Ursuline College Debuts Online MBA Program

• Ursuline College, a private, nonprofit college near Cleveland, is offering a fully online MBA program this fall.
• That program will feature an asynchronous format to allow students to learn at their own pace.
• Students could complete the program in as little as 12 months.
• Online MBA programs offer greater flexibility to students at a lower cost than typical full-time, in-person programs.

Online master of business administration (MBA) programs, with asynchronous, affordable formats that allow working professionals to keep their job while working toward a degree, have gained traction across the business education world in recent years.

Now, a small Ohio college is embracing that trend by redesigning its MBA program to be entirely online.

The new online MBA program at Ursuline College, a private, nonprofit college east of Cleveland, bills itself as a versatile program that allows students to learn at their own pace. Students in the program, which will debut this fall, will be able to finish their degree in as little as 12 months or choose a slower pace to fit with their schedules.

Ursuline College already offers a dozen online undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, Ursuline MBA program director Mary Kovach said in a press release. The redesigned MBA program builds on this expertise.

Kovach, who is also an associate professor of business, previously taught in-person, online, and hybrid business courses as a faculty member at Miami University. She underscored the importance of flexibility for MBA students.

With the asynchronous format, graduate students can attend classes at their convenience — before work, during lunch, or in the evening, Kovach said. Regardless of the time of day, students will have access to professors to answer questions and to mentor them. They will also network with their classmates and other organizations.

MBA students come from all walks of life, from younger students who tend to pursue degrees full time to mid-career professionals who usually work while attending class part time or online for greater flexibility. Many MBA programs have embraced online and asynchronous learning, as well as high-demand fields like artificial intelligence and machine learning, in their curriculum since the onset of the pandemic.

Online MBA programs tend to run cheaper than the average cost of an MBA. While the average total cost of an MBA is about $27,600 a year, part-time, online programs cost about $14,500 a year on average. Ursuline College charges $650 per credit hour for its MBA program for the 2023-2024 school year, according to the school's website.