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Back to School: Online courses popular with people too busy to go to classes

Monday, July 13, 2009 | (0) Comments

by Jennifer Dunville
Daily Gleaner, July 11, 2009

Bruce Minnes, an emergency services doctor at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, wanted to upgrade his education and learn more about the management side of the hospital. But with full-time, unpredictable shift work and two teenagers, the single father didn't have time to attend a bricks and mortar university.

"One of my nursing colleagues had pursued his EMBA (executive master of business administration degree) online, and he had only positive things to say about it," Minnes said. "As I started looking into my options for obtaining my own EMBA, I realized that online was my best option as well."

Minnes recently signed up to take courses for his degree at Lansbridge University, an online institution based in Fredericton. He said he's been able to study on his vacation while his kids are away, and he visits online classroom discussions whenever he has a chance.

Lansbridge president Daryl Lisson said 20-40 students graduate from the online institution a year from either its EMBA, bachelor of business administration or master of business administration programs. He said all the courses are taught by professors with a PhD from the United States or Canada. "We operate similarly to a traditional university except that we're 100 per cent online," Lisson said. "With the growing number of online institutions, we have to remain competitive. If we don't offer a good quality product, we lose our clients, so we have to stay focused on what our students are looking for. And I think that's one of the reasons we maintain a good reputation." Read Full Story