0:00:00:00 - 00:00:23:04
Speaker 1
Welcome, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm pleased to meet you today to let you know more about the Master of Business Administration. We call it the MBA. And in particular the MBA with RMIT online. I'm Genevieve Jordan, I'm a senior product manager here with our Marketing Online, and I work with colleagues in the School of Management on the design and delivery of the MBA program.
00:00:23:06 - 00:00:50:16
Speaker 1
Firstly, though, I would like to acknowledge the Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung people of the Eastern Kulin nation on whose unceded lands we work, learn and teach at RMIT University, I acknowledge the ancestors and elders, past and present. I also acknowledge the traditional custodians and their ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia. Today I'm joined by three other panelists and I'll ask them to introduce themselves before we get into the guts of things.
00:00:50:16 - 00:00:54:13
Speaker 1
So, Kevin Argus over to you. Would you like to introduce yourself?
00:00:54:15 - 00:00:59:09
Speaker 2
Thanks, Gen and welcome everyone. So I am Associate Professor Kevin Argus
00:00:59:09 - 00:01:09:20
Speaker 2
So I'm specifically the program manager for the RMIT online MBA and the City Campus MBA. So welcome everyone.
00:01:09:22 - 00:01:14:00
Speaker 1
Thanks, Kevin. And also Alyson Martin. Alyson, would you like to introduce yourself?
00:01:14:02 - 00:01:29:06
Speaker 3
Hi everyone. I am a recent MBA graduate. I completed in July 2025 and I have previously studied through RMIT online doing a graduate Certificate of Marketing back in 2022.
00:01:29:08 - 00:01:34:15
Speaker 1
Welcome, Alyson. Thanks for joining us. And Marc Charlery, over to you Marc
00:01:34:17 - 00:01:46:13
Speaker 4
Jen, and thanks to everyone for joining. So I'm Marc Charlery I'm the head of acquisition which essentially means that I oversee all of our activities relating to the joining of new students.
00:01:46:15 - 00:02:07:00
Speaker 1
Beautiful. Thanks, Marc, Just by way of an agenda today. What we've got planned for you is a bit of discussion from us, and we're really keen to make sure we have plenty of time to answer your questions. So firstly, I'll talk a bit about some of the features of the MBA experience from an RMIT online standpoint as well as the digital learning experience.
00:02:07:02 - 00:02:29:04
Speaker 1
And then Kevin, will talk a bit about industry community collaboration. Talking about our particular approach to online teaching and how students in the program can get the most out of their experience. Then we'll hear from Alyson. Alyson is currently working with the City of Melbourne. Alyson, if you can talk a bit about your experience in the program, your job, and give some advice to anyone.
00:02:29:06 - 00:02:45:17
Speaker 1
Now, looking at doing this kind of program. And then Marc, we'll hear from you about the application and enrollment process, as well as some key dates. But as I said, we're really keen to make sure we have plenty of time for your questions. We know there's usually lots of good questions at a session like this.
00:02:45:19 - 00:03:08:01
Speaker 1
So we'll allow plenty of time for that. Note also today we are recording this session. And we'll be sharing the recording with everyone who's registered with us afterwards. But let's find out a bit more about the program. I'll just give, as I said, a bit of an overview of the key features of the MBA, in particular the approach to online learning that we take at our meeting online.
00:03:08:03 - 00:03:27:23
Speaker 1
I have to say, we pride ourselves on creating programs that are directly relevant to the real world of work. So in doing that, we engage with representatives from industry, including for profit, not for profit, large corporates, small start ups and scale ups. And we do this in a variety of ways to make sure that the student experience is super relevant to the world of work.
00:03:28:04 - 00:03:56:12
Speaker 1
To current practice, we make sure the content is up to date and make sure that as a student, you're getting a really thorough and comprehensive preparation for a great career. In the case of the MBA, that includes engagement with our industry advisory Board, we've got a specialist industry advisory board specifically for the MBA. Also through guest lecturers, industry partners who might join via video, as well as the research our academic staff do so lots of different inputs, into your experience.
00:03:56:14 - 00:04:16:01
Speaker 1
Our approach to online learning is super flexible and it's really well supported. We do know that most of the people studying with us are fitting there studying around work and all sorts of other responsibilities. We run webinars, which give you an opportunity to engage directly with online facilitators and your peers. They're scheduled in the evenings during the week.
00:04:16:04 - 00:04:33:09
Speaker 1
If you can't make it, they are recorded so you can watch whenever you want to. In addition to our wonderful teaching staff, and you'll hear more from Kevin shortly. We have a team of Student Success advisors who can assist you with all sorts of queries that you might have a long way. This might be about your enrollment.
