MBA program is available at MSU-N

The local university is offering Havre-area people the chance to get a masters degree from Missoula's university, starting this fall.

Chuck Jensen, vice chancellor of finance, administration and student affairs at Montana State University-Northern, said Northern will host a two-year cohort program so students can earn a master's degree in business administration from the University of Montana-Missoula.

"We have a core group of students who have already been admitted to the program, but there is room for more," he said.

The program will generally have interactive sessions between professors and students via the NorthNet interactive television video system, Jensen said. The students in Havre also will interact with students in other communities participating in the program.

"It's just a wonderful opportunity for people in town who want to continue their education in the field," he said.

UM requires at least six students to enroll before it will offer the cohort, Jensen said. That requirement is fulfilled, and the program could hold another four to six students.

Jensen said each student applying for the program must have a bachelor's degree in business that fulfills the requirements for UM's program. Most graduates of Northern's business program will be eligible, although each transcript will be reviewed individually, he said.

"Every person's situation is unique," Jensen added.

The MBA is a highly regarded degree in the business world, he said. Many business executives hold the degree.

The cohort program is designed with courses typically held in evenings or on weekends. That allows people enrolled to continue working while earning the degree.

"That's what this program is designed around," Jensen said, "with working professionals in mind."

There will be some weekend workshops or seminars held outside of Havre, probably in Helena or Great Falls.

Northern offers cohorts in its education program, which is available in Great Falls and Helena, and is working with people in Wolf Point to offer it there, Jensen said.

The offering will create no expense - or income - for Northern, Jensen said. The people in the program will be enrolled students of UM.

Jensen, who has worked in the Montana University System since 1994, said cooperation between the units seems to have increased since the six campuses were grouped into two universities headed by MSU-Bozeman and UM-Missoula in 1995.

Students and faculty have complained that some branches refuse to cooperate or transfer credits since the reorganization was done, but Jensen said that is improving.

"I think it's an evolutionary process where universities are working together," he said. "There still are bugs to work out."

For more information about UM's program, contact Clyde Neu, director of UM's off-campus MBA program, at (800) 823-2416.

On the Net: http://www.umt.edu/ccesp/external/mba.asp