Online MBA: Curriculum

The course focuses on formulating and implementing marketing management strategies and tactics, a task undertaken in most companies at the strategic organization level. The marketing management process is important at all levels of the organization, regardless of the title applied to the activity. Typically, it is called corporate marketing, strategic marketing, or marketing management. For our purposes, they all involve essentially the same process, even though the actors and activities may differ. The course will provide you with a lens through which you may view the world as a marketer, relating marketing principles to consumer and business actions. You will learn to develop a marketing strategy and select the appropriate tactics to successfully implement it and deliver value to the target market.

Organizational leaders are expected to make effective data-driven decisions. This course focuses on the development and use of accounting information in the analysis and decision-making process. This course includes financial accounting and managerial accounting topics. The financial accounting topics include Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), asset valuation, measurement of liabilities, and income determination. The managerial accounting topics include cost-volume-profit analysis, differential analysis, and budgeting. In addition to using accounting information to make effective decisions, the course focuses on communicating (orally, visually, and in writing) to a variety of stakeholders.

This course begins with a broad overview of operations and supply chain systems with a special emphasis on understanding lean methodology. Through integration of a supply chain simulation students will be utilizing advanced analytical tools to make strategic supply chain decisions. Decisions, strategies, and course teaching is provided with global context to simulate typical real-world scenarios.

This course will cover the two primary corporate finance topics: capital structure and capital budgeting. In other words, where will the money coming from and what should we spend it on? This course will prepare organizational leaders to participate in those capital decisions and effectively advocate for those decisions with the company’s stakeholders.

This course provides students with an overview of authentic and servant leadership. The focus is on providing the critical skills of self-leadership towards personal and professional goals as the context for studying service, influence, and intentional development and growth. Students learn about individual differences and about themselves using assessment materials, analytical tools, and theory and will develop plans that support sustained growth towards personal objectives. Students are guided in a personal vision process and learn through case studies of authentic and servant leadership.

This course provides students with an overview of authentic and servant leadership. The focus is on providing the critical skills of self-leadership towards personal and professional goals as the context for studying service, influence, and intentional development and growth. Students learn about individual differences and about themselves using assessment materials, analytical tools, and theory and will develop plans that support sustained growth towards personal objectives. Students are guided in a personal vision process and learn through case studies of authentic and servant leadership.

This course prepares students to provide formal and informal leadership to groups, teams, and organizations. Students learn to design and implement effective team processes and diagnose team performance and the threats and opportunities teams face. Students gain an understanding of the relevant frameworks for organizational design, culture, and change and will practice applying these frameworks using assignments and case studies.

This course orients students to the ethical imperatives of leadership in contemporary organizations. Ethical leadership theory provides a framework for connecting personal faith and identity resources with best practices in ethics and compliance management; together, these prepare students to realize improved business conduct, and enhanced diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) in their organizations. Students develop their own contextual agendas for ethical leadership through reflective writing exercises.

This course provides students with an overview and awareness of how successful organizations are able to navigate times of high uncertainty, and proactively “design for change.” Focus is on students gaining the knowledge of the environment, culture, and processes needed to design for innovation and resiliency. Students also learn about individual differences and about themselves and the part they can play in their organization being one designed for innovation and resiliency in uncertain times.

This course builds on the cohort experience and the innovation strategy coursework by helping students think through how they will personally move forward in cultivating innovation and resiliency in their organization. Students further develop their “innovation persona” and make a connection to how it can be applied in their organization. Students gain an understanding of the soft skills needed to cultivate innovation and resiliency in their organization.

This course is a topics course which features a different business innovation strategy topic each time it is offered. The course is a fully online course with four weekly synchronous sessions. Possible topics include disruptive innovation, human centered design, innovation case studies, and other “timeless” topics, as well as current hot topics such as artificial intelligence, mobility, blockchain, sustainability, and virtual reality.

