Online universities are indeed among the later developments in educational technology. After all, the Net was not in existence before the 20th century. However, you would be surprised to know that online universities can be traced back to as early as year 1728.
It is distance learning itself that is not new. This is referred to collectively as distance learning and was first done by Caleb Phillips when he offered to teach shorthand through the mail. Each lesson was received and carred to pupils through the regular post.
London's own main university asserts that it was leading the pack when it came to distance learning at the time, for it was the first to boast a correspondence program. In the United States, the University of Chicago pioneered the concept of correspondence studies in 1892 to promote the education to the public that was implemented by Columbia University. Later on, the University of Queensland began this type of education as well.
Between the years 1964 and 1968, the medium was shifted from correspondence to radio and television. Soon, more universities got on the bandwagon for this kind of education. Merely a few years past, educators were treated to the creation of an accredited online establishment for learning too.
Now for business majors, the first school to have established graduate school is Dartmouth College-Tuck School of Business in 1900. At the time, it actually had a different name. At the very beginning of the 20th century, Harvard Uni developed and launched the first true MBA course.
However, the field of graduate studies experienced some bad publicity in 1959 when programs were criticized for their irrelevance and quality. It was even stated that graduate studies are no better than completing a vocational course. For these reasons, many of the people associated with the course were shunned as unskilled ones.
That was why the masters in business administration began to include the core courses of the undergraduate, to some extent, in order to combat the general perception. Specializing in a particular area suddenly became an option. The training was thus sharpened and enhanced for maximum effect.
Still, there was always something to be nitpicked: in this case, it was that the changes had rendered the training too focused on the theory and not enough on the practice. The true arena of business apparently tended to confound degree-holders who had been taught in a more sanitized environment with more controllable parameters. The problem too was that several schools hired professors who did not have experiential knowledge of their subjects.
Companies slowed down in their hiring of masters of business administration degree-holders. It was clear that another revamp had to take place. The schools thus began yet another major modification of their MBA courses.
Colleges have an obligation to see to it that the programs they offer are appropriate for the current state of the industry for each program. Even now,
online universities as well as offline ones are making new modifications to the MBA programs they offer. It is crucial to enter a university that actually cares about what the real business world demands of graduates.
