Being an AU MBA student

Weekly: on average 20 to 25 hours
Full Program: 2.5 to 3 years*
*Those in the Accelerated or Accounting programs will finish sooner.

Weekly commitment

The Athabasca University online MBA for executives is a rigorous and challenging program, and will demand much from you in terms of personal commitment and time. Expect to spend on average 20 to 25 hours per week on readings, course work, discussions, group assignments, and individual assignments. The time you spend on each course may vary somewhat depending on your aptitude for and familiarity with subject matter.

Daily commitment

To be successful, AU MBA students must actively engage in online discussions on an almost daily basis. The program’s collaborative, peer-learning oriented format demands that you be present and contributing within the learning environment roughly five to six days per week—cramming on weekends will not work. Often students struggle with this time commitment during the first and second course, but once schedules and routines are established, finding the best times and places to fit school around life become easier.

Program completion time

Most students complete the MBA in two and one half to three years. It is possible to complete the MBA in less than two and a half years, however, this will require a significant time commitment beyond 20 to 25 hours per week for portions of your studies. Students can take up to five years to complete the MBA should they need to.

Course scheduling

With the exception of some elective courses, all MBA courses are eight weeks long and are separated by a two-week break. Courses are taken one at a time, allowing you to dive deeply into one topic area at a time while also ensuring that you can balance your student life with your professional and personal lives.

Time and location are barriers to participation for many students when it comes to classroom based learning. At traditional bricks-and-mortar schools, you have to organize your life around set school hours. At Athabasca, you can schedule your school hours to fit the rest of your life.

The AU MBA is online, asynchronous, and paced:
What does exactly does all that mean?

Online

All of your course activities take place in one course environment that you can access on your laptop, home computer, work computer, tablet, even your smartphone if need be. Everything you need to read, discuss, collaborate, and submit work will be organized in one spot.

Asynchronous

We have students and academics across Canada and around the world engaged in learning and teaching 24 hours a day. Asynchronous learning means you are never required to be online at a certain date and time. You can complete your work, contribute to discussions, and ask questions of your professor at any time as long as you meet your deadlines.

Paced

Too much flexibility can be as bad as not enough. AU’s paced courses have set start and end dates, with assignment deadlines and requirements for group work and collaboration within each course to keep you on track. In short, they are just like regular university classes, minus the trip to the classroom.

Online / offline

Whether you are in Saskatoon or Singapore, at home, or over the ocean on a flight, you can engage with others and never worry about missing a lecture. Our robust learning environment is key to providing flexibility as it allows you to work on or offline, meaning you can draft your contribution to discussions while working remotely and upload once you can connect to the Internet again.

You control when and where

You are expected to contribute 20 to 25 hours per week on average to your studies over roughly five to six days per week, but the when and where is completely up to you: early mornings, over your lunch hour, after work, even into the wee hours of the night – what works for you works for us.

All AU MBA students must complete at least 1 in-residence elective, often referred to as a blended elective*, as it is delivered using a combination of online or in-person formats. You can choose from an 8-week, 3-credit course or a 10-week, 6-credit course.

The in-person format is usually 5 days long and held in a major Canadian city.

*The delivery method may vary depending on the elective course. Students are expected to be present and available for the synchronous component/activity in the course.

3-credit in-residence electives are designed for completion over an eight-week period. This typically requires students to complete preparatory work consisting of readings, participation in course applications, and a short assignment in the first three weeks, followed by an intensive week-long, in-residence session. In most cases, in-residence courses will focus on both individual and group work and, in all cases, will require completion of an individual assignment during the four weeks following the in-residence week.

6-credit in-residence electives are designed for completion over a ten-week period. The workload is the equivalent of taking one 3-credit online elective plus one 3-credit in-residence elective at the same time. As a bonus, although you have an intense and heavy workload during the course, you can complete it and earn 6 credits in a condensed period of time.

Please visit the current elective schedule for more information.

Athabasca University online MBA for executives students are experienced managers with interesting and diverse backgrounds across many different industries, sectors, countries, and cultures. This diversity of opinion and life experience adds depth to the program’s curriculum, and helps students understand how theories can be applied in a variety of contexts.

Why do you think the way you think?

Expect to engage in daily discussions with students in your group throughout each course. And expect to be challenged to examine and explain why you think the way you think.

In any AU MBA course, participation in group discussions will count for up to 40 percent of your grade, and is based on:

1. How you think through and respond to questions posed by other students and your academic coach,
2. How you help others understand your point of view by sharing insights and examples from your own experiences, and
3. How you integrate others’ points of view and experiences, as well as new theoretical knowledge, into your overall management perspective—in other words, how you demonstrate that you are developing and maturing as a senior manager and leader.

All voices heard equally

Your identity as an MBA student at Athabasca—how you are perceived by other students and your professors—isn’t based on how old or young you are, or your gender, or ethnicity, or physical abilities. You are known by the way you think. What matters is the strength of your arguments, how you connect academic theories and concepts to your organizational issues, and, most importantly, that you effectively share ideas and thoughts with your peers.