This course is a foundational learning environment for students to acquire business innovation and strategy frameworks and tools. An important part of the learning comes from applying with teammates the frameworks and tools to an actual situation of a for-profit company or nonprofit organization who participates in the courses as a course sponsor.

This course covers four topics from the perspective of a corporate or nonprofit chief financial officer: mergers & acquisition, private equity, credit markets, and derivatives. Students gain an understanding of the relevant frameworks, the ability to perform financial analysis on each topic, and learn how to apply them to actual companies.

An introduction to collecting, managing, and processing large data sets. This course focuses on the core skills and concepts needed to pull data from a range of sources both inside and outside of organizations; to filter, transform, and combine data sets in preparation for data cleaning and analysis; and to construct quantitative summaries and basic visualizations.

Organizations leverage increasingly large collections of data about people, products, and processes. Machine learning provides tools to discover patterns and anticipate trends in such data. This course introduces the foundational principles of machine learning and provides a survey of a wide range of predictive methods, both battle-tested classics and emerging high-capacity deep learning models.

An introduction to the principles and practices of effective data visualization as an essential skill for learning from data and for communicating with others, both within and outside of an organization. Students will combine principles from statistics, psychology, and computer science to design and create visualizations and use them to communicate with and about data to stakeholders and others.

This course introduces the strategic marketing management process to prepare students to be successful marketing managers by learning to craft and execute marketing strategies that contribute to organizational success. Students take a deeper dive into strategic areas of competitive market analysis, segmentation, branding, distribution channels, pricing, and integrated marketing communication. The course uses both a textbook and cases and focuses on applying concepts into practice. In addition, students are challenged to critically evaluate the above from a Christian perspective.

Nonprofit board of directors are integral to the process of governing and achieving effective community collaborations and public/private partnerships. This course incorporates and applies organizational behavior and theory to explore the leadership role, responsibilities, and interaction between board members and the executive director. Areas of examination include a comparison of different governing models, key questions to consider in board selection and composition, the responsibilities of advisory boards, working with committees, and the expectations of the board in the area of fundraising.

Why are some nonprofit organizations more efficient and stewardly than others? This course establishes a foundation in financial management for those with minimal or no experience in accounting.  Areas of emphasis include knowledge and skills needed for distributing and managing resources, and for performing and using analyses and reports to effectively steward the financial health of the organization. Topics include key accounting principles, an overview of financial statements and how they are used in the budget development process and cash flow analysis, understanding the audit report, maximizing investment policy, and the responsibilities regarding government compliance. All of these will be looked at through the lens of ethical standards.

Nonprofit organizations, whether newly developed or established, need to incorporate methods and processes to be sustainable, This course focuses on how to design a nonprofit organization capable of raising the human and financial resources to sustain the organization as well as emerging methods for effective programming and specific nonprofit evaluation methods. Learn the various aspects of resource development including fund-raising strategies, processes, trends and ethics, public and private grant writing, submission, measurement and evaluation. The course emphasizes the examination of current trends in earned-income strategies, social entrepreneurship, and maximizing available ‘corporate social responsibility’ resources. Underscoring the importance of volunteers in achieving nonprofit goals, the course also focuses on approaches to volunteer development, volunteer recruitment, training, retention/theories of motivation, and leadership and certain ethical issues associated with volunteers.

An introduction to collecting, managing, and processing large data sets. This course focuses on the core skills and concepts needed to pull data from a range of sources both inside and outside of organizations; to filter, transform, and combine data sets in preparation for data cleaning and analysis; and to construct quantitative summaries and basic visualizations.

Organizations leverage increasingly large collections of data about people, products, and processes. Machine learning provides tools to discover patterns and anticipate trends in such data. This course introduces the foundational principles of machine learning and provides a survey of a wide range of predictive methods, both battle-tested classics and emerging high-capacity deep learning models.

