MSU Billings, University of Montana enter new phase of MBA collaboration
MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — For more than a decade, Montana State University Billings and the University of Montana have been maintaining a cross-state collaboration that helps Billings-area residents and students obtain a Master’s in Business Administration.
Next week, the two universities will be connected at the hip.
On Tuesday, Dec. 9, officials from MSU Billings and UM will announce a Memorandum of Understanding that will locate the UM’s MBA offices in McDonald Hall, home of the MSU Billings College of Business. Martha Hintt, who helps coordinate the UM’s off-site program in Billings, will have an office at the COB and MSU Billings Adjunct Assistant Professor Pat Holman — herself a 1997 graduate of the MBA program — will provide advising services for local MBA students.
Also on Dec. 9, a public reception and information session showcasing the MBA collaboration and other business degree opportunities will be held from 4:30-6 p.m. at the MSU Billings College of Professional Studies and Lifelong Learning in Downtown Billings. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.
Business school representatives from both universities said the next step in the collaborative relationship makes sense.
“This kind of collaborative agreement is the right thing to do because it helps serve stakeholders and students across Montana well,” said Dr. Gary Young, dean of the MSU Billings College of Business.
Dr. Clyde W. Neu, evening MBA program director with the UM School of Business Administration, said the two universities have been partnering on delivery of MBA curriculum since the late 1980s. Billings area students would use MSU Billings facilities for a audio/video classroom link. The new effort allows students to tie into the online classes for both programs so that students who live outside of Billings can pursue their degrees without sacrificing family or lifestyles.
“Both universities have distance learning in their curriculums,” Neu said, “so students in both upper division and master’s level can take advantage of them. In reality, distance is insignificant anymore.”
This is the latest in partnership development for the MSU Billings College of Business. In November, MSU Billings, Flathead Community College and UM formalized a new partnership that allows two-year graduates from the Flathead Valley to pursue their business degrees online.
With the unique 2+2+2 program, Flathead area residents can earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration without having to leave the valley. Through the program, students can earn Associate of Science degrees at FVCC, then transfer to MSU Billings to complete bachelor’s degrees in business administration online and finish through UM’s MBA program.
Quickly becoming the premier business school in the upper Rocky Mountain region, MSU Billings offers bachelor degrees in marketing, management, accounting, finance, information systems as well as the general business degree, the only online business degree approved by the Montana Board of Regents.
For more information about the UM MBA program offered through MSU Billings, contact Martha Hintt at 657-2290. For more information about the Dec. 9 UM/MSU Billings reception, contact Kathie Burke at 657-2326.
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