00:04:33:14 - 00:04:57:10
Speaker 1
The learning management system we use, canvas, might be about submitting assessments for how to apply for an extension if you need to. All sorts of things. You'll find the Student Success Team a really useful part of your support crew as you go through the program. Some other details about the program. The RMIT MBA is a 2 to 2.7 year program when taken part time.
00:04:57:12 - 00:05:17:13
Speaker 1
So that's if you do one course or one subject at a time. With our teaching model, we have six teaching periods or semesters each year. So you can focus on one course at a time. A lot of people do that. Just take one course at a time and then continue from one course to another fairly quickly. To accelerate your progress, we call it an accelerated program.
00:05:17:15 - 00:05:37:23
Speaker 1
The RMIT Online program has been designed for online. It's not an on campus program that's kind of just thrown online. It is actually designed specifically for online, but you don't have to attend campus. There are some opportunities for you to come on site for extracurricular activities if that suits you. It's not compulsory, but some people like that opportunity.
00:05:38:00 - 00:06:02:17
Speaker 1
Our assessments part of the program, and Kevin might talk a bit more about this. They're designed to reflect the real world of work. So you can expect to do things like proposals, presentations, podcasts, simulations, investigations, and more. There aren't any exams. That's not the real world. So we don't have exams. We offer a range of specializations and executives electives so you can tailor your program.
00:06:02:19 - 00:06:28:18
Speaker 1
In line with your interests and your future aspirations. We'll hear a bit from Alyson about the different courses that she chose along the way . In the program, at the moment we have six specializations. You can choose from. So there's project management, design thinking, digital transformation, people analytics, sustainable enterprise and leadership. And of course you can take individual courses from these specializations if you wish as well.
00:06:28:20 - 00:06:54:09
Speaker 1
And you can really make a very tailored, approach to designing your own program. You can also start with a graduate certificate in many of these areas and then continue on to the MBA. So we have nested within the MBA, a graduate, a graduate certificate in Business administration. There's also a graduate certificate in project management and people analytics in sustainable enterprise leadership.
00:06:54:11 - 00:07:20:08
Speaker 1
Or you can start with just about any other graduate certificate offered by RMIT online. And then get credit towards your MBA and then continue on with your program that way. Alyson did that with her Grad Cert in marketing. Other people do it with business analytics, service design, data science, all those kinds of areas. So enrolling in a graduate certificate first up gives people a bit of a chance to try out online learning, if that's for you.
00:07:20:10 - 00:07:56:22
Speaker 1
Start with something smaller and then continue on to the MBA plus. Then when you graduate, you get a graduate certificate which gives you that knowledge. You can put it on your CV. Then you can continue on to the master's and then, continue with your career that way. Lots of choices. I have to say, if MBA is highly future focused, you would have recognized from the names, the specializations and those graduate certificates, that they are very future focused or oriented around the current workplaces and current workplace needs, according to the Graduate Outcomes Survey, which every institution does.
00:07:56:24 - 00:08:21:00
Speaker 1
More than 92% of our graduates were in employment six months after graduating. And I'm happy to say that according to the CBA rankings in 2025, it's ranked number seven seventh among MBAs in the whole of Oceania. That's pretty cool. And in RMIT, our school is accredited by the AACSB. So that's the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
00:08:21:02 - 00:08:44:17
Speaker 1
It's a mouthful. But that is a global standard setting body, specifically for business education. So only 6% of institutions offering business degrees worldwide have achieved that accreditation. And we've achieved it. So we're really proud of that. And that's, I guess, just another way that, you know, that what you're learning is high quality. It's super relevant and it's an extra level of endorsement for you.
00:08:44:19 - 00:09:12:09
Speaker 1
And for your degree in terms of the structure of the program, as I said, this is a wholly online program, and it's been designed to take wholly online. Much of the learning material is in canvas, our learning management platform, your access to interactive activities, readings, videos, podcasts and stuff. Via canvas. And then you can also communicate with your online facilitator and peers that way as well.
00:09:12:11 - 00:09:37:03
Speaker 1
And as part of each course, as I mentioned before, we have our webinars, which is an online facilitator that you can join live or watch a recording. In terms of support, there is lots of support along the way. As I said, we have a student success team that can assist you with all sorts of queries. They can assist with things like tipping, fitting study around your other commitments, applying for extensions, all that kind of stuff.
00:09:37:05 - 00:10:00:23
Speaker 1
And of course, there's an amazing teaching staff. We call them online facilitators. They're the people who guide you and challenge you as you go through your course. Most of our students do study part time and take at least two years to complete the program. Depending on your previous study and experience, you'll have 12 or maybe 16 courses to successfully complete, and be awarded the MBA.
00:10:00:23 - 00:10:20:16
Speaker 1
Most of our students have 12. Some people have less, just depending on their work experience. And other study that they may have done. It's probably enough for me. I might hand over now to Kevin, just to talk a little bit more about the program, how we work with industry in the community, and other aspects of the MBA experience.
