A program's success doesn't only depend on the ability of its students. Having the right kind of leadership from a talented, professional, and innovative faculty is essential. One of the first concerns prospective students have when considering an online course is: Will I have access to the same faculty as those in the physical classroom?
At UM, the answer is yes. Our world-class faculty and a global network of over 180,000 UM alumni are easy to access for any UOnline student. Furthermore, our faculty is uniquely placed to offer some of the world’s best developmental guidance on leadership because they themselves are leaders in their respective fields.
Some members of our highly respected faculty even studied at UM themselves. “I never planned to be a teacher, life put me here.” Says Luis Alejandro Bazan, lecturer in Management Science. 'One of the members (of the University) asked me if I wanted to be a teacher and I said yes. The rest is history: I have been teaching here ever since.” The ability to communicate effectively with students online as well as in a person is essential, and something the faculty takes very seriously. Luis states, “The theme of my teaching might be summarized as 'my students and I do statistics together.' So, please, always count on me during your journey.”
A faculty that understands the shift toward technology
Educators that understand the ever-changing technological landscape are essential to successful online education. Our faculty are passionate about their chosen fields and continue to write, research, and lead outside the classroom. The commitment they have to stay current in their field means a rich and dynamic learning environment for their students.
Dr. Robert Plant, an Associate Professor with UM's School of Business Administration, is an expert in how technology is changing the business landscape.
His current research is focused on business data re-engineering, as well as how emerging and current technology such as 3D printing, cloud computing, and big data, are fundamentally changing the design, needs, and strategies for organizations.
This knowledge plays an important part in how Dr. Plantteaches students —passing on the importance of how these changing data trends will affect businesses of the future. Another of his passions is artificial intelligence, in which he has a Ph.D. Being able to educate students about how this growing field of research is likely to affect markets, and data through automation processes is invaluable.
Dr. Patricia Abril is an associate professor at the School of Business Administration. Harvard-trained, Dr. Abril specializes in the area of privacy law, with relation to social media and employment law in particular. She is actively involved in the ongoing debates about privacy and emerging technology. Passing this dynamic knowledge to students as it happens places them directly on the pulse of current business laws before they even leave the classroom.
A faculty that understands what it means to be thought leaders.
Every member of our faculty is an expert in their field, actively engaged in the cutting edge of thought in their respective areas.
Having practicing, passionate innovators as mentors gives students a unique and invaluable resource. This, in turn, enables our faculty to train and develop future thought leaders and organization executives that will be comfortable with emerging digital trends and new technologies. The diffusion of our faculty's passions directly into the digital learning space gives students an essential, and difficult to come by, insight into the real world as they learn. This, in turn, means our students are uniquely positioned at the cutting edge of their fields of study, and well equipped to push innovation and leadership ideas forward as soon as they graduate.
With an online environment at UM that offers access, discussion, and mentoring with the faculty —as well as with the many other students and alumni —their expertise is always within easy reach. The simple fact is this: Successfully encouraging, nurturing, and educating innovative thought leaders and executives of tomorrow, requires input, experience, and teaching skills from the innovative thought leaders and executives of today.
For more information about UOnline’s graduate degree programs, you can find more information here or you can contact one of our enrollment advisors on live chat, or by phone (800) 411-2290.
