Frequently asked questions
1. What is UniSA's MBA ranking and what is the credibility of it program information?
Ranking
The 2005 Good Universities Guide on Rankings and Ratings of Australian MBA programs has just been released. There are great news for International Graduate School of Business (IGSB) MBA program which continue to go from strength to strength. The overall Australian Graduate Management Association ranking for IGSB is now 4-star, placing the School in the same band as the Australian Graduate School of Management (University of New South Wales) in Sydney and Macquarie University's MBA.
EQUIS
The Division of Business, of which IGSB is a part, is accredited by the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS). The Division is the second Australian business school to receive an EQUIS accreditation, after a rigorous assessment by a panel of international academics and business representatives.
The Good Guides Group (publisher of the Good Universities Guide)
Hobsons Australia, trading as The Good Guides Group, is part of an international organisation dedicated to assisting students to choose the right education and career options. The Good Guides Group has been assisting Australians in selecting courses & careers since 1991 and has earned a reputation for providing comprehensive, authoritative and independent information on Australian higher education institutions.
Read more about the IGSB's rankings and recognitions.
2. What are the differences between English MBA and Chinese MBA offered at UniSA?
The CMBA is modelled on the structure, content, material and teaching and learning approaches of the English MBA. It is conducted in Mandarin, and intended to eliminate the English language difficulties often encountered by Asian and Chinese managerial students, thus enabling them to confidently acquire extensive knowledge and understanding of business and management.
3. Chinese MBA program offered at UniSA doesn't have thesis component, does it affect the credibility of the program?
In every subject of the CMBA, there is an assignment on group project & report. These are applied projects, regarded by some as "mini-theses". It is common around the world that in conventional MBA programs, major theses are no longer required; as theses are usually highly research-focused, rather than practice-focused
4. Why does an Australian university offer a Chinese program？
CMBA is one of the few foreign language MBA programs offered by Australian universities. It is operated by the International Graduate School of Business (IGSB) of UniSA. The School has embraced internationalisation in its academic activities and has made "the fusion of Western and Asia-Pacific management principles and practices" in its mission statement. IGSB's engagement with universities in Asian countries not only provides opportunities for "fusion of the East and West", but also contributes to the economic development in and technology transfer to these countries.
5. Where do the lecturers come from? And where does UniSA source its teaching materials?
The CMBA is taught by a team of bi-lingual (English and Mandarin) educators who are of Chinese origin. The majority of this staff has been internationally educated and are currently senior and experienced business academics and consultants in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. More than 80% of the CMBA teaching staff holds doctoral degrees.
This team of international staff is involved in the delivery of CMBA and identifies texts, cases, examples and other material for application of theories and principles in the Chinese and Asian contexts.
6. What are the quality assurance procedures in place to ensure the consistency in quality between English MBA and Chinese MBA program?
The CMBA is modelled on the structure, content, material and teaching and learning approaches of the English MBA. Each of the 12 courses in the English MBA or Chinese MBA is responsible by a Discipline Team which consists of senior IGSB academics, including a Bi-lingual Subject Leader. Academic management of MBA activities are carried out by these Teams which design, preview, deliver, review the courses and approve teaching staff, assessments and results. Together, these Teams ensure that the IGSB MBAs provide the highest possible quality and standard at all times.
7. Does UniSA offer Chinese MBA program in Adelaide? Is the parchment the same as the one onshore student gets?
The CMBA is designed for managers whose first language is (or who is proficient in) Mandarin. The program is offered in Asian countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore.
All graduates of the MBA (on-shore, off-shore, on-line, English MBA or Chinese MBA) are awarded the same MBA parchment. In the case of CMBA, a notation that the program is conducted in Mandarin is stated in the academic transcript.
8. What is the passing rate of the courses? How many students have graduated so far from Chinese MBA program?
The CMBA, like all other MBAs of IGSB, is subject to the School's quality assurance policies and processes which ensures that teaching and learning outcomes are achieved effectively, and that stakeholders such as students, alumni, employers, accreditation bodies, government agencies, and business communities are satisfied with the quality of the program.
Passing rates vary from course to course. IGSB records show that performance of CMBA students is between moderate and high. Student performance in each course is scrutinized by a Board of Examiners which is the authority to approve results.
Since its inception in 1999, the CMBA now has over 1,500 graduates.
9. What are the backgrounds of Chinese MBA students and what are the trends in career advancements when one finishes Chinese MBA program?