00:10:20:17 - 00:10:24:06
Speaker 1
So over to you, Kevin.
00:10:24:08 - 00:10:50:19
Speaker 2
Thanks, Jen. When you think of RMIT in terms of what RMIT is known for in terms of the brand, there's a few things and, and research that we did with the MBA cohort. In the early years, after we first launched, really reflected that. And that's things like design. So RMIT is one of the, premier institutions of design.
00:10:50:19 - 00:11:13:16
Speaker 2
And we've underpinned our MBA program with design thinking. Design thinking is an incredibly important mindset enabler, as well as process for tackling some of the really challenging, existential, real world problems of our time. The major corporations.
00:11:13:16 - 00:11:32:17
Speaker 2
And, organizations, generally consulting firms, all use human centered design in some form or another. And design thinking really is one of the early toolkits that was translated from the field of design into a business orientation.
00:11:32:19 - 00:11:56:16
Speaker 2
So that's quite critical. And that really then enables you to, take different perspectives in solving problems. the world is not a linear pathway to solving problems. And that's really key because when you're doing a an MBA, no matter what career path you're leaning into, you will be involved in leading change, whether that's in internal or in an external role.
00:11:56:18 - 00:12:26:16
Speaker 2
So whether that's digital change or social change or governance change or all of the above. The other is industry engagement. So RMIT origins were very much around deep connection with industry. So that's really what we put into our DNA. And the other really is technology and innovation. So in designing the MBA we have three deep what we call deep will courses work integrated learning.
00:12:26:16 - 00:12:55:02
Speaker 2
And they're in design thinking and marketing, which are early courses that are undertaken. Strategy addresses that from a case study perspective. And the business consulting course at the end. The capstone really then encapsulates that will aspects this work integrated learning throughout some of the minors as well. So why is that really important? Because it's about taking the learnings like theory into practice.
00:12:55:04 - 00:13:12:20
Speaker 2
We are aware that people come from a multitude of disciplines. So there's sometimes flexibility in terms of either, you know, application to a project that is a particular relevance to the individual or one that is provided. So there's a little bit of flexibility around that. And
00:13:12:20 - 00:13:48:11
Speaker 2
And we know that at RMIT we attract a lot of people who are in career transition in some way, shape or form. It becomes really important to establish networks. So throughout the program programmatically, we've we've looked at opportunities in the way in which we teach and learn so that, there are opportunities in in the weeks of learning to engage with students in scaffolded learning toward assessment, or they will assessments or individual the scaffolding of the learning activities enables, a deep connection.
00:13:48:13 - 00:14:19:04
Speaker 2
The facilitated webinars that are run also are an opportunity to hear other voices and engage with, with, fellow students. In terms of the cycle and integration, it's really exciting. We've had some of our online students come back into the face to face program as as mentors. So where there’s proximity, enablement and so alumni becomes a part of it, too, you become part of the community for lifelong learning.
00:14:19:06 - 00:14:47:10
Speaker 2
In terms of things like, the, the minors, too, I mean, these have evolved. So I guess, we always had leadership and aligned with technology and innovation, which we've transitioned into digital transformation, which has great currency. Today, of course, there's the likes of, project management, which has broad application in terms of change, leading change, enabling change.
00:14:47:12 - 00:15:02:12
Speaker 2
But things like sustainable enterprise. We went to our industry advisory board a couple of years ago and said, what are the key things that are having impact? And and they were really all saying sustainability. Then when AI hit last year, for a period of time,
00:15:02:12 - 00:15:17:03
Speaker 2
AI everything and then by the end of the year, all of them in terms of the fiduciary responsibility, meeting compliance and, and thinking about sustainable futures, came back to sustainability so often.
00:15:17:05 - 00:15:49:24
Speaker 2
You know, people choose their own path or they choose their own specialization. But something I often say is keep in mind that sustainability will impact most, if not every sector. So that can be something that's useful to gauge with. That's sort of shaped how we've evolved the program and in more recent times is, as Gen pointed out, those pathways by being able to take what is effectively one of our minors, which is now also offered as a graduate certificate, like in leadership or in sustainable enterprise or in project management.
00:15:49:24 - 00:16:18:17
Speaker 2
And of course, the pathway, Grad Cert into business administration. That's a great way for somebody who's looking at maybe a specialization as a first step and then potentially graduating into the MBA program. And the beauty of that is they get acknowledgment of the minor within the program. So it's quite flexible. And I think the reality, as Gen pointed, we are responsive to the reality that that learning is now continuous.
00:16:18:19 - 00:16:59:18
Speaker 2
There's a seven week sort of period, six weeks of learning, the seventh week for the final assessment, creates these learning blocks, six, six of the teaching periods throughout the year. Which, there's support directly by having students, support offices that are allocated to every student. But I think the other wonderful thing is the library services across the university that any student with a full time all, you know, sorry, with a, in proximity or online libraries these days are about providing specific, advice or guidance around crafting assignments or tackling assignments or approaches.
