UNB Saint John MBA Program Welcomes Students Into Class In September, Both In Person And Virtually
SAINT JOHN – Covid-19 created many challenges for post-secondary institutions around the world, with many opting to go solely virtual, at least for the fall semester. But the University of New Brunswick Saint John’s International MBA program has created a plan that will give students the best of both worlds.
The International MBA program, based in Uptown Saint John, will be offering instruction both in-person and remotely this year to accommodate students’ unique circumstances.
“The decision was the same for all other programs on our campus,” says Dr. Petra Hauf, UNB Saint John Vice-President. “When we knew we had to adjust our offerings to New Brunswick Public Health guidelines, the physical distancing and everything that’s part of it, we looked at what is possible with the facilities that we have.”
The International MBA program moved to its new location in Uptown Saint John earlier this year. The whole building currently can’t accommodate social distancing measures. But the university came up with a solution.
“What we did was change the setup in Grand Hall on the main floor. All the technical equipment is now there so no one has to use the elevator or has to use the one-way stairwell going up and down to the classrooms,” says Hauf.
“The technical equipment is also set up with tables that are far enough apart so it’s easy to accommodate the students safely.”
There will only be approximately 30 students attending in-person, a combination of local students and international students who were already in Canada pre-Covid. Out of the almost 90 students the program is expecting, 60 per cent of them will be studying remotely. But UNB has a strong plan in place for those students too.
“It’s not the typical course. It’s remote, you can attend from wherever you are. However, we still try to get students together in a group in an interactive classroom environment that is virtual,” says Hauf. “We are meeting at the same time. We try to adjust to time zone changes. We stay in very close contact, so we know where our students are and as long as they can’t be here due to travel restrictions, we will basically start the program with this alternative delivery method.”
One of the students who will be attending classes in September is Stella Wang, who after working seven years in Bejing, decided to enroll in the MBA program to help further her career.
With her friends and family far away, and Covid-19 leaving a lot of people feeling a little lonely, she says she’s looking forward to being around some of her classmates.
“I prefer learning in-person. It just encourages more communication and discussion among students,” says Wang. “When they talk about current events before or after classes, or on the way to grab a coffee, like ‘hey have you heard about the revenue growth of the technology companies during the pandemic? How do you think that happened?’ Those topics are valuable for MBA students. We do have some group discussion in our online classes, but opportunities are really limited, and I think I’ll talk more when I meet someone in person.”
The pandemic has caused a lot of challenges for international students everywhere, with immigration and visa criteria continuously changing, UNB is also offering the options for International MBA students to start the program in January instead of the fall.
They will also be extending the deadline to apply for the program to August 28.
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UNB prides itself on giving students a special learning experience, where instructors know their names and are invested in their success and futures. Though Covid-19 has made this more challenging, Hauf says the university is committed to continuing to do just that.
“Because we have a very strong relationship with our students, it was the question of how can we continue doing this in the best way possible. In-person is one way, but so is creating a very personalized alternative delivery method or combination of both,” she says.
“We were looking from the get-go to find a way to give our students a special learning experience at a very critical time. No matter where a student may be located this fall will not be the way we imagined it but it’s a good environment to be here.”
This story was sponsored by the MBA program at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John.