Southern Cross University MBA one of the most relevant in the country

MBA students have rated Southern Cross University (SCU) as one of the top two of 25 Australian MBA courses in terms of relevance of course content, according to the 2003 Australian Financial Review (AFR) BOSS survey of MBA courses.

The report, published in the September edition of BOSS magazine last Friday, included a survey of alumni; a survey of schools for such information as background and qualifications of staff and students; and data on staff research publications.

“Academic quality and course content stand head and shoulders above other aspects of MBA courses, according to alumni,” the report in BOSS magazine said.

“Students rank career enhancement as an important reason for doing an MBA, but they don’t necessarily need to go to a prestige campus to feel they’ve had a good deal: the most satisfied graduates in the survey came from Monash and the Southern Cross University Graduate College of Management.”

Under the category of long-distance study, SCU also came out among the top two.

“While it is difficult to compare distance and orthodox courses, our survey found that distance education students were among the most satisfied with the content of their courses, despite the lack of face-to-face tuition. The schools with the highest level of student satisfaction on the relevance of content were Charles Sturt (University) and Southern Cross (University), which along with the APESMA (Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists & Managers, Australia) and the University of the Sunshine Coast, are predominantly distance education providers.

“Students placed the highest value on the quality of course materials and the availability of internet chat rooms to interact with staff and other students,” said the AFR.




SCU’s Graduate College of Management, which provides the MBA program, was established in 1991, placing it among the newer MBA schools. That compares to the programs in the top ranking: the Australian Graduate College of Management (the University of Sydney and UNSW) established in 1977; the Macquarie Graduate School of Management in 1969; the Melbourne Business School in 1963; and Monash University in 1968.

“SCU’s Graduate College of Management has a well-deserved reputation for delivering a quality, relevant education by a well-qualified and experienced staff,” Professor Lawson Savery, Executive Dean of Business at SCU, said. “The program is popular because of the friendly and responsive academic and general staff and the flexibility of study that the program allows.”

For a full report and methodology see www.afrboss.com.au.

Media contact: Sara Crowe or Kath Duncan, SCU Media Liaison, Ph: 6620 3144, or M: 0439 858 057.