00:16:59:18 - 00:17:24:24
Speaker 2
it's a very different package of libraries, sort of suite of support. And that's what our library staff do. They’re basically set up their as like, assistance for students. Something I wish was around when I was sort of doing my post grads in the early 2000. And I did start my, first master's online, and it's a very different experience.
00:17:25:01 - 00:17:47:13
Speaker 2
So, you know, the world has changed with agile, but we're very true to those principles of deeply industry connected, design led. And it's all about networks. It's all about building connections. And that's how opportunities, fashion. Maybe I'll stop there for the moment, unless you've got anything specifically that you wish me to pick up on.
00:17:47:15 - 00:18:05:06
Speaker 1
I think that's a good starting point. And I'm sure we'll come back to Kevin when we address some of the questions. And I can say that people are, popping some questions in the chat, so feel free to do that. As we go along next though I might hand over to Alyson. So, Alyson, can you tell us a bit about your experience in the program and what you're doing now?
00:18:05:08 - 00:18:41:02
Speaker 3
Sure. Thanks, Gen. So I completed a graduate certificate of marketing back in 2022. I had six months off while I decided what was next. And then I completed the MBA online over two years from June 2023 to July 2025. When you first sign up with RMIT online, you're paired with a Student Success Advisor who will give you give you a call, make sure that everything's okay, and they check in with you throughout the course so you don't feel like you're ever, sort of dropping the ball on anything.
00:18:41:04 - 00:19:03:06
Speaker 3
They'll call you, like, when your first assignment has been submitted and ask how things are going. In addition, you have access to things like the library, as Kevin mentioned, and also a tool called Studiocity which is basically an assignment checker. Now it uses AI and you submit your assignment and it will give you a whole lot of feedback before you submit.
00:19:03:08 - 00:19:34:02
Speaker 3
And it's really great to kind of have that available to you, to perfect your assignments or even just to sort of bring back a couple of, a couple of marks from, when, when you're working on them and when they're in draft form. Obviously when you're working full time, it's a big commitment. But you've got these seven week blocks where you can sort of plan your life around knowing that you've got an assignment in week three, five, and seven.
00:19:34:04 - 00:20:01:04
Speaker 3
As mentioned, the webinars are recorded, so you can watch them out of, it at a different time if required. I found the the assignment and subject matter were so varied, so diverse. So one of my assignments was during a building project, and then there was another one where it was app development and another group assignment where we tackled a mining, challenge.
00:20:01:04 - 00:20:34:19
Speaker 3
And then there were things that were really relevant to what I do, which is events. And so it was interesting to be able to apply learnings from, say, building project to doing an an event project and working in a group with people with really varied experience. So somebody who was a consultant in Western Australia and somebody else who was in, in the military, and you get to you make these connections with people that you'd never, ever would have thought possible.
00:20:34:21 - 00:20:56:06
Speaker 3
And it's also worth noting that some of your assignments can be based on what you do in your current role. So I, I'll get to my career progression shortly, but it was I found it easier if I was short on time, I could do an assignment about my existing work, and you wouldn't need to do that sort of foundational research about the industry.
00:20:56:06 - 00:21:16:00
Speaker 3
And you can just make it really relevant. And then as a bonus, you've done this assignment about your job. You can bring it back to your manager and you can say, hey, I've done this. What do you think? And that happens quite often, especially in my marketing, course, which was really relevant to what I was doing at the time.
00:21:16:02 - 00:21:38:09
Speaker 3
When you work in these group assignments, you have the opportunity to sort of buddy up with the students and future courses and future assignments. So I had a little cohort of people in my MBA, and when we were in the same class, we could pair up and do the group assignments together and sort of built that relationship over time.
00:21:38:11 - 00:22:14:14
Speaker 3
So speaking a little bit about my personal career experience, as I mentioned, I started with a graduate certificate of marketing when I was in a sort of a marketing coordinator role. And on completion of that, I moved up to a more senior role at the same organization that was in the music industry, but a not for profit, through doing that graduate certificate of marketing, I did some learnings about, doing marketing research, and that really helped me to land my next role, which was at a festival, held here in Melbourne.
00:22:14:16 - 00:22:40:04
Speaker 3
And then, as I mentioned, I took six months off between finishing the graduate certificate and starting the MBA. I had settled into the new job and then I started my MBA. I majored in project management and it was working in a on a very major project, which is a festival, applying those learnings day to day in my work and seeing how my colleagues were doing.
00:22:40:04 - 00:23:12:23
Speaker 3
That was a really, great way to sort of cement that knowledge. And then at the sort of the tail end of my MBA journey, I, used my new knowledge to gain a get a role here at City of Melbourne, where I work now, which uses learnings from project management specifically and the knowledge of construction and other industries that, I gained through studies and also the event work that I had done previously.
