Going the distance

Peter Mitham | Image: Sandra Leung | Published: March 25, 2008

Online options don’t have to mean isolation

On every second Friday and Saturday, sales executive Daniel Watson leaves his wife and one-year-old daughter in Surrey for a boardroom in Vancouver’s Bentall Centre. There he joins 17 students locally and 46 others in similar settings across the country for two days of video-conferenced lectures as part of Queen’s University’s national executive MBA program.

A screen shows the professor and another displays slides that illustrate the lecture. The
students discuss the material in teams, and the fortnightly video conferences are supplemented by intensive one- to two-week sessions at the Queen’s campus in Kingston three times over the course of the 15-month program.

The setup allows Watson to receive a Queen’s education without sacrificing his career, family life and everything else that has brought him to the point where he was ready for an MBA. “Distance learning is basically giving you access to a school you would not otherwise be able to attend,” he says.

And the desire to attend is significant: Queen’s currently has 183 students enrolled in its distance MBA programs, all of them in Canada. The distance options typically attract students who, like Watson, are in their 30s, have established careers and, frequently, some management experience. Many are seeking the formal education needed to hone the leadership skills they’ve been demonstrating.

Watson, now 34, graduated with a commerce degree from UBC and followed his undergrad studies with courses in France and the Netherlands prior to joining MTU Maintenance Canada Ltd. in 2000. A posting to Germany followed, and in 2005 he was appointed director of sales and marketing in the Americas for the aircraft-maintenance company.

After investigating several professional designation courses, he came to the conclusion that an MBA could provide the breadth of education he needed. The 15-month program, weekly schedule and curriculum of the Queen’s program fit, as did the cost – $80,000 including tuition, books, learning materials (with software and technical support) and the cost of the residential sessions. And the school, he keeps finding, is well-respected.

The reputation of Queen’s was also a deciding factor for Casey Lynn, senior sales manager of specialty products for the Yellow Pages Group. Although she considered SFU (where she did her undergrad) as well as programs at UBC and York University, Queen’s standing and the ease of participating in its 12-month accelerated MBA program won her over.

“Queen’s was the top of the list, and the fact

that they had a part-time program that I could take from Vancouver and still work – the decision was made,” Lynn says. She was delighted to find that she is one of 80 students across the country in the program. Repre­senting 20 different industries, the program’s diversity allows Lynn to tap into a variety of experiences that enrich her own 10-year
career, which has seen her move through the financial-services sector into her current
position with Yellow Pages.

The video-conferencing technology that Queen’s uses doesn’t completely replicate a classroom experience, but it hasn’t been a disappointment. In fact, being able to discuss lectures without distracting the professor is an advantage that both Watson and Lynn mention.

“If you use the technology properly, it really gives you the best of both worlds,” Watson explains. “You actually do end up with a lot of peer learning as well, which for me was a little bit unexpected. Without interrupting the professor, you’re able to discuss a point or a question with some of your colleagues.”

The team discussions that take place around the lectures prevent students from becoming isolated, as might happen in a more traditional distance-learning experience – something Lynn wanted to avoid. They also establish collaborative habits that Lynn believes are important outside the classroom.

“You still have that human interaction. It’s not like you don’t see anyone, that it’s completely online,” she says. “It really enriches the experience. We conduct our activity just like a company.”