Quinnipiac University: Master of Science in Information Technology

Accelerate Your IT Career

The MSIT is a business degree for people who manage information technology systems and staff, or who aspire to be IT managers. Quinnipiac University began the Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) program in 2001 directly in response to a growing industry need for leaders in IT management.

The Leading Edge

Unlike other programs taught in engineering departments, the QU MSIT is taught in Quinnipiac’s School of Business. It combines in-depth grounding in current IT technologies and a practical, hands-on business format. This is the leading edge where there are very few competing programs.

Rigorous and Fast Paced

This rigorous, fast-paced, and demanding curriculum appeals strongly to working IT professionals preparing to move into management. The program may also be appropriate for people in fields with intensive IT support experience or for recent undergraduates with IT degrees who wish to enter the job market with a competitive edge.

Meets the Demands of Working Professionals

Originally taught on campus, the MSIT moved to a completely online curriculum in 2010, in response to requests from working professionals asking for a more flexible schedule. Coursework remains cutting edge, team based, and collaborative.

Highly Supportive

With a cohort of experienced IT professionals from around the country, a highly collaborative environment, and a current student-to-faculty ratio of only 10:1, student support is a hallmark of Quinnipiac’s MSIT program. Students connect and learn from each other and from the individual attention of our distinguished professors.

Master of Business Administration

The Master of Business Administration (MBA or M.B.A.) is a master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out scientific approaches to management. The core courses in the MBA program are designed to introduce students to the various areas of business such as accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, operations management, etc. Students in MBA programs have the option of taking general business courses throughout the program or can select an area of concentration and focus approximately one-fourth of their studies in this subject.

Accreditation bodies exist specifically for MBA programs to ensure consistency and quality of graduate business education. Business schools in many countries offer MBA programs tailored to full-time, part-time, executive, and distance learning students, with specialized concentrations.

History

The first graduate school of business in the United States was the Tuck School of Business, part of