00:23:13:00 - 00:23:42:17
Speaker 3
I did my two other two electives were sustainability papers, and I've started them as I started my new role at City of Melbourne, and I was able to do my assignments about City of Melbourne. So that was a really good way for me to learn about the organization and also apply these, these learnings from the course and Kevin mentioned that MBA students and their roles will lead change, and that this has really happened sort of in my new role.
00:23:42:19 - 00:24:11:24
Speaker 3
I've stepped up and implemented lots of new processes and sort of led my team through that already. And it's only been five months. And I'm really looking forward to sort of building on the leadership and strategy skills that I, developed through the MBA, and utilizing them, in this new role, I do have a couple of tips and tricks that might answer some of the questions that are coming through.
00:24:12:01 - 00:24:45:13
Speaker 3
So my first one is that your Google calendar or Outlook calendar is your friend. And when you enroll and all your in your first four courses or in your six courses for the year, you can set up your week to week zero assignment deadlines in week three, five, and seven so that you know when the assignments are there and when your planning the other things in your life or your planning work, you can you can plan accordingly accordingly to ensure that you have enough time.
00:24:45:15 - 00:25:08:03
Speaker 3
As mentioned, you've got these seven week blocks. And if something is coming up in your life like say you've got a holiday or you've got a really huge deadline at work, you can just push the course by eight weeks and start again a little bit later. And if you're prepared and you've got this on your calendar, you sort of know that and you can you can be ready to discuss that with your success advisor.
00:25:08:05 - 00:25:25:16
Speaker 3
In the courses you get a week zero, which is like the preparation week. So the canvas opens to you, you can see all the assignments. You can see what the ratings will be. And this is a really good time to sort of get an idea of what the assignments will look like. If they're going to be group assignments.
00:25:25:18 - 00:25:46:24
Speaker 3
Maybe it's time to start thinking about making some connections with people, and also like downloading any readings that you might need that you might want to if you need to work offline for any reason. Another tool that I would say is using like document management, like you've got a one, you've got one drive that RMIT gives you access to that.
00:25:46:24 - 00:26:14:18
Speaker 3
And just having a folder for each subject, setting up your assignment template, which you'll use for all your assignments throughout the course that's got like the cover page and your, student ID and all that information. And then it just makes it really easy each time you come to an assignment. Similarly, you can use the assignment rubrics to map out the the structure of and the word count of the assignments that you're going to do.
00:26:14:20 - 00:26:49:06
Speaker 3
And like I mentioned before, Studiocity is your best friend. So allowing enough time for to use this service to review your assignments before you submit them will just make your life so much easier. And you this with this course, you get out what you put in. But I'd really recommend with the group assignments like jumping in make setting up lots of meetings using the online, like SharePoint for collaboration and getting to know your cohort because they can be some really interesting people.
00:26:49:06 - 00:26:59:21
Speaker 3
I know I've got some really great people on LinkedIn that I never would have met if it wasn't for RMIT online, and I think that's all for me for now. Thanks, Gen
00:26:59:23 - 00:27:22:08
Speaker 1
Thanks, Alyson. That's terrific. You've certainly had, a super interesting career to date and thanks for sharing your tips as well with everyone around, sort of planning your time and, using those tools, to make life easier because everyone's busy, aren't they? All right, next we might hear from Marc, around the enrollment process, and some of those dates that might be useful for people to know.
00:27:22:12 - 00:27:25:04
Speaker 1
Over to you, Marc.
00:27:25:06 - 00:27:51:02
Speaker 4
Gen And thanks Alyson as well. So we've tried to make the enrollment application process probably the least work that you do regarding your MBA. As you can see from the screenshot here, we have a program page on the main RMIT edu .au website. The URL is pretty long , So rather than reeling it off, I'll just drop it into the chat so you can click through it.
00:27:51:04 - 00:28:13:13
Speaker 4
Once you click that apply button, it will take you through to the secondary program page, which just outlined some of the criteria information around the location, which is obviously online information around the fee and study links as well. And then you click another button which will take you through to our ServiceNow portal. ServiceNow portal is essentially where you start your application.
00:28:13:15 - 00:28:35:21
Speaker 4
Pretty straightforward. You should be able to apply within about 20 minutes. You can save your application as well and return at a later date if there's information you don't have to hand, and you can track the progress of the application in real time. Now, obviously you may have some questions. So you are able to contact our enrolments team anytime between Monday and Friday 9 am to 5:00 pm.
00:28:35:23 - 00:28:38:05
Speaker 4
And phone number for that is the
00:28:38:05 - 00:28:59:12
Speaker 4
03 0014 5032 we do also have a contact us page. So if you don't feel particulary like talking to anybody, you can leave your query information in the URL up to stop there and we'll get back to you. usually within a 12 to 24 hour waiting period. In terms of the key dates.
