University of Delaware Teams Up with Academic Partnerships to Launch a New Online MBA Program

DALLAS, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In collaboration with Academic Partnerships, the University of Delaware's Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics has announced an innovative new online master of business administration (MBA) program. Academic Partnerships was selected to work with the Lerner College to deliver their faculty's curriculum to a growing number of students who want a top MBA delivered in a highly-flexible format. The program is expected to launch in spring 2013.

"Higher education is evolving as a result of new technology and the resulting changes in students' learning styles," said Rick Andrews, deputy dean of the Lerner College. "By using a new delivery modality, our MBA will be accessible to working professionals who travel frequently, to members of the U.S. military and to others who, for whatever reason, are not able to make it to campus for the traditional MBA."

Students in the new online MBA will complete 48 credits in the Lerner College's AACSB-accredited program over the course of eight seven-week terms. Courses will fully achieve MBA program learning objectives required by the AACSB and will consist of micro-lectures delivered in multimedia format; readings, problems, cases and discussion board participation; experiential learning via corporate simulation exercises; and individual and team projects and assignments.

Under the direction of Deputy Dean Andrews, the collaboration with Academic Partnerships has been underway since April 2012, when an online MBA planning group including each of the college's five department chairs and Jack Baroudi, associate dean for graduate and executive programs, was created.

"Sixty years ago, the Lerner College admitted its first MBA class, and we have continued to refine our program to keep ahead of business needs," said Bruce Weber, dean of the Lerner College. "Our high-quality MBA, paired with AP's proven ability to enrich student learning online, furthers the college's academic mission to deliver superior management education to the next generation of business students."

"Together with UD's Lerner College, we are meeting the needs of students who want to learn and advance their careers with an MBA, but who don't have the ability to participate in an on-campus program," said Randy Best, founder and chairman of Academic Partnerships. "An online MBA program offers flexibility and access to an ever-growing number of students who may wish to keep their jobs while getting their degree, or who don't live close to UD, but want the caliber of the college's degree."

Academic Partnerships has a successful track record of helping institutions of higher education expand their access and deliver quality and scalable online degree programs. The company's efforts have helped over 600 professors convert more than 1,000 traditional courses into an electronic delivery format and recruited more than 100,000 students into online degree programs with U.S. and international partners. 

About the Lerner College
The Lerner College is the second largest of UD's seven colleges, with a diverse community of 2,800 undergraduate students, 600 graduate students, 170 faculty and staff, and over 28,000 alumni. Unique programs in five academic departments emphasize experience-driven learning and evidence-based analytics. From Bloomberg Certification to corporate governance expertise to teacher education, the Lerner College is also home to a variety of centers of excellence that provide educational programming opportunities for students and community members.  Additional information about enrollment in Lerner College's online MBA can be found here.

About Academic Partnerships 
Dallas-based Academic Partnerships partners with public universities to deliver students full degree programs online. The company was founded by social entrepreneur, Randy Best an 18-year veteran of developing innovative learning experiences to improve education. Academic Partnerships helps universities increase access by taking quality of a public university to scale. It provides the technology, marketing, student recruitment and faculty support necessary to serve online students. Academic Partnerships is guided by the principle that the opportunities presented through distance learning make higher education more accessible and achievable for students in the U.S. and globally. For more information, please visit http://www.academicpartnerships.com.

SOURCE Academic Partnerships