"The future of education is outside the traditional campus, outside the traditional classroom." Pete

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KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
MASTER OF Agribusiness
A Distance Degree in Business and Economics
BUILDING AGRIBUSINESSOne Leader At A Time
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Introduction
The future of education is outside the
traditional campus, outside the traditional
classroom.
Peter Drucker
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Value of Education

• Continuing Education Findings1
• 57 percent higher net sales per employee
• 37 percent higher gross profits per employee
• 20 percent higher market-to-book value ratio

• Intellectual capital represents a sustainable
  form of competitive advantage

1 American Society for Training and Development
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The Issues

• 1. Market Analysis
• a.k.a. Identify the Customer
• 2. Learner Issues
• a.k.a. Know Customers Needs
• 3. Instructor and Curriculum
• a.k.a. Deliver the Product

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The Market

• Niche
• Complements On-campus Programs
• Advanced Professional Degree
• Applied Focus

• Market Analysis
• Curriculum Design
• Product Delivery

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Learner Issues

• Non-traditional Students
• Balance Careers, Family, and Education
• Inexperienced with Distance Education
• Anytime Anyplace Courses
• Traditional Learning Styles

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Style Considerations1

• Personality Characteristics
• Information Processing
• Social Interaction
• Instructional Preference
• Text-based
• Visual (graphs, diagrams, etc.)
• Audio
• Experiential
• 1 Claxton Murrell

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Implementation

• Text-based
• Text book, supplemental readings
• Visual
• Web pages, PowerPoint slides
• Audio
• Chat room, voiceovers
• Experiential
• Guest lectures, computer lab, case studies, oral
  presentations

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Mission

• Provide agribusiness professionals the knowledge
  and skills to excel in todays rapidly changing
  and increasingly complex food and agricultural
  global economy

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Objectives

• Verbal and Writing Skills
• Improve and refine
• Utilize Information Technologies
• Update skills and implement software tools
• Problem-Solving Skills
• Apply techniques to firm-related challenges
• Develop Competitive Advantage
• Build skills critical to success in Food and
• Agribusiness Industry

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MAB Admission Requirements

• Bachelors Degree
• Professional work experience of 2 years
• Computer literacy
• Undergraduate courses in
• Accounting
• College Algebra
• Statistics
• Macroeconomics
• Microeconomics or Agricultural Economics

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Timeline
Jan.
Apr.
Jul.
Oct.
Dec.
Logistics
Year 1
Computers
Finance
Risk Mgmt
Econometrics
Year 2
Agribus Mgmt
Policy Anal
Year 3
Thesis / Project
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Professional Thesis

• Apply learned concepts and quantitative tools to
  a company-level agribusiness problem
• Supervised by department faculty with
  collaboration by other departments
• Written thesis and oral presentation
• Final five months to complete

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Industry Focused

• I am finding that I use techniques I learned in
  this program to solve problems every day. This
  learning opportunity is unique, but not just to
  agribusiness.
• Kurt David
• Alumni, Class of 2000
• Industry Advisory Board Member

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An Employers Perspective

• The amount of knowledge he is bringing (to our
  unit) has helped to improve our business by
  achieving different goals day by day, as well as
  the development of our business plan for
  marketing strategies.
• Enrique Bianchi
• Rice Product Line Manager
• Cargill Americas, Inc.
• Manager, current MAB student

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Domestic Student Location
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International Students
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Undergraduate Institutions

• Drake
• Hamilton
• Hartford
• Harvard
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Northwestern
• St. Thomas
• Southern Methodist
• Sterling

• Colorado State
• Florida
• Georgia
• Iowa State
• Minnesota
• Nebraska
• Oklahoma State
• Purdue
• Texas AM
• Wisconsin Platteville

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Job Changes and Promotions

• 42 of all students have changed companies or
  received promotions since beginning the program
• By class
• 64 of first class (2000)
• 55 of second class (2001)
• 21 of third class (2002)

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The Isolation Factor

• we didnt get much done last night. It was the
  first chat of the class and they hadnt been
  together in a few weeks. They mostly wanted to
  catch up with each other.
• Dr. Michael Boland
• Advanced Food and Agribusiness Management
• On September 10 Chat Session with MAB Students

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Contact US

• Dr. Allen Featherstone,Program Director
• Dea Mandery, Program Coordinator
• Telephone [phone]
• Website www.mab.ksu.edu