00:28:59:12 - 00:29:20:22
Speaker 4
So you've still got a little bit of time before close of application occurs. Close application for our next teaching period is the 25th of August. So you've got another 12 days to go. And that's the same day that the canvas opens as well. So if you do receive an offer and you accept, you'll be able to access the course materials from that date as well.
00:29:20:24 - 00:29:41:23
Speaker 4
That also aligns with an orientation starts because it's the week before the actual classes begin. And the last day to accept any offers will be the 31st of August. Classes will begin on the 1st of September, and that is also the last day that you'll be able to add classes. And census will not occur until the 11th of September.
00:29:42:00 - 00:30:12:17
Speaker 4
In terms of the full fees. So I think the costing for 2025 is around $38,400. Those prices will probably increase going into 2026. Not by much, but it is a good idea to get in there now. In terms of billing. So once census is passed, you will receive an invoice if you are paying directly, but if you have HECS debt,, then that will be tackled through your tax.
00:30:12:19 - 00:30:33:16
Speaker 4
Okay. I don't think there's anything else that I need to cover unless you think there's anything that I might have missed. The credit in recognition of prior learning. So there was a question I did see earlier from Richard. I would assume that the, previous study would be pretty strong and would probably be likely to get an offer,
00:30:33:18 - 00:30:43:19
Speaker 4
But again, if there are any things that you're not sure of, feel free to, contact our enrolments team and we'll be able to get back to you posthaste.
00:30:43:19 - 00:30:48:12
Speaker 1
that's fantastic. Good. We've got some nice questions coming through in the chat.
00:30:48:14 - 00:31:06:04
Speaker 1
Feel free to pop any other questions that occur to you in the chat as we go, and we'll try and cover off as many as we can. Some of them may have even been answered as we've gone along. I think there's a question there about group assignments. Alyson certainly spoke about group assignments. There is also a lot of individual work.
00:31:06:06 - 00:31:35:04
Speaker 1
So the bulk of the assessments, are individual. But it's important for students to be able to work together with other colleagues and, and other peers. So that is also part of the program. A question about how often the curriculum is updated. So after every time we run the course, we do a maintenance. So, the courses, updated, as a partnership between the online facilitator, the course coordinator and learning designers within RMIT online.
00:31:35:06 - 00:31:56:14
Speaker 1
And then periodically we also do what we call a refresh, of course, which is a more extensive review of content. Maybe there's some emerging areas that need to be represented, maybe some other, aspects of the curriculum. Less relevant. So that kind of change is pretty much ongoing. And then every couple of years we actually do more significant overhaul of the curriculum.
00:31:56:14 - 00:32:26:19
Speaker 1
And Kevin, you might be able to speak to this in a little bit more detail. Not long ago we had new minors or new specializations introduced. So they're entirely new areas. So things like, sustainable enterprise and people analytics are relatively new in the program. And that means those whole courses are quite new. And we're always sort of looking out for new areas that are emerging, new areas, that people might like to, really position themselves as experts in, to make sure that what they're learning is super relevant.
00:32:26:21 - 00:32:28:13
Speaker 1
Kevin, did you want to add to that?
00:32:28:15 - 00:32:53:03
Speaker 2
Yeah. Look, you mentioned the AAC accreditation part of the AAC accreditation, which is a college wise accreditation. It's all about continuous improvement. So really what we needed to do, we already had standards and processes of, periodic refresh. But part of what we've done with that is we've actually, specified what that period is going to be.
00:32:53:03 - 00:33:02:13
Speaker 2
So it's not a long period because, you know, we're talking about every couple of years as well as the maintenance. But a really good example for us has been.
00:33:02:13 - 00:33:27:12
Speaker 2
So we've got one course we have identified that we're going to replace with another course that has, quite a core focus on AI because AI has very specific relevance. And even though it affects many courses, we wanted to have something that had a more specific focus on it, because a lot of people in roles, or even seeking roles will want to be able to, I think, as Alyson pointed out,
00:33:27:12 - 00:33:47:22
Speaker 2
So that's a good example of where we constantly look at that program. The RMIT online program is merely just a different mode of the program that is managed by central. So I said, I'm the program director, I am the director of the the MBA for City Campus Online and Vietnam.
00:33:47:22 - 00:34:11:07
Speaker 2
And they all come under the one program. I always have a, have a, a management if you like, or directorship from Melbourne. So what we deliver online might be in a different mode in a different time frame, but it's essentially meaning the same learning outcomes. It's essentially the same course. So we need to have equivalence and demonstrate equivalence.
00:34:11:09 - 00:34:40:16
Speaker 2
So that whole refresh process is very, very rapid. And I foresee moving forward that cadence is something that is a more rapid cadence than it ever would have been before because of the rate of change. In, in in terms of things, I think what's really great about RMIT online is they've got a great team of learning designers, just as we have here on campus, so that when we have those maintenance and refreshes, that can be done in an expedient manner, which is good.
