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Bachelor of Management program launches online course delivery

Posted by Miriam Breslow on October 5, 2015 in News

(L to R) Florence Tarrant, Adrienne Sehatzadeh and Vivian Howard collaborate on the launch of the first two online Bachelor of Management courses.


After years of work to develop online delivery of a cornerstone program in the Faculty of Management, this September marks the launch of the first two of this program’s courses developed through a Strategic Initiatives grant.

The interdisciplinary Bachelor of Management program, created in 1999, consists of 21 core classes and 19 electives. In 2014, the Faculty of Management received a grant from the Strategic Initiatives Fund to launch the first seven of the core courses, with the goal of eventually making it possible to complete the entire Bachelor of Management degree online. Two more of the core courses will be offered online this winter, and three more in the summer, explains Dr. Vivian Howard, Associate Dean (Academic) of the Faculty of Management.

 “The development of the core Bachelor of Management Program for online delivery is an exciting step for the Faculty of Management,” says Howard. “It will allow students to enrol who might otherwise not be able to undertake the program because of geographic limitations, family responsibilities or job commitments.” These students could include, for instance, Agriculture students who study in Truro but want to pursue courses in Management as well, and students living permanently in other countries. The program “will also give current on-site students a lot more flexibility to complete core courses during the summers, while on an internship or while studying abroad,” says Howard.

As she points out, this endeavour aligns with Dalhousie’s strategic priorities, including creating new pathways for students to complete degrees, opening opportunities at Dalhousie for adult learners, and fostering innovation by increasing the capacity among Management faculty to create online courses. It also demonstrates the power of collaboration at Dalhousie. “The collaboration with instructional designers from Dalhousie’s Centre for Learning and Teaching has been an essential feature of the success of this initiative,” explains Howard, “and we are very appreciative of their support.”

Howard and the team working to bring the Bachelor of Management program online are now looking ahead to “Phase 2” of the project, launching online versions of the remaining core courses. They plan to complete this project in the next few years.