Students of the CMBA are mature-aged, with industrial/business experience, and occupying responsible or senior managerial, business or professional positions in Asian or Chinese organisations. They are faced with diverse, challenging and demanding tasks of business management.
The teaching and learning process of the CMBA focus on capturing these students' thoughts, experience and strategies related to their business or work goals, ensuring that at the end of the program graduates are prepared for senior leadership positions. As a result, the CMBA has proved to significantly enhance the career prospects of many graduates. In Asian and international business environments, it has become a critical factor in career advancement as employers are attracted to the wider "East and West" business and leadership skill sets of graduates and their ability to identify, analyse and solve real-life and cross-cultural problems in the work place. CMBA graduates are strong and marketable candidates for senior management roles.
10. If a student can not complete the study of one course due to personal reasons, what kind of arrangement can UniSA provide?
The flexible nature of the CMBA means that students can defer a course or completion of the program should their circumstances change.
11. If a student decides to stop Chinese MBA study half way through the program, will there be a certificate of completion issued to the student?
There are two Exit Points in the CMBA, one at completion of 4 courses and the other at completion of 8 courses:
- On exit at the satisfactory completion of 4 courses, a student is awarded a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration.
- On exit at the satisfactory completion of 8 courses, a student is awarded a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration.
12. What are the differences of MBA programs offered by UniSA and other universities in other Asian countries such as Singapore?
The CMBA emphasizes the following:
Global Perspective
- For CMBA, the term globalisation has special meaning. It means far more than teaching the program around Asian countries. CMBA courses are actually built around an international focus, not just an 'add-on' case study! The curriculum design inculcates cultural differences, especially related to business and management of organisations.
- The CMBA utilises a team of highly qualified Bi-lingual teaching staff, of strong Eastern and Western academic and business backgrounds, who designs, develops and teaches an MBA which graduates can apply in the Asian and Chinese business environments. On contrast, the teaching staff for MBA program from other universities predominantly come from one or two institutions.
- Globalisation also means that the CMBA student body includes significant proportions of students from various Asian countries. The program enables students to build cross-national relationships and become involved in exchanges and networks within businesses in Asia, thus adding another layer to IGSB's definition of being internationally focused.
Academic Excellence
- At IGSB, all of the 30 core academic staff hold, or are currently completing, doctoral qualifications. There are 7 Professors and 5 Associate Professors. IGSB is the biggest Graduate School in South Australia, and one of the largest in Australia. From this size, come a wide diversity of expertise, and a structure which allows the research efforts of staff and the hundreds of Research students around the world, to flow through into the MBA courses, including the CMBA.
- All of IGSB's MBA courses, including the CMBA, have been re-written within the last 12 months, and reviewed by eminent academics from other Australian Universities. At IGSB, academic excellence is regarded as an essential quality. The School is now fully accredited by EQUIS, the European body for accreditation of academic excellence, making it only the 2nd Business School in Australia to have achieved this status.
Flexible Learning
- MBA programs at IGSB are taught in Adelaide, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore. Participants can choose to attend courses in these and other selected countries and gain first hand experience in an international environment. One of the MBA programs is taught online with more than 120 students worldwide. This online MBA is Australia's longest surviving online program, and continues to grow. IGSB's MBA programs are offered to selected South Australian corporations through specially designed in-house programs. Indeed, very few business schools in the world offer this range of options and flexibility.
- Since 1999, the CMBA has enabled the School's international students in Asia to study a Western MBA in Mandarin. This has been a pioneering and innovative effort, among many Western and Australian business schools. Once again, a reflection of IGSB's commitment to flexibility, experimentation, initiative, creativity, and being proactive in addressing diverse student needs.
14. Can Singaporean students choose to answer questions in English?
- All assignments and examinations of the CMBA are conducted and assessed in mandarin Chinese.
- The bi-lingual MBA program is being designed. It allows English assessment.
15. Why is the tuition fee of Chinese MBA program higher than other MBA programs in Singapore?
- The CMBA program fee is SGD$23,500, which includes all textbooks, and other relevant teaching and learning material (eg Study Guides, Course Information Booklets, Supplementary Readings, Student Handbooks, Handouts, etc).
- Different education institutions in Singapore set higher or lower program fees. The CMBA program fee is governed by UniSA policy on off-shore programs. UniSA has chosen and appointed excellent lecturers with expertise in the disciplines from Asian-Pacific countries to ensure the quality of the program as well as teaching different international business theories and practices.