00:34:40:18 - 00:35:02:00
Speaker 2
When we need to get expertise or industry, industry expertise to work with in projects and have co-design, we do have what we call voices of industry. Where possible we will work with, say like Capgemini in the in the capstone and and actually get like an industry voice in terms of what might be an interesting way to reshape our assessments.
00:35:02:02 - 00:35:14:12
Speaker 2
And just on that too, with AI, the emergence of AI, we are reimagining how we assess to have more leaning more into the types of assessments that are quite authentic,
00:35:14:12 - 00:35:20:04
Speaker 2
we have guidelines about how to use AI in terms of, you know, these are tools we all use.
00:35:20:04 - 00:35:39:06
Speaker 2
We all use. I just got a certificate today. You know, you mentioned, you know, the the the qualification of the staff. I've just got a, you know, a certificate acknowledging top 2 to 5% percentile of research journal publication from the head of R and I, in the college. That's, that's that's very neat.
00:35:39:06 - 00:35:55:18
Speaker 2
So, you know, we live in the real world and we evolve with it. And I think at our RMIT, we aim to very much, lean and be guided by industry. But at the same time ensure that all that we do is very much grounded in research.
00:35:55:20 - 00:36:19:04
Speaker 2
I sort of come in some of these in which we have people from everywhere. It doesn't matter. And that's the beauty of online. It doesn't matter. And we all experience during Covid, it really doesn't matter. Proximity is really about connection in terms of digital connection. And on that for anyone who's not in Melbourne and doesn't feel they have the opportunity to visit campus for any opportunities there.
00:36:19:06 - 00:36:47:21
Speaker 2
The and I was just having a conversation before we started. We've got an on the couch series. I've been involved with industry partners, but there's that is a production scheme of doing webinars on highly relevant topics and those that are relevant to MBA. You'll be invited to attend the various masterclasses. So that's a way to engage, as we do already in terms of joining conferences online or webinars and the like.
00:36:47:23 - 00:36:58:09
Speaker 2
The difference between executive MBA and MBA is a really interesting one, because we have an executive MBA here on campus and an MBA, and what's very different is their distinct.
00:36:58:09 - 00:37:20:08
Speaker 2
it it sort of skews towards somewhere in the middle, the average age, I think Gen is around about 38, in RMIT online, whereas our, our MBA on campuses is more like 26 - 27 and our executive MBA is about 38. To sort of 50 in terms of where most people sort of fit,
00:37:20:08 - 00:37:50:07
Speaker 2
So the RMIT MBA is really like a meld of MBA and executive MBA. And if you look at the typical student, they've had far more experience than what we would find in our MBA on campus. So it's I think, as mentioned by Alyson, and even looking at Alyson in the career that she has, our MBA students would be happy to have Alyson come and present to them her experience, because it would really out muster what most of them are doing.
00:37:50:07 - 00:38:07:22
Speaker 2
Whereas you will find in your peer networks you are sharing people who are on a career transition primarily. So I think that's a really interesting one, just to find that in the online space you actually gravitate more towards experience. Probably why they're choosing online in the first place.
00:38:07:22 - 00:38:13:14
Speaker 1
There's another question here. Is there an ideal number of subjects to take per term?
00:38:13:16 - 00:38:33:16
Speaker 1
I might just, answer a little bit and then throw to you, Alyson, about your experience and what you did, but, the program's really designed for people to take 1 or 2 courses at a time, and many people will take one course at a time and really just work through in that manner. Because we have the six teaching periods, it does mean you can progress through the program reasonably quickly.
00:38:33:18 - 00:38:47:08
Speaker 1
It's possible to do two, people would rarely do three or more just because the workload associated is quite high. And as I said, mostly people, juggling their studies with other commitments. Alyson, do you want to comment on that as well, based on your experience?
00:38:47:10 - 00:39:16:06
Speaker 3
Yeah. So, I took one course at a time continuously for the 12 courses, and I would say that was definitely enough to balance with working full time. I even doing something slightly part time with work. I think you'd really struggle to have the time to make the webinars, to do any collaboration and do the additional online work in addition to working.
00:39:16:08 - 00:39:17:04
Speaker 3
Yeah.
00:39:17:06 - 00:39:43:00
Speaker 1
Yeah. Thank you. Thanks for that. I'm just looking through the questions here and, Kevin's answered a couple of other ones. A point to note about prior studies is that, prior studies, are counted where they're done within ten years. So if you've got prior studies that are more than ten years old, they may not be, counted for for credit.
