.

The admission to the Terry College of Business Executive MBA program is highly selective. A bachelor’s degree in any discipline from an accredited institution of higher learning is required. Students are expected to have a minimum o five years of relevant, full-time work experience. In addition, the following factors are also considered:

• Do you have the perspective, the intellectual capacity, and the drive and discipline to successfully complete all program requirements?
• Will the program content add significant value, given your current position in the organization and your potential for future growth?
• Will your experience and expertise add to the educational experience of other participants in the program, and are you motivated to share these strengths with others?
Applicants that meet specific criteria established by the UGA Graduate School may have their GMAT requirements waived.

Students Profile of Executive MBA with Online Learning at Terry College of Business, University of Georgia

In general, students of the Executive MBA with Online Learning at Terry College of Business has 12 to 15 years of relevant work experience and have previous managerial or leadership experience. A minimum of five years of related working experience is required for admission into the program.
The typical age of students is 37, with 20% of them consisting of female students. The average years of work experience is 14.5 years with 6 years in management.

Many of the students are already in managerial positions when they enroll or are promoted to the following position while studying for the Executive MBA course:
• Vice President and Treasurer, Saks, Inc.
• Director of Customer Management, Fannie Mae
• Internal Audit Manager, Home Depot
• President, MAB Inc.
• Vice President of Compensation, SunTrust Bank
• National Sales Manager, RTS Packaging
• Vice President of Treasury and Risk Management, Rock-Tenn Co.
• Director of Sales and Finance, Acuity Brands
• Worldwide Operations Manager, Eaton Corporation
• Principle Consultant, S1 Corporation
• Director, Cushman & Wakefield
• Regional Account Director, The Integer Group
• Sr. Oncology Medical Scientist and Clinical Area Manager, GlaxoSmithKline
• Senior Safety Engineer, Merck & Co., Inc.
• Program Manager, Trammell Crow Company
• Business Solutions Consultant, Equifax
• President & COO, Independent Living Aids
• Plant Manager, NIBCO Inc.
• Director, AT&T Business Services
• Surveillance Manager, AIG Advisor Group
• Vice President of Sales, The Evercare Company
• Senior Account Manager, The Gillette Company
• Partner, Accenture
• Division Sales Manager, John Deere Company
• Practice Manager, Solution Builders, Inc.
• Vice President, Morgan Stanley
• Human Resources Manager, Avon Products, Inc.

Program Tuition and Fees of the Executive MBA with Online Learning at Terry College of Business, University of Georgia

The tuition fees paid cover for all costs of course materials, textbooks, hotel accommodations and parking. This also includes the round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations for international residency. Tuition fees total $65,000 and spread across five terms. There are also other fees such as nonrefundable deposits and application fees.

Scholarship, students loans and financial aid are available to deserving students.

If you are looking for an Online MBA Course that combines traditional classroom learning with online learning, then you should consider the Executive MBA at Terry College of Business, University of Georgia.