Commonwealth Executive Master of Business Administration (CeMBA)

Commonwealth Executive Master of Business Administration (CeMBA)

Developed as a collaborative programme by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Vancouver, and a consortium of four participating universities in Asia, this programme is designed to help professionals working as managers and supervisors in Malaysian organisations, to get an in-depth grasp of management principles and develop skills and capabilities required to function as effective executives in the highly competitive global business environment. The presentation of course content in the Open Distance Learning (ODL) ensures that the learners do not have to dislocate from their workplace. The contemporary and highly relevant programme content is supported by online and face-to-face tutor support, video conference based interaction and Residential School cum Project Workshop.

Programme Features

The programme offered an ODL mode of education with attendability access and flexibility elements suited to the requirements of working adults in Malaysia.

• Content developed collaboratively through the participation of COL and leading open universities in Asia.
• Global content which is suitably adapted to the local business environment.
• Effective learning supported by highly interactive and well-designed learning support system, including face to face tutorials, online and telephonic tutoring, video conferencing support, threaded discussions and possible interaction with industry leaders.
• Programme delivery by qualified university faculty members.
• High level of application orientation through the use of case studies and project work component.

Career Prospects

Management graduates of the programme can position themselves for middle and senior level executive positions in national and international organisations, aspire for upward mobility in their own organisations or take up challenging assignments in senior positions in industry or the services sector.

Course Support Activities

Looking at the specific features of the executive MBA programme, and the expected student profile, the programme delivery incorporates several features of online students support in addition to the face to face support. The following are the components of the programme delivery:

Face-to-face Tutor support: Tutors will engage 5 tutorial sessions per course, to provide face-to-face tutorials to the learners, along with e-mail based support in response to student queries. Not more than 25 students are proposed to be assigned to each tutor for a given course. The online tutorial support will be provided on the basis of a pre-announced schedule and students are expected to participate actively in the sessions. A total of 5 tutorial sessions per semester are planned for each course. Tutors will lead discussions at tutorials and provide clarifications on issues related to the course , mark your assignments, provide feedback and advise you as well as monitor your progress. Tutors will also conduct case study discussions as part of the tutorials.

The online chat session can be conducted either with or without audio and video presentation. Discussions and messages on class projects and case studies can be posted for the entire class or for a specific group of students. There is also the chat log feature containing details of the chat sessions which the learners can view anytime. Tutors and the course coordinators will also conduct online threaded discussions on topical themes for each course.

Video conferencing support: The video conferencing facility is available for conducting tutorials occasionally. It may also be utilised for conducting Viva Voce for student research projects under the programme. For the benefit of the students, public lectures by eminent academicians and industry experts may be organized through video conferencing.

Discussion room for Learner interaction as part of the Wawasanlearn features: This is an interactive environment in which the students can have discussions and post questions among themselves, organise case discussions, experience sharing and other peer interaction. Students are encouraged to form learning communities to enhance their learning through sharing other’s experiences as well as learning about diverse applications of management concepts in different organisations

Residential School cum Project Workshop (RSPW): A Residential School cum Project Workshop, spread over a weekend, will be organised once in each semester to provide intensive interaction with industry experts to enhance their knowledge and assist in completing their project work. In addition, the Residential School will provide a platform for learners to share experiences and establish useful networks.

Digital Library Access: Registered learners, upon authentication, will have access to electronic library catalogues, databases, e-books, e-journals and other virtual reference resources.

Handy Guide to Management Gurus: Through a collaboration between BBC and COL, Charles Handy, the noted management professor from the London Business School and now an independent writer, was commissioned to prepare "The Handy Guide to The Gurus of Management" as a kind of “essential introduction” to a programme of this type. The Guide is a radio series, a total of 12 programmes lasting 15 minutes each, first broadcast in the BBC World Learning strand of educational programmes, during the last three months of 2001. The students can now hear this series - which looks at the work of twelve management gurus including Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, Sumantra Ghoshal, Kenichi Ohmae and Bill Gates – online on the BBC World Service Learning English website http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/work.

Entry Requirements

(1) Regular Entry

• Bachelor’s Degree with CGPA of at least 2.5; OR
• Bachelor’s Degree with CGPA of less than 2.5 with a minimum of 5 years working experience in the relevant field; OR
• Any other equivalent qualification recognised by the Malaysian Government and approved by the Senate of the University

(2) Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)

Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) provides an opportunity for individuals with working experience but lack of formal academic qualifications to pursue their tertiary studies. APEL involves the identification, documentation and assessment of prior experiential learning to determine the extent to which an individual has achieved the desired learning outcomes, for access to a programme of study.

Applicants should comply with the following admission criteria stipulated by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA):

• The candidate should be at least 30 years of age in the year of application and possess at least STPM / Diploma / equivalent (e.g. foundation) with relevant work experience.