Message from the Dean for
Students Considering the On-line MBA:

You are to be congratulated for considering the on-line MBA. Your decision to participation in the University of North Alabama's on-line MBA program will be an important step in your professional development. We are pleased that you are considering this program and should you choose to participate, we pledge to deliver an experience that is challenging and relevant and to do so with a delivery platform that is convenient and flexible. We want to impact, in a significant way, your understanding of and approach to management and decision making. The following concentrations are available on-line. Each is an eleven course, 33 semester hour program (assuming prerequisites have been met):

• MBA - Professional
  
• MBA - Information Systems
  
• MBA - International Business
  
• MBA - Finance (Coming Soon)
  
• MBA - Health Care Management

While the University of North Alabama has offered the traditional MBA for over thirty years, the on-line delivery system is fairly new. This delivery approach grew out of the dynamic marketplace. Organizations, including universities, have come to recognize that innovation is a requirement for long-term survival. The graduate faculty of the University of North Alabama have developed a curriculum that endeavors to guide students through the more time-tested, proven decision making tools required of management and delivers this curriculum in a traditional format on-campus and the identical curriculum is delivered in a highly convenient format on-line.

While the on-line MBA program has been developed and will be delivered entirely by the University of North Alabama (our core business), we are pleased to work with Columbia Southern University in a marketing and program servicing partnership. By working together, we desire to facilitate student admission processes, enrollment management and program communication. We are teamed to provide a program of the highest quality and convenience at an exceptionally competitive cost. We intend to be the high value provider of graduate business education in the Southeast.

You may expect the following from our program and faculty:

• Relevance. We provide a curriculum that is current and practical, yet theoretically sound.
• Rigor. We provide a program that is rigorous yet reasonable. We expect you to stretch but not break!
• Professionalism. You should expect our faculty to be knowledgeable and professional. The University of North Alabama's graduate faculty members are all full-time professors with many years of business, teaching and consulting experience. All graduate faculty members hold doctorates and are involved in research activities that help them stay abreast of changes in their respective disciplines. You should also expect to be treated as professionals by the faculty and by your on-line MBA colleagues.
• Convenient. We have designed a program that we feel is one of the most convenient on-line programs available, and have enriched this typical on-line experience by capturing and archiving audio lectures, PowerPoint lectures and graphs, etc. using 'Tegrity' software. You will benefit not just from the text, on-line lecture content and material reviews, but in addition you will have hours of high quality lecture/discussion featuring your professor and in some cases student discussions for each of the courses in the program. For prerequisite courses, DVDs are occasionally used to capture and deliver lectures for later review.
• Affordable. The University of North Alabama is positioning itself as the 'best value provider' in graduate education in the Southeast. The total cost of the UNA on-line MBA is significantly less expensive than other fully accredited programs.

Just as you should have certain expectations of the program and faculty, we have expectations of our students:

• Self-direction. Successful students in this program must be comfortable in a study environment that is much less structured than the typical classroom. Successful students must be self-motivated. Much of the work is independent and there is little or no room for procrastination.
• Initiative. Successful graduate students will, as will successful managers, take the initiative in attacking issues, solving problems, and meeting deadlines. When you miss an assignment or deadline, it is your responsibility to yourself, your teammates and the faculty member to take the initiative to correct (in fact, to 'over correct') the omission. While the program is designed to be highly convenient, the lack of traditional structure and the relatively short cycle of assignments for each class will require that all students show initiative in keeping up with assignments, dates, etc. There is very little room for variation but fortunately, the 'school house' is always open.
• Sacrifice. Graduate study involves a sacrifice of one's time, energy and financial resources. This sacrifice is compounded when one works full-time. We believe that the benefits of graduate study far exceed the costs, however. To fully benefit from the graduate experience, working professionals must be willing to discipline themselves to use strong study skills and to seek out understanding to become active partners in the learning process not simply passive observers. To gain the most return from this program you must invest a great deal of yourself into it!
• Open-Mindedness. Each of your colleagues (and your instructor) will have had many years of experience and this experience will undoubtedly impact perceptions as to what is 'good practice' versus 'poor practice.' There will be (and should be) significant differences of opinion expressed in bulletin board postings and chat sessions that may be held from time to time. Dogmatism or closed-mindedness is a significant flaw among poor managers. Let me encourage students to develop the habit of approaching all topics and discussions with an open mind. Steven Covey (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) says it best: "Seek to understand before you seek to be understood."
• Honesty. The free enterprise system is built on a foundation of ethical behavior. Trust has been identified as the single most important trait of outstanding business leaders. Unfortunately, we have only to read today's headlines to see the damage the lack of integrity and honest does not just to the individual but also to the organization, even the capitalistic system as a whole. In our MBA program, our position on dishonesty is simple: zero tolerance. While team study (virtual teams) and case analysis is an integral part of this curriculum, all individual work (tests, papers, individual readings, etc.) must be yours and yours alone. Plagiarism is a serious problem on some campuses. We are committed to making sure it does not become a problem at our campus. The typical penalty for plagiarism is failure in the course. Violation of other professional ethical standards may result in even more serious penalties up to and including dismissal from the MBA program.
• Active Participation. This program is built for the convenience of working professionals. While there are no scheduled class meetings, students should expect to work with other students in virtual teams. Some virtual meetings may be held at mutually agreed upon times, others may use a 'bulletin board format.' In any case, students are expected to make every effort to participate in the discussions as assigned. Learning is an active process and all students should be actively engaged in sharing their insights and ideas.