00:39:43:02 - 00:40:06:00
Speaker 1
However, work experience is very often, eligible for credit. So it's worth applying. Our admissions team will make an assessment, and let you know how much credit you can get. As I said, many students will do a 12, 12 course program, but it's quite possible for people to do a program that's, significantly reduced from that based on their previous qualifications and work experience.
00:40:06:00 - 00:40:29:22
Speaker 1
So we need to assess those pretty much case by case, although there is obviously guidance for the admissions team in that regard. Just again, looking at some other questions, what tips would you have for someone working full time and trying to complete an MBA? Alyson, you mentioned a few things. Kevin, have you got anything else you'd like to add based on what you've observed?
00:40:29:24 - 00:40:35:17
Speaker 1
Of students who have been completing the program while you've been, directing the program?
00:40:35:19 - 00:41:07:11
Speaker 2
Mostly pretty much what Alyson said is to get set up from the outset. Know that it is it is quite intense. And those weeks move swiftly. There are extensions that we will give for, you know, if you need an extension to an assessment. But if you can avoid that by being well planned and follow Alison's advice, we find that those people who plan well and engage and utilize the resources, particularly in the first, maybe couple of courses.
00:41:07:13 - 00:41:30:21
Speaker 2
You mentioned studiocity and what have you. Alyson found a great friend in a tool and a service that served her well. I've spoken to students who may be struggled a bit at a certain time, and they've never really, utilized that. So it's really about utilizing what's what's there for you.
00:41:30:23 - 00:41:58:19
Speaker 1
Thank you. Kevin. Another question I can say. How long of the subjects are they? Seven weeks duration. Yes, they're they're actually six weeks of learning plus one extra week, to complete your final assignment. So as Alyson said, there are generally assessments due in weeks three, five and seven. The graduate certificate in, PM, I'm guessing that is product management in a ten week duration.
00:41:58:19 - 00:42:23:20
Speaker 1
We have product management in ten week terms. But the graduate certificate in project management is different and is done in the 6 to 7 week terms, depending if you count that assessment time. So, yeah, product management. Thanks, David. So product is done in ten week terms. The MBA and the graduate certificates that come under it are all done in this accelerated mode, which is if you like, six plus one week teaching periods.
00:42:24:01 - 00:42:52:08
Speaker 1
That Alyson was talking about earlier. So hopefully that clarifies things. Where are the list of subjects? The list of subjects is available on the website. So if you go to our RMIT website, search for the Master of Business Administration, you'll see the full list there. It's quite a large number. There's a lot of choice. And as I mentioned earlier, you can choose to do a specialization or you can really kind of choose your own adventure, choose different courses from different specializations to suit your own interests.
00:42:52:10 - 00:42:59:09
Speaker 1
As well as those core courses that everyone, does need to do.
00:42:59:11 - 00:43:09:23
Speaker 1
Just looking to see if there are other questions that we might need to pick up on. I think mostly we have answered them in just 100%. Oh, sorry, Kevin. Go ahead.
00:43:10:00 - 00:43:29:18
Speaker 2
I just noticed that, there was some questions around if they complete a graduate certificate, one of those graduate certificates of ours, they do credit into the MBA. So that doesn't add on to the duration that really is is taken as if you did that as part of the MBA.
00:43:29:21 - 00:43:53:12
Speaker 1
Yeah. So if you do a graduate certificate those courses count towards your MBA the same way they would count if you'd done them as part of your MBA. So all of that learning is absolutely, like for like, and contributes toward completing that master's award. I think we're coming close to have covered all the questions. Is it truly 100% online?
00:43:53:12 - 00:44:16:19
Speaker 1
Yes, indeed. It is truly 100% online. There's no obligation to come on site if you do not wish to. As Kevin mentioned, he's director of the overarching MBA across different modes, including Vietnam. And that means that, he, is also involved in setting up extracurricular activities for the on campus cohort that the online cohort are welcome to come to.
00:44:16:19 - 00:44:50:22
Speaker 1
But that's not compulsory. That's sort of an extra thing that people might like to, participate in, but it's not required. So it definitely can be done, 100% online without stepping foot on campus. And that means if you are in WA, or wherever you are, you can still, participate to the full extent. I think we may well be coming close to time, and I think we've probably covered off, the questions that, I've, I can see here, if there are other questions, feel free to send them through to us and we'll be able to assist you with those.
00:44:50:24 - 00:45:10:09
Speaker 1
What we like to do after these sessions as well is pull together, the questions that we've received in the session and then publish answers to those as a blog post on our website so thata another place to look out for it, and everyone who's registered for the session will also get an email with a link, to some other material and including the recording here.
00:45:10:11 - 00:45:26:23
Speaker 1
So we might wrap up there. Can I say a very big thank you to Alyson, Kevin and Marc for joining us today and for sharing your views and your, information about this program. And thanks to everyone for joining us. Hopefully it's been useful for you, and we look forward to seeing you in the program. Thank you. Thanks, everyone.
