Guided learning

It's not enough to find an enticing MBA programme. Assessing the quality of its teaching staff is a top priority, writes Dr Ronald K Chung

After taking a careful look at the programme and the school, let's look at the faculty members responsible for the delivery of the programme and how this may affect your choice of MBA.

Clearly, one motive for taking an MBA is to improve and get a competitive edge through learning from the best. I do not mean via any sort of learning - we do that day in, day out, by reading, talking to other people or watching television. By learning, especially in an academic context, I am referring to guided learning.

If you want just to "learn", pick up any book on financial statement analysis. By dint of reading it, you'll get a pretty good idea of what this means.

However, guided learning is different. You won't simply read a book or some materials - you'll receive guidance from an instructor or professor, making the whole learning experience more tailored to your own needs. You ask your questions and you get a response - specifically for you!

If you have a question about financial statement analysis when you're reading a book, what happens? Typically, nothing. You read on and hope to find the answer later, if you can. On the other hand, if you bump into the same issue in the classroom, what happens? You probably immediately raise your hand and ask and get an immediate answer.

Obviously, the instructor plays a key role in this type of guided learning. The programme's quality depends significantly on the quality of the person delivering it.

By now, you should have a clear picture of the importance of the teaching staff in the programme. This is why I placed "faculty and its expertise" third on my list of criteria for choosing an MBA programme.

Indeed, in general, the greater the involvement of faculty members in delivering the programme, the more desirable the programme. Why?

First, faculty members are supposed to be experts in their field. Typically, their expertise comes from their research and their subject knowledge is state-of-the-art. Their teaching transmits this state-of-the-art knowledge to the students - you. If you have an opportunity to learn from the real thing, take it.

Secondly, these are full-time people hired by the university. In other words, they are pros, not part-time fill-ins.

Finally, if anything, you get - like Coke - the "real thing". Whether good, bad or indifferent, faculty members from the home university provide the original flavour.

Smart readers have probably noticed that my statement is qualified with "in general". In some situations, local substitutes are acceptable or, indeed, preferred. For example, they understand the local environment and can better apply theories to your environment than someone flying in from overseas.

For instance, an International Trade Policy course from an Australian university would critically examine trade theories from an Australian perspective; in other words, working with South-East Asian countries. Hong Kong students' focus is on working with the United States and mainland China - very different.

So, before you decide, investigate the faculty. Who are they? What's their reputation in the field? What degree of involvement will they have in your programme?

Remember... Be prepared for tomorrow. Until next time, work hard, play hard.

Acknowledgement Dr Ronald K Chung is academic development director of the ET Business College, a member of the Hong Kong Economic Times Group. He has worked for a number of private companies and universities in the United States, as well as Hong Kong's Consumer Council. To contact Dr Chung, please write to DrChung@etbc.com.hk.

Taken from Career Times 2003/10/10