For seventeen years, from 1975 until October 1991, Ohio University offered a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree program in Malaysia in cooperation with the MARA Institute of Technology. The Bachelor of Business Administration class of 1991 was the fifteenth and final class of this joint undergraduate degree program which produced its first graduates in 1977 and by its end had awarded a total of 536 BBA degrees.
In the mid-1980's a part-time, Executive Masters of Business Administration (EMBA) program was begun to help fulfill the educational needs of Malaysia's middle and upper level managers. The ITM/Ohio University Executive MBA program is completed by experienced executives who study part-time, taking courses on Saturdays and Sundays only. The July 1994 EMBA intake was the 5th batch in Shah Alam, and as of the October 1995 Convocation there are some 110+ Ohio University EMB A alumni already at work in senior positions in Malaysian businesses and government.
In 1990, with the advent of ITM's Advanced Diploma of Business Studies, ITM and OU reached a mutual decision to focus their cooperation on graduate studies and a full-time MBA program was added to the existing EMBA program. This joint effort in graduate business education was extended in 1995 with the addition of an Executive MBA program at the ITM-Sarawak campus in Kuching, Sarawak.
The first batch of 18 full-time students in the ITM-Ohio University full-time MBA program graduated in October 1992 and a second batch of 30 graduated in October 1993. Additional intakes have completed studies each June and November since 1994. The last class of ITM-OU MBA students are currently completing their studies.
The ITM-OU full-time MBA program was designed to best utilize faculty resources from both institutions to produce the highest quality MBA graduates in Malaysia. The full-time program was divided into two phases.
Phase I was for students without a first degree (or advanced diploma) in business. This six month intensified program of study sets basic foundations in accounting, finance, marketing, management, economics and quantitative methods. Phase I courses were taught by qualified, dedicated ITM faculty members.
Phase II was for students who had successfully completed Phase I, or who had completed a first degree or advanced diploma in business. Phase II lasted 12 months and emphasizes integrated problem-solving, managerial competencies, oral and written communication skills, and ethics and social responsibility, along with functional area skills. Most Phase II courses were taught by Ohio University faculty members. These faculty members, the same faculty who taught in the OU business programs in Ohio, came to Malaysia and stayed for the full two month duration of their courses.
The ITM-OU MBA was a fixed sequence program. All students took the same courses. Courses in both Phase I and Phase II were offered in eight week "quarters" with the normal course load being three courses per quarter. In addition, Phase II students were required to complete MBAM 607, Applied Business Project, during a break between their third and fourth quarters of study.
The Executive EMBA was a part-time program for middle and upper level managers with a significant level of relevant work experience. This program met on Saturday afternoons and occasional Sunday mornings for approximately 27 months. Students in this program took one course at a ti me. Most of the 13 EMBA courses were taught in eight week blocks but two or three courses are typically divided into three or four week modules and offered "in-between" the normal quarters. As with the full-time program, most EMBA courses were taught by Ohio University faculty who are available for the entire duration of the course.
For information on the new ITM MBA program, please e-mail
the coordinator , the program secretary, or write
to