An introduction to the principles and practices of effective data visualization as an essential skill for learning from data and for communicating with others, both within and outside of an organization. Students will combine principles from statistics, psychology and computer science to design and create visualizations and use them to communicate with and about data to stakeholders and others. Prerequisites: Intro Programming. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to create, interpret, critique, and refine visualizations of data.
INFO 603 maybe be taken as a replacement course.

This course covers four topics from the perspective of a corporate or nonprofit chief financial officer: mergers & acquisition, private equity, credit markets, and derivatives. Students gain an understanding of the relevant frameworks, the ability to perform financial analysis on each topic, and learn how to apply them to actual companies.

from ACCT 512 and approved Acadeum graduate finance courses

This course is an examination of accounting and financial reporting for not-for-profit entities. Focus areas will include the recording, reporting, and evaluation of financial information prepared in accordance with accounting standards as promulgated by the Financial Accounting Board Standards (FASB) as applied to not-for-profit entities. Prerequisite(s): ACCT 302 or equivalent, and admission to the MAcc program.

This course introduces the strategic marketing management process to prepare students to be successful marketing managers by learning to craft and execute marketing strategies that contribute to organizational success. Students take a deeper dive into strategic areas of competitive market analysis, segmentation, branding, distribution channels, pricing, and integrated marketing communication. The course uses both a textbook and cases and focuses on applying concepts into practice. In addition, students are challenged to critically evaluate the above from a Christian perspective.

Totaling at least 4 credits.

This course introduces the strategic marketing management process to prepare students to be successful marketing managers by learning to craft and execute marketing strategies that contribute to organizational success. Students take a deeper dive into strategic areas of competitive market analysis, segmentation, branding, distribution channels, pricing, and integrated marketing communication. The course uses both a textbook and cases and focuses on applying concepts into practice. In addition, students are challenged to critically evaluate the above from a Christian perspective.

This eight-week course will train students in the basic skills of audiovisual media design. Students will work hands-on with the essential technology and software to begin building the necessary skillsets to become fluent and engaging multimedia content producers.

510 – A study of the principles of storytelling integrating theory, critique, and hands-on experience as a way of learning best practices and understanding what makes for effective multimedia storytelling. Students will learn to become intentional about leveraging the strengths of different media to communicate synergistically in ways that single-medium stories cannot and to grasp the crucial role of perspectives in storytelling and audience reception.

501 – A media production studio course which supports and facilitates student completion of media production work assigned in any of four corequisite courses: COMM 510, COMM 520, COMM 521, and COMM 522.

520 – This course introduces students to the strategic planning process, communication strategies, and message creation involved in public relations. Students will learn how to develop, implement and evaluate public relations campaigns by examining case studies and creating an actual campaign. This course also focuses on the use of social media and other new media channels, examining how they can be employed to better serve the organization’s communication and relationship-building needs. Students must also enroll in COMM 520 Media Lab to create the class multimedia project.

501 – A media production studio course which supports and facilitates student completion of media production work assigned in any of four corequisite courses: COMM 510, COMM 520, COMM 521, and COMM 522.

521 – This course explores advertising as an institution in society and as a communication process. Designed as a comprehensive view of the subject, the course includes such topics as advertising history, regulation, communication theory and practice, the role of advertising in the marketing mix, the organization of the advertising agency, marketing/advertising research, and the creative uses of various advertising media. Students will assess strategy and participate in the formulation of an advertising campaign.

501 – A media production studio course which supports and facilitates student completion of media production work assigned in any of four corequisite courses: COMM 510, COMM 520, COMM 521, and COMM 522.

Nonprofit board of directors are integral to the process of governing and achieving effective community collaborations and public/private partnerships. This course incorporates and applies organizational behavior and theory to explore the leadership role, responsibilities, and interaction between board members and the executive director. Areas of examination include a comparison of different governing models, key questions to consider in board selection and composition, the responsibilities of advisory boards, working with committees, and the expectations of the board in the area of fundraising.

