South-Western, a Cincinnati-based division of Thomson Learning and leading publisher of business materials for higher education, has donated an undisclosed sum to the University of Rhode Island’s College of Business Administration — so the school can develop Web-based courses for its master of business administration program.
The gift will allow URI to compete with other MBA programs offering Web-based courses through distance learning initiatives. It will fund support for Web-based course development by faculty, training for faculty to teach courses online, technical support for converting these materials into Web-based courses, and the use of South-Western and Thomson printed materials.
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Thomson is based in Stamford, Connecticut.
South-Western’s initiatives have focused on making its business content available online and in electronic formats to various learning institutions and training facilities. Since 1998, South-Western offers an array of digital products, including CD-ROMs, Web support sites, software and distance learning courses. These resources will be part of the support provided to URI’s distance learning MBA curriculum.
“This gift will allow us to utilize new technologies to provide MBA courses,” said Edward M. Mazze, dean of URI’s College of Business Administration and the Alfred J. Verrecchia-Hasbro, Inc. Leadership chair in business. “Students anywhere in the region or world will be able to register and complete a course from their home or office without coming to campus.”
In addition to direct funding, South-Western will also provide integral technical support.
South-Western will provide technical support and access to databases which is worth much more than the dollar amount of the gift,” said Mazze.
Mazze said the university will offer several Web-based courses by fall 2001. The courses include, he said, basic requirements such as statistics and accounting, as well as electives in cutting-edge areas of business including e-commerce and the Internet economy.
