Commonwealth University Launches Innovative Dual MBA/MSIT Degree

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2. Commonwealth University Launches Innovative Dual MBA/MSIT Degree

Commonwealth University has launched an innovative dual Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Information Technology (MSIT) degree program.

The 48-credit, dual-degree program is offered online, asynchronously, in intensive six-week sessions. Students can apply for admission now.

Scott Mehall, who co-coordinates the dual-degree program with the MBA program's Dr. Rhonda Mariani, saw the two disciplines drifting toward one another for years. "We've always worked really closely with the MBA program," said Mehall. "The MBA has always used some of our courses because they're data and technology-focused. And we've used their courses. By identifying the overlap between the two disciplines, the university is able to offer the dual degree in just 48 credits."

According to Mehall, associate professor of Business, Innovation, and Technology, the dual program bridges a gap between the leadership skills developed in an MBA program and data analytic skills that are the focus of the MSIT program. "The modern business world today is data and information systems. The days of going off of intuition and making decisions like that are sort of gone."

"Everything's data-driven. Everything is real-time data now," Mehall said. "So, managers and leaders really need to be well-versed at least in that realm, even if not have worked directly with the technologies themselves. Our MSIT program really focuses on the analytics field-where data comes from, how to clean and aggregate that data, how to display and analyze that data."

"The focus is on how we actually use data to drive value and to improve these organizations in some way. And that can be in a traditional retail setting, it can be in professional sports, it can be in medicine. We use many of those different examples in the classroom."

Mehall notes that even mid-level managers are now expected to be data-literate. "It's not just what you would think of as organizational leaders, like C-suite individuals. The mid-level managers, the team leaders-people like that are just going to be more and more expected to be able to work with data and technology, learn new systems, and especially implement those new systems at their existing organizations."

Asynchronous doesn't mean impersonal. There's actually a ton of interaction that occurs. I'm meeting with students all of the time.

Mehall views the dual degree as a marriage of two distinct but necessary skill sets.

"I find students are typically well-versed in one of them and not the other," he observes. "The MBA side is really focused on working with people-the soft skill side of things, being a good leader and a manager. The MSIT side is more technical, the hard skill side. Exposure to the 'other' through the dual degree program is going to be really critical in that sort of growth as they go."

"In our MSIT program, we still are teaching the strategic implementation of technology systems. And in the MBA program, they're using our courses to learn specifics about technology platforms in an organizational capacity. We are capitalizing on that overlap because we see that area growing more and more."

Beyond analytics, the program addresses security. "There's still a very large cybersecurity component that we offer," Mehall says. "The MBA side is interdisciplinary, so you get the management focus, the accounting, the finance. It's a well-rounded package."

"You don't have to be an undergraduate business student or work in a traditional business setting to come into this," said Mehall. "It is well-rounded enough to benefit students from any discipline. We get students from everywhere-former teachers, healthcare workers, social science majors. They come in and say, 'I want to work with data,' and those students still excel in our program."

"The way we have the program set up is necessary because a lot of our students have family lives," said Mehall. "Offering it in the most flexible manner-asynchronous online-has been one of the best things we've done. It attracts students who value that flexibility."

"Asynchronous doesn't mean impersonal. You would think an asynchronous program might have low interaction," Mehall added. "There's actually a ton of interaction that occurs. I'm meeting with students all of the time. We do a ton of synchronous sessions-they just aren't scheduled class times. The feedback loop is constant."

This interaction is driven by the hands-on nature of the work. "In nearly every class we're working in a technology platform, whether it's SAS or Jupyter Notebooks for coding," said Mehall. "Our classes are structured so that what you're doing is the thing you'll be expected to do on the job. This allows students to create a portfolio as they go."

For current undergraduate students, Mehall is an advocate for the Early Enrollment option. "Starting their junior year, CU undergraduate students can begin to take graduate courses. Some students can potentially finish an undergraduate degree plus two master's degrees in about five years."

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