A chance to think things through

Your first answer isn’t always your best answer. That is one of the challenges with a traditional MBA classroom model and the inherent competition between students to answer questions and participate. At AU, interaction and peer learning are not constrained time or location, and neither is your ability to fully think through problems or collaborate on solutions. You can always revisit what you’ve said and add nuance, examples, even change your opinion.

Better questions, better answers

Your academic coaches have the same advantage. When you ask a question, they do not have to answer immediately with their ‘top of mind’ answer. They can think a few minutes, maybe even go and look something up before they respond. That gives you a better answer too.

We believe that having time—to think and reflect, to craft a response, or to make sure you understand someone else’s argument—is of fundamental importance to your studies and will help move you beyond simple memorization to mastery.

Design your AU MBA experience

Whether you are looking to increase your expertise in a particular field or branch out into new disciplines, the AU MBA can help you customize your experience to fit your unique learning objectives.

1) Use your own work scenarios as case studies

Within almost all core courses, weekly discussions and individual assignments are focused on connecting your learning directly to your company and your industry. Our goal is to move you beyond imagining what you “might” do within a scenario and instead help you connect your learning to what is happening in the real world and in your workplace. You will come away from each course with tangible and usable knowledge and abilities. You’ll also have a series of deliverables you can take back to your organization. This is perhaps most significant way you can tailor the MBA experience to your goals.

2) Create your own electives concentration or explore a variety of topics

Electives are available on a wide variety of subject areas and are delivered in online as well as in blended online/in residence formats held across Canada and internationally. You can choose to concentrate on one topic area or mix things up and take courses on completely different subjects. Should you choose to concentrate on one topic, the following areas have multiple courses available:

• Project Management
• Entrepreneurship
• Human Resources
• IT Management
• Leadership
• Operations Management
• Strategy
• Marketing
• Finance and Governance
• International Business

In residence electives

In residence electives include both online and face-to-face components.

All students must complete at least one in-residence elective, often referred to as a blended elective, as they are delivered with a blend of online and face-to-face formats. Choose from eight week, three credit courses or ten week, six credit courses, each containing five days of very intense face-to-face instruction.

These courses include online course work, readings, group assignments, and a major individual assignment. Learning is anchored by the week in residence. These electives are offered throughout the year in major centres across Canada including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.

International electives

International electives combine online study and an immersive face-to-face study.

For students interested in international business, the AU MBA offers a series of international elective courses offered around the world. International electives include five to seven intensive days working in another country. Students get an insider’s view of some of that nation’s top companies.

International electives are scheduled in different trade zones over a three year rotation. Some students take three international electives in residence so they can study business in three different countries over the course of their program.

International courses are continually updated with new countries and topics, recent and upcoming offerings include:

• Doing business in the UK, taught in London
• Doing business in Asia Pacific, taught in Singapore
• Doing business in a recovering economy, taught in Athens, Greece

The applied project

Take on a problem or opportunity with a mentor’s guidance

MBA students have the option of taking six elective courses, or completing three elective courses plus an applied project.

The applied project is a major academic research paper involving a review of literature and systematic application of concepts, models, and theories to a specific business problem or solution. Many students report making significant impacts in their workplaces by tackling a serious workplace problem or pursuing a significant opportunity as their applied project.

Once students submit their proposal for an applied project, they are assigned an academic supervisor with significant academic and industry experience in their chosen management area. This gives students the opportunity to assume responsibility for a substantial real-life workplace or community issue with the guidance of an experienced mentor.

As with any university, your current course professor will be your main point of contact at any given time. However, at AU, there are many others working to ensure you have a positive and successful graduate school experience.

Your professors

Core Faculty members teach, conduct research, and lead academic disciplines within AU’s undergraduate and graduate programs. They shape the overall direction of the AU online MBA for executives, and oversee course and coaching quality for all core and elective courses within their academic specialization.

Academic Coaches work with small groups of eight to ten students in each course, ensuring a high standard of student-academic interaction. We call them academic coaches because their job is not to teach in the traditional sense, but rather to facilitate active discussion and collaboration among students. They guide conversations and provide insights, tools, or new information to help clarify points or themes. Most academic coaches are PhD qualified (master’s degree minimum) and all have significant industry experience. Many are full time faculty members at other universities.

Graduate enrolment advisors

All AU MBA students are assigned a Graduate Enrolment Advisor upon acceptance into the program. Your advisor becomes your main administrative contact and works with you throughout your program to help you manage your schedule and meet your degree requirements. When your job demands or other life issues get too big even for an online study schedule, your advisor will help you find the best way through. Your advisor generally stays the same throughout the life of your program

Helpdesk

We know you want to be able to effectively study, collaborate, and get your work done online without having to become a technical expert on our systems. We want that too. Helpdesk staff provide you the resources and assistance you need to participate effectively in the online learning environment—they work extended hours to help you with setup, travel issues, or any other technical issue that comes along.

Library

The AU Library supports students in AU courses by collecting online, print and audiovisual resources in subject areas taught at the university, and making these available to the AU community. You can access the following services:

1. A massive collection of online full-text journal databases, e-books and other electronic collections.
2. AUCAT, the online catalogue of library materials and borrow materials from the AU Library collection.
3. Library assistance and instruction from staff at the Library Information Desk.
4. Interlibrary loans (ILL) for journal articles and book chapters.