March 3, 2025
By Amy K. Lavender
This year, the WebMBA program has reached a milestone: providing a high-quality, accelerated online master’s in business administration program for the past quarter of a century. The program, which forayed into the world of online learning when the concept was still an outlier, has spent 25 years providing a one-of-kind online learning experience for students and featuring instruction from the top business professors across seven University System of Georgia top-performing, AACSB-Accredited institutions.
The WebMBA consortium was created on July 13, 2000, when five universities signed a memorandum of understanding: Georgia College & State University, Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, University of West Georgia, and Valdosta State University. The program enrolled its first cohort in 2001, a time when high-quality, online MBA programs were rare.
“I remember in the early, early years of this program, there were so many questions from students about validity; because, at that time, online learning was not embraced,” recalled Dr. Hope Udombon, Administrative Director of WebMBA and Graduate Academic Advisor at the University of West Georgia’s Richards College of Business. “Now, of course, things are very different.”
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who is a Professor of Accounting at Valdosta State University and has taught in the WebMBA program since its inception, remembers those early days well. He says while the concept was new, it was ingenious, as it offered an opportunity to expand education options to students. The faculty who were brought on board saw the potential of such a program and were willing to learn a new style of teaching to help implement it.
“We started a series of training sessions at the University System of Georgia offices and Kennesaw State University campus. None of us had ever taught online before, so it was really nice and interesting to have people from all kinds of different disciplines showing us best practices,” Dr. Gupta recalls.
Over the years, the program grew from roughly 20 professors to more than 60, and from enrolling a few dozen students to enrolling up to 200 students each fall and spring semester. Two new universities also joined the consortium: Columbus State University in 2014 and Augusta University in 2020.
“The growth in the program was significant during my tenure,” said Dr. Robin Cheramie, Dean of Kennesaw State University’s Coles College of Business, who started as an assistant professor teaching the WMBA 6000 course. “When I started in 2006, there was only one new cohort a year in the program.”
Now, the program admits up to seven new cohorts each year, and the enrollment isn’t the only thing that has changed over time. As online learning tools have improved and professors have become more versed in the delivery mode, the WebMBA program has been able to take advantage of both technical innovations as well as hands-on experience.
“The courses are now so much more content rich,” explains Dr. Gupta. “We’ve spent time creating our courses and figuring out what is more effective when teaching online, and now we have more resources than ever. There’s a rich array of tools that students have at their disposal. No one had laptops when we began this program, but now every student has a laptop and smartphone. The portability access we have now is a huge plus to both students and faculty.”
Dr. Udombon agrees that the WebMBA has seen many improvements over the years. And credits the collaborative nature of the program with its ability to identify new opportunities and respond to changing trends.
“The fact that we’re able to collaborate across seven different universities is a beautiful aspect of our program,” Dr. Udombon said. “Over the years, we’ve updated our curriculum to ensure students are able to gain real-world knowledge in their courses. Our program has evolved and continues to evolve. It’s very student-focused because we want our students to succeed.”
While many things have changed over the years, a few aspects of the WebMBA have remained the same: namely in that it is team-based and accelerated. The program has been a team-based program since its inception, grouping students into teams of 4-6 who work together on various projects through the duration of their time in the program. And that duration is only 5 consecutive semesters, no matter when a student enrolls.
“Students want the flexibility to earn an MBA degree while continuing to work,” Dr. Cheramie said. “The WebMBA provides a quality program that is cohort-based, allowing students to stay on track to graduation while working and interacting with fellow students through their teams. I believe the teaming aspect provides the human interaction and support that helps students be successful throughout the program.”
Students who graduated from the program share that sentiment, stating that they found great value in their teammates.
“The program is great for teaching you how to interact with different types of people. In life, you won’t always be surrounded by people who think or act like you, and this program helped me to understand that,” said WebMBA Alumna Jessica Thompson, who works as a Controller. “My most memorable moments in the program were getting to know my teammates. We spent a lot of time together and became like family. We were there for each other during some pretty memorable moments in our lives.”
Fellow Alumnus and Area Director for the UGA Small Business Development Center at the University of West Georgia Troy Vollenweider agrees, adding that the extended network of alumni, students, professors and staff across all seven consortium institutions has proven rewarding.
"I have stayed in touch with team members, cohort members, and other program alumni in my professional and personal life. I have connected with many program alums for professional projects; that has shown me the value of the whole WebMBA network,” Vollenweider said. "The WebMBA experience has provided me with opportunities beyond my expectations. It has opened so many professional doors and personal friendships; I honestly had no idea how much it would shape my life and growth."
Thompson echoed these statements, saying her time in the WebMBA gave her the unexpected confidence to pursue a promotion and manage her team effectively. She said she was able to take lessons she was learning in her courses and apply them to her daily work.
“I often get emails from students saying that they are currently implementing what they just learned in class, and it’s working,” Dr. Gupta shared. “I love those emails, because that’s what this program is all about. If you can take a handful of the tools I’m teaching and immediately use them at work, that’s a win.”
Dr. Allen Amason, Dean of the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University and Lead Dean of the WebMBA, says such feedback from students is a testament to the program’s value to both students and businesses.
“In a constantly changing world with an ever-changing workforce, we continue to graduate professionals who are ready to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to create value for themselves and their employers,” Dr. Amason said.
WebMBA Managing Director Angelia Huggins, who has led the program for the last 12 years, says it has truly been an honor to work with so many people across seven institutions and to be able to provide a one-of-a-kind opportunity to students.
“This is a truly unique program,” Huggins said. “And all of these excellent people coming together is what makes it a real success. Getting to be a part of that collaboration is amazing. It’s second only to seeing the impact that this program has had on students’ lives, to watching them grow as people and professionals and go out into the world and achieve their ambitions. Because that’s our goal: to empower students through education.”
The WebMBA is an AACSB-accredited, team-based Master’s in Business Administration consortium online program. Seven colleges of business from the University System of Georgia work together to deliver the WebMBA. The consortium includes Augusta University, Columbus State University, Georgia College & State University, Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, University of West Georgia, and Valdosta State University. The WebMBA admits students from anywhere in the world with no out-of-state tuition for Fall and Spring semester starts. Students complete the program in five consecutive semesters. To learn more about the WebMBA, visit https://www.webmbaonline.org.
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