Business Degree- Australian Online!

Business education in Australia has gone through different stages since the open-door policy of the Australian government in 1980’s. One of the major drives for the development of business education is information communication and technology (ICT). The use of ICT and online component of the business program has different formats to let the student choose from. Business schools in Australia have been attempting to integrate ICT to their programmes in order to foster the quality of teaching and learning in business education. The common question among business schools in Australia is how ICT become the major constituents of modern business education.
Generally the online business course in Australia could fit into three major categories (Ryan, 2001):

1. Self-paced independent study. The student set the schedule and study at his/her own pace. The materials can be reviewed for as long as the student needs it. Feedback from online quizzes takes the form of pre-programmed responses. There is no one to whom the student can direct questions. This form of study requires the highest self-motivation.

2. Asynchronous interactive. The student participates with an instructor and other students, although not at the same time. The student attends the class whenever he/she likes for any amount of time. This approach offers support and feedback from the instructor and classmates. It is usually not as self-paced as independent study.

3. Synchronous learning. The student attends live lectures via computer and asks questions by e-mail or in real-time live chat. This format is the most interactive of the three and feels the most like a real classroom. Flexibility is more limited because of the set lecture schedule. There are limited course offerings in this format due to high delivery costs.
Affected by the above motivation to go for an online business course, the criteria of some business schools selection are specified. Selection differs from one student to another, but the major criteria is, first, the flexibility to enrol in the program and courses. The second criterion is the adequate time to complete the courses (Pimpa and Suwannpirom, 2008; Gerencher, 1998). The third criterion is the services and quality offered (Marsh and Dunkin, 1992).

The next criterion is the accreditation (Peltier et al, 2003). Accreditation is defined as any form of independent review of educational programs for the purpose of helping to establish that the learning offered is of a uniform and sound quality (Marsh and Dunkin, 1992). Accreditation is used to evaluate the quality of the education as determined by the accreditation body. Accreditation by internationally respected bodies, such as the AACSB, is an important selling point of programs at reputable business schools (Webster and Hackley, 1997). Some business schools that offer the online MBA or BBA are accredited by local bodies, but until now the AACSB accreditation body did not give any accreditations for the online MBA (Webster and Hackley, 1997). The accrediting agencies have a challenge in which it should develop specific standards for distance education students (Wood, 2000).
The next aspect is the reputation of the university (Gerencher, 1998). Many online institutions do not offer classes, rather they award degrees based on the candidate’s previous life experience (Online Business Education, 2001). This would be of concern for those universities, and also it could affect negatively other online universities due to the stereotyping. An example of a bad reputation is a university offering what is called a “diploma mill”, which is the name that is given to any university that operates primarily to make money or issue degrees/credentials without any thought to insuring that an education occurs (Gerencher, 1998). The final element is the ability to compensate for the lack of face-to-face experience (Feldman, 1999), which is addressed later in the paper noting the studies held to examine that feature of the online business degrees.

The development of ICT for online business education has improved the way lecturers construct the pedagogy for international business as well as the way students learning experiences can be improved (Pimpa and Suwannapirom, 2008). Previous studies have discussed the benefits of using ICT in teaching and learning in business, economics, and management (Ettinger, Holton, & Blass, 2006). In the context of learning and teaching in international business, however, researchers have proposed a number of problems and challenges when using electronic forms of education. Previous research study by Feldman (1999) claims that for online business courses to be effective, faculty and the administration need to integrate program planning, monitoring, management, and resource allocation and careful selection of learning materials. They also need to offer students pre-entry guidance, personal communication and feedback. Identification of the importance of these factors lends strong support to the belief among online educators that distance learning courses that are offered online are not a cheap or discounted method of delivery, if the courses are to be established and delivered properly (Goodyear and Jones, 1998).