Mastering Electronic Commerce: National University First to Offer Online
E-Commerce Master's Degree
SAN DIEGO (June 3) BUSINESS WIRE -June 3, 1999--In the high stakes
business arena of Electronic Commerce, amateurs no longer need apply.
The rapid growth and faster-evolving technologies of doing business on
the Internet are creating a new demand for advanced skills in this
booming field.
National University, the San Diego-based University, which last year
was the first in the nation to offer a Master of Science degree in
Electronic Commerce, in July will be the first university to offer an
online Master of Science degree.
Before, it was enough to be a good amateur to help businesses get on
line. Today, with so very many highly technical issues and so many
businesses eager to jump on this bandwagon; professionals are needed
for these jobs, said Dr. Leonid Preiser, director of National
University's Center for Technology. "This field requires tremendous
knowledge; it's evolving so dynamically, almost on a daily basis."
Some studies project that the volume of transactions over the Internet
will reach the $1 trillion mark within the next five years. E-commerce
will become a household word just like the Internet is now. "It's
moving very quickly in that direction," said Dr. Shahram Azordegan,
dean of the School of Business and Technology at National University
who assisted in the planning of the University's new E-Commerce
programs.
The public's earlier hesitance with the idea of money changing hands,
even virtually, over the Internet had reached comfort zone status by
the 1998 Christmas holiday season with record online consumer
purchases. "Just as we saw over the holidays that people are
comfortable about making low dollar, high volume purchases on the
Internet, I now see a lot of attention in the business-to-business
arena, where there are high dollar, low volume transactions," Dr.
Azordegan said.
"While the nation's retail sector was the first to significantly
capitalize on Electronic Commerce, banks and manufacturing sectors
likely will be next on the e-commerce bandwagon," Dr. Azordegan said.
"We still have issues to solve -- security, privacy, taxation,
copyrights -- but people are working on it. Within the next year or
two, these issues will be resolved."
Businesses throughout the country have been quick to contact National
University about its on-ground and online advanced degree programs in
Electronic Commerce. "They want to understand what E-Commerce is about.
If they don't understand it, they don't believe they can survive in the
next century," Dr. Azordegan said.
Internet consultants, would-be Internet entrepreneurs and traditional
MBA students who want to specialize in E-Commerce are becoming
students. The first graduates of the Master of Science degree program
received their degrees in May, with a second string already under way
at the University's high-technology E-Commerce laboratories.
National University's lead role in advanced Electronic Commerce degree
programs represents an evolving focus on better using technology to
reach a wider student population that includes an increasing numbers of
working adults. "National University's President, Dr. Jerry C. Lee,
wanted this University to be at the forefront of technology use in the
classrooms," said Patricia Potter, vice president of marketing and
educational services.
The online Master of Science in Electronic Commerce program stemmed
from the success of National University's Global MBA program, which
used online formats. The first graduates of National's Global MBA
program were bank executives from Banco Nacional de Mexico, or Banamex.
This summer, the University will introduce an online Bachelor of
Business Administration degree program. Offering the popular BBA online
eliminates all geographic boundaries for adult learners. Students are
able to peruse through the required 25 courses online seven-days a
week, 24-hours a day. Faculty from San Diego will instruct students
from anywhere across the United States through lectures, meeting rooms,
assignments and chat room discussions.
For the rapidly growing health care sector, National University
launched an online Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program, and
later this year will introduce an online Master of Science in Nursing
degree program to meet advanced skill nursing needs in this era of
managed health care. The MSN is available to students who have
successfully earned their BSN.
Regarding California's shortage of teachers, National University began
offering online Multiple and Single Subject Credential Programs and the
Cross-Cultural Language Academic Development (CLAD) certification last
month. The CLAD program, required of California public school teachers,
instructs teachers on the sensitivity to multiculturalism in classrooms
where as many as 200 different languages are spoken in the nation's
most popular state.
Currently, National offers 17 teacher credential programs and holds
more teacher training contracts with public school districts than any
other university in California.
More than 130 online courses are offered at National University,
already unique for its one-course-per-month classroom approach allowing
students to complete any of the 45 graduate and undergraduate programs
in accelerated timeframes. "Online learning represents an unparalleled
growth opportunity because of its appeal to career students and an
older population," said Potter.
National University, founded in 1971, has enjoyed a steady rise in
student enrollments and endowment growth in recent years, has
twenty-five learning centers in eleven major metropolitan areas
throughout California. For more information, contact National
University Public Relations Director Victoria Hilton at 619/642-8111.
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CONTACT: National University
Victoria Hilton, 619/642-8111 or Mobile 619/813-5382
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: EDUCATION COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED
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