Why are some nonprofit organizations more efficient and stewardly than others? This course establishes a foundation in financial management for those with minimal or no experience in accounting.  Areas of emphasis include knowledge and skills needed for distributing and managing resources, and for performing and using analyses and reports to effectively steward the financial health of the organization. Topics include key accounting principles, an overview of financial statements and how they are used in the budget development process and cash flow analysis, understanding the audit report, maximizing investment policy, and the responsibilities regarding government compliance. All of these will be looked at through the lens of ethical standards.

Nonprofit organizations, whether newly developed or established, need to incorporate methods and processes to be sustainable, This course focuses on how to design a nonprofit organization capable of raising the human and financial resources to sustain the organization as well as emerging methods for effective programming and specific nonprofit evaluation methods. Learn the various aspects of resource development including fund-raising strategies, processes, trends and ethics, public and private grant writing, submission, measurement and evaluation. The course emphasizes the examination of current trends in earned-income strategies, social entrepreneurship, and maximizing available ‘corporate social responsibility’ resources. Underscoring the importance of volunteers in achieving nonprofit goals, the course also focuses on approaches to volunteer development, volunteer recruitment, training, retention/theories of motivation, and leadership and certain ethical issues associated with volunteers.

This eight-week course will train students in the basic skills of audiovisual media design. Students will work hands-on with the essential technology and software to begin building the necessary skillsets to become fluent and engaging multimedia content producers.

510 – A study of the principles of storytelling integrating theory, critique, and hands-on experience as a way of learning best practices and understanding what makes for effective multimedia storytelling. Students will learn to become intentional about leveraging the strengths of different media to communicate synergistically in ways that single-medium stories cannot and to grasp the crucial role of perspectives in storytelling and audience reception.

501 – A media production studio course which supports and facilitates student completion of media production work assigned in any of four corequisite courses: COMM 510, COMM 520, COMM 521, and COMM 522.

Audience research is significant for media organizations to find target consumers and formulate their communication strategies. This course intends to provide useful knowledge of audience research. It covers the current audience research methodologies and theories, the ratings industry and analysis processes. The major subjects of this course include sampling methods, data collection methods, quantitative methods, qualitative methods, the theories of audience behaviors, gross measures, cumulative measures, online audience research, and global audiences.

520 – This course introduces students to the strategic planning process, communication strategies, and message creation involved in public relations. Students will learn how to develop, implement and evaluate public relations campaigns by examining case studies and creating an actual campaign. This course also focuses on the use of social media and other new media channels, examining how they can be employed to better serve the organization’s communication and relationship-building needs. Students must also enroll in COMM 520 Media Lab to create the class multimedia project.

501 – A media production studio course which supports and facilitates student completion of media production work assigned in any of four corequisite courses: COMM 510, COMM 520, COMM 521, and COMM 522.

521 – This course explores advertising as an institution in society and as a communication process. Designed as a comprehensive view of the subject, the course includes such topics as advertising history, regulation, communication theory and practice, the role of advertising in the marketing mix, the organization of the advertising agency, marketing/advertising research, and the creative uses of various advertising media. Students will assess strategy and participate in the formulation of an advertising campaign.

501 – A media production studio course which supports and facilitates student completion of media production work assigned in any of four corequisite courses: COMM 510, COMM 520, COMM 521, and COMM 522.

522 – Multimedia journalism skills are critical in today’s newsrooms as well as in journalism-adjacent settings such as public relations and advocacy. This course will provide instruction and application in the tools and techniques of journalism production across non-text platforms. Using audio, video, web development, photography, and more, this course will cover journalistic fundamentals such as story development, reporting techniques, and editing. Students must enroll in COMM 501 to create the class multimedia project. Prerequisite(s): COMM 500 or equivalent (may be taken concurrently). Corequisite(s): COMM 501.

501 – A media production studio course which supports and facilitates student completion of media production work assigned in any of four corequisite courses: COMM 510, COMM 520, COMM 521, and COMM 522.