Some More Catching Up: Part-Time MBA Format

There were a lot of factors that I used to evaluate what school I would choose when I decided I would go back for my graduate work: rankings, location, cost, curriculum and faculty. Now that I've started, however, I've learned about a couple other factors that should be included in the decision process.

SMU uses a scheduling format different than the semester format I was used to during my undergraduate work. It is not the quarter format either, but similar. SMU employs the modular format. We still have 16 week semesters, but each course does not span the full 16 weeks. Instead, each course is eight weeks long and meets once each week for a three hour session.

This compact format is rigorous and intense. I prefer it. My undergraduate classes had two things that left foul tastes in my mouth: very long and very shallow. First, the courses were spread out of an entire 16 weeks, usually with one or two additional weeks thrown in for breaks. Courses were still three to four hours long each week -- depending on the credit award -- but professors rarely kept us the whole time and spent the better part of an hour at the beginning of each class reviewing what had been covered the week previous. This left room for lots of wasted time.

Second, the material presented was often a top line survey of the subject matter. This is surprising considering the amount of time available in 16 weeks to tackle subjects and the depth to which they can be explored. Unfortunately, I felt undergraduate academia felt compelled to present to the least common denominator in a class instead of challenging as I would have liked (*Side note: Not all professors at my Alma Mater took the shallow approach. Those that did challenge me were my favorite).

My first seven weeks at SMU have been altogether different and fantastic. My first class of each course was spent jumping immediately into the material and spending three hours covering a tremendous amount of material. There is no going over the syllabus line by line to make sure every student is clear about expectations. I was expected to be familiar with the syllabus day one. In fact, I had three hours of homework to be completed before my first accounting course.

There are great benefits to this format. First and foremost is the rapid exposure to a large volume of material. There isn't any review from class to class so the time is spent delving deeper into each lecture. Second is the retention benefit: I have been hard pressed to forget what was covered just six weeks ago. As an undergrad I can recall flipping through notes I'd assembled three or four months prior. Trying to remember the nuances of some topic was brutal. With an eight week course, I've had little opportunity to forget that information.

So after evaluating the scheduling format of a specific program, you should also evaluate the accountability structure.

The week before our classes were scheduled to begin, my Part-time MBA candidate class was required to attend a two day orientation. I was assigned to a group of four peers on the second day. We were tasked with coming up with a group name and charter. We called ourselves K2 and developed the following charter:

Article I: Summary

K2 is the second largest mountain in the world and bears the nickname “the Savage Mountain.” As of August 2004, only 246 people have completed the ascent compared with 2,238 individuals who have ascended the more popular target of Everest. The mountain represents our resolve and desire to ascend higher and reach greater heights than our peers, to tread where few have dared set foot and to pull each other to the summit.

Article II: Meeting Axioms

1. Benchmark every group project according to:
1. Mandatory Meeting Timeline;
2. Roles and Responsibilities; and
3. Project Milestones
   

2. Every meeting must be preceded by an agenda prepared and accepted one week prior to scheduled date:
1. Agenda preparation should take no longer than 15 minutes;
2. Individual responsibilities and meeting roles will be clearly defined; and
3. Expected time allotments should be noted.
   

3. Every meeting must have clearly defined objectives and be results focused.
   

Article III: Accountability Axioms

1. Respect group member’s time constraints.
   

2. Be honest about accepted responsibilities and voice concerns if conflicts surface.
   

3. Notify fellow group members of coursework struggles and assist when able to shore up each other’s acumen and discipline understanding.
   

4. Opinion based decisions that cannot be resolved through normal conflict resolution will be decided by simple majority vote.

Some people shake their head at the group structure and binding themselves to a charter like this. The argument being "I work more efficiently and effectively on my own." But that's pretty much everybody's sentiment in a part-time program. Working in teams is valuable for more important reasons than just learning how to work in a group. As business leaders, we need to develop skills on how to lead people: people we don't like, don't respect or can't stand. When someone is falling behind, we need to learn how to pick them back up, not forage ahead without them.

But not every program has this structure. When evaluating programs, you simply need to be aware that different programs treat team-building differently. Make sure its a factor you evaluate.