NMC and UH working to offer BBA degree

Would you like to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Hawaii without having to go to Hawaii?

An exciting relationship between Northern Marianas College and the University of Hawaii is on the horizon as two senior UH officials have arrived on Saipan to collaborate with NMC in offering a UH bachelor’s in Business Administration degree in the CNMI.

Dr. Elaine Bailey, department chair for Management at UH, and Kim Fujiuchi, director of Executive Education at UH, will be meeting with NMC president Tony Guerrero and other NMC officials to sign a Memorandum of Agreement that will commit the two institutions to work toward implementing the UH BBA program in the near future.

In an effort to expedite the planning process, former NMC president Agnes McPhetres has been appointed by UH to represent the institution in the CNMI.

A general information meeting will be held for all individuals interested in the UH BBA program.

The meeting will be held on Thursday, May 12, from 5:30pm to 6:30pm, at Room D-1 (across from the NMC bookstore), at NMC’s As Terlaje Campus. For more information, contact Eric Plinske at 235-1551

This unique program is being designed so that students would spend their first two years completing an associate of arts degree in Pre-Business at NMC prior to applying to the UH College of Business Administration. The courses in the NMC Pre-Business degree will be articulated with UH so that the credits will easily transfer.

Once admitted into the UH CBA, the student will be able to remain on Saipan and take UH courses on the NMC campus in pursuit of the BBA degree. The BBA degree will have an emphasis in Management, with the possibility of adding an emphasis in Accounting should there be sufficient demand.

“We are very pleased to be working with UH in offering their prestigious BBA degree in the CNMI. Based on prior surveys, we know there is a considerable demand in our community for this degree, and we look forward to working with UH to implement this program as soon as possible,” NMC’s Guerrero said.

He said that there are still a lot of details that need to be worked out, such as course articulation, tuition rates and class scheduling, to name a few. However, the two institutions hope to be able to offer the first BBA cohort by the spring semester of 2006.

McPhetres said the UH BBA program in the CNMI would also cater to working adults and parents raising children who are unable to leave the island to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business due to work and family obligations. According to McPhetres, the UH BBA program will most likely offer evening and weekend courses on an accelerated basis.

Established in 1949, the UH CBA is renowned for its expertise in international management education and was once again ranked among the nation’s top 20 graduate schools for international business by U.S. News & World Report this year.

Long recognized for its Asia-Pacific focus, the college offers a wide variety of degree, certificate and executive programs featuring fresh, leading-edge courses in entrepreneurship and e-commerce. It places a strong emphasis on the development of management skills, the management of business information technology and executive education.

The UH College of Business Administration is the first business program in the State of Hawaii accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business.