The members of the graduate faculty of the College of Business look forward to working with you to make this a truly outstanding experience. We will frequently seek your input as to ways to continually improve the program and its delivery. You will also be involved in assessments of the academic quality of the program. We are committed to a program of high quality, convenience and affordability.

Our current students and alumni as well as our faculty invite you to join the leaders of tomorrow by enrolling in our MBA program today! We also invite each of you to visit our beautiful campus located in Florence, Alabama. As the oldest state university in Alabama, the first coeducational university in the South, and one of the first regional universities in the South, we have a rich history in academics as well as athletics. In addition to having two Pulitzer prize-winners as alumni, we count numerous Fortune 500 executives as well. On the athletic field, we boast of six national championships in NCAA Division II sports (three in football, two in basketball, and one in women's volleyball). Our students and alumni are always welcome and encouraged to visit and when possible, to participate in the many activities that are occurring on our campus. As an on-line student, you will be an important part of our expanding campus community and we will look forward to counting you as one of our outstanding alumni!

We look forward to having you take this important step in your career!

Kerry P. Gatlin, Dean
College of Business

MBA Admission Requirements

Students may apply for admission to the MBA at any point during the year. Admission decisions are made at least one month prior to the term start date, however. To assure admission in the term you wish to begin, please complete your application (including submission of transcripts and test scores) by the following dates:

There are three different admission categories: Unconditional Admission; Conditional Admission; and Unclassified Admission (a one term, temporary status). Requirements for each admission category are outlined below:

Unconditional admission requires each of the following:

• 950 formula points (undergraduate grade point average x 200 plus GMAT score); or 1000 points (undergraduate grade point average for last 60 semester hours x 200 plus GMAT score)
• Minimum GMAT score of 450. [A GRE score of 850 or higher may be substituted for the GMAT score. Contact the MBA office for determination of admission formula points if using the GRE].
• For international students, TOEFL [PBT=550 or higher; or IBT=79 or higher; or CBT = 213 or higher ] or IELTS = 6.0 or higher.

Conditional Admission requires each of the following:

• 900 formula points (undergraduate grade point average x 200 plus GMAT score);
• Minimum GMAT score of 400 [A GRE score of 725 or higher may be substituted for the GMAT score. Contact the MBA office for determination of admission formula points if using the GRE].
• for international students, the TOEFL score requirement is the same for conditional admission as for unconditional admission (see unconditional admission above for TOEFL score requirements).

Unclassified Admission requires the following:

• Unclassified admission is not available to international students.
• Students may be admitted as an unclassified graduate student for one semester or one summer term only.
• Students are restricted to three (3) semester hours in this classification.
• Student who are admitted as 'unclassified graduate students' fall into one of the following categories:
  • Non-degree seeking students seeking to explore a specific topic
  • Students who have made a late decision to return to graduate school and who have not taken the GMAT at the time of application
  • Students who are awaiting the receipt by UNA of their Official undergraduate transcripts
• Unclassified admission is not provided for students who otherwise fail to meet admission requirements (except as noted above regarding the GMAT exam).
• During the semester of 'unclassified graduate status', students must complete their graduate application by providing official transcripts and successfully completing the GMAT exam. Unclassified students must achieve 'conditional' or 'unconditional' admission status prior to being eligible to enroll in the 2nd term in the MBA program.
• Students who are admitted as 'unclassified graduate students' and who then successfully meet all admission requirements (grade point average and successful GMAT) may seek admission as conditional or unconditional graduate students and request that the work competed (with a grade of B or better) be applied to their graduate studies.

Note: The College of Business offers 'GMAT Scholarships' for the cost of the GMAT exam for all students who are granted unconditional admission and who earn a GMAT score of 550 or higher. These 'scholarships' are awarded after the student successfully completes (with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher with no grade of C or lower) one half (15 semester hours) of their graduate program at the University of North Alabama. Students should complete the GMAT Scholarship application after completion of the first fifteen semester hours of the MBA program (not including any prerequisite work taken prior to beginning the graduate program). No GMAT scholarship requests will be considered until after successfu completion of 15 semester hours of the MBA program.

Click on Apply to submit an application for admission to the MBA. You can register for the GMAT exam by clicking on the following link: GMAT Information and Application.

Master of Business Administration
Options Available Online

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree is intended as a broad-based professional degree, the focus of which is to help students improve their knowledge and decision making skill and to serve as a vehicle that contributes to career growth. While the MBA is not a specialized masters' degree, students are, never-the-less, able to select areas of interest and to build modest concentrations. Students pursuing the MBA on-line at the University of North Alabama may choose one of the following concentrations:

• MBA - Professional (no specialization)
• MBA - Information Systems
• MBA - International Business
• MBA - Health Care Management

The MBA program requires eleven courses or 33 semester hours (after all prerequisites are met). All students complete an MBA core consisting of eight required courses. In addition, each student will complete three electives. When electives are chosen with a given area, the student may declare the appropriate concentration.

MBA Core Courses (courses completed by all MBA students)

• AC 626 - Managerial Accounting and Financial Information Systems
• CIS 625 - Enterprise Systems Analysis
• EC 650 - Managerial Economics
• FI 630 - Financial Management
• MK 660 - Marketing Strategy
• QM 670 - Quantitative Methods
• MG 624 - Organizational Behavior
• MG 640 - Management Policy

Students choose one of the following five options:

MBA - Professional

• Complete the eight MBA core courses above and
• Three electives chosen by the student

MBA - Information Systems

• Complete the eight MBA core courses above and
• Three electives from CIS 556, CIS 615, CIS 627, CIS 645 or CIS 545, CIS 660, CIS 685 or CIS 506

MBA - International Business

• Complete the eight MBA core courses above and
• MG/MK 691 - International Business
• EC/FI 563 - International Trade and Finance
• MG 680 - International Internship OR
  • MG 698 - Independent Study/Practicum in International Business (with approval of the department chair)

MBA - Finance

• Complete the eight MBA core courses above and
• Three electives from the following: FI 563, FI 581, FI 681, FI 688, or FI 698

MBA - Health Care Management

• Complete the eight MBA core courses above and
• MG/MK 652 - Special Topics in Health Care Management and
• MG 695 - Strategic Management for Health Care Management and
• MK 671 – Marketing for Health Care Management

Prerequisites for MBA

Prerequisite Work
Students must demonstrate a satisfactory background in the following topics: accounting principles; economic principles; statistics and quantitative methods; financial management; information systems; management principles and marketing principles.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Although Fall 2008 will be the last semester that the University of North Alabama College of Business will offer EMB 500 and EMB 400 level foundation courses, we are pleased to announce that non-credit competency courses and challenge exams are now available as an option for completing all MBA program prerequisites, allowing students to complete the required prerequisites more quickly and economically. Other options for meeting prerequisite requirements are still in effect.

Click on FA 08 Prerequisite Options [pdf] for options available in Fall 2008.

Click on SP 09 Prerequisite Options [pdf] for ways these prerequisites may be satisfied beginning in Spring 2009.

Apply for MBA

Online MBA Program
To apply for admission to the online program, click Application for Online MBA.

Traditional On-Campus MBA Program
To apply for the traditional on-campus MBA program, click MBA Application to submit your application electronically or to download a hard copy for returning your application by mail.