University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire

Also known as Eau Claire or UWEC, the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire is a public liberal arts college located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Its campus consists of 28 buildings situated on 333 acres, and the school uses an additional 168 acres of forested land for environmental research. The school is part of the University of Wisconsin School System and offers both master's and bachelor's degrees. Founded in 1916, UWEC originally offered one-, two- and three-year teachers' courses and one principals' course.

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Accreditation Details

The University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The online MBA degree program is accredited by the AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and a number of other programs and colleges through the school have earned additional accreditations.

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Application Requirements

To be considered for admission to the online MBA program at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, students must have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited university or college and a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 2.75 based on a 4.0 scale. Prospective students must also have a Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score of at least 475 or a comparable Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) score. However, the school does consider waivers for these scores for students with other advanced or master's degrees, work experience or certain certifications. To begin the 30-credit degree program, students must have previously taken the required foundation courses or their equivalents. When applying, students must include an application, the $56 application fee, a personal statement, official transcripts, a resume, three letters of recommendation and their official GMAT/GRE scores.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Students seeking an online MBA from UWEC can expect to pay $675 per credit, regardless of residency. Estimated total tuition, including fees, is approximately $20,250, and students are advised to budget an additional $2,000 for reading materials and books. Students may apply for financial aid if they are applying for admission on at least a half-time basis, which includes four credits during the spring or fall semesters. Students may not be enrolled as a "special student" and be eligible for financial aid. The school offers subsidized loans through the federal government based on financial need. The online program is tied for seventh in the country by U.S. News & World Report for Best Online MBA Programs for Veterans. Certain eligible dependents and veterans may be entitled to educational benefits under a number of programs provided by the Veterans Administration, including the Wisconsin State GI Bill.

Online Degree Available

The online MBA offered by the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire is ranked number 12 in the country for Best Online MBA Programs by U.S. News & World Report. The average time to complete the 30-credit online degree is two and a half to three years, and the degree is taught by Ph.D.-qualified faculty members who are professionally active in their areas of expertise. Of the 30 required credits, 17 are required for everyone, also known as "modules," and the remaining 13 credits are taken in the form of electives. Although the degree itself does not reflect a concentration, students may show program emphasis through related coursework. Students may begin the online MBA program in the summer, spring or fall semester.

Foundation courses include accounting foundations for business decisions, statistics analysis foundation, microeconomics foundation and macroeconomics foundation. Courses such as the fundamentals of managerial finance will provide insights to the role of the financial manager, and students will analyze the quantitative tools used in the decision-making process. Marketing analysis foundation will examine how nonprofit and profit organizations evaluate, identify and research customer needs, choose target markets and price and promote products and services to consumers.

Online learners who have not yet had sufficient exposure to the world of business may take a course in production and operations. At the end of this course, students will have learned all of the basic concepts and will have gained a working knowledge of several techniques used in the service and manufacturing industries. Topics may include inventory and production control, quality control, project management and scheduling, and graduates will be able to implement these techniques. Prerequisites include basic competency in using Microsoft Excel, basic statistics and college algebra.

Students who take the organizational management foundation course will examine and discuss perspectives and theories related to four major topics, including managing people within organizations, the factors that make up an organization's architecture, the key roles of managers and the environments that managers must consider when performing their duties.

Students may also choose from a number of electives, including financial statement analysis, in which they will develop the skills necessary to interpret and analyze the financial results of an entity. Other elective course topics include regional trade agreements and multinational corporations, business in East Asia, corporate venturing, consumer behavior, managing workplace stress, employee training and development, organizational leadership and change, business and ethics, e-business fundamentals for managers and contract law for managers.

Module courses include strategies for managing ongoing operations, developing new products and services, managing strategically in a global environment and focusing on the future, a course that prepares students to consider present conditions and analyze potential future events that they may come across during their careers. Students will analyze and identify business trends and project their possible impact on management organizations and learn how these changes may personally and professionally affect them.

Students must be aware that modules must be taken in order, one at a time. After a student takes Module 1, he or she is guaranteed a spot in each subsequent module as long as he or she registers by the deadline.

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A full-time online MBA student may take no more than nine to 12 credits per semester and five to six credits during the summer session. However, because the majority of online degree seekers work full-time, the typical course load for students seeking an online MBA from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire is four to five credits during the spring and fall semesters, one to three credits during the summer session and one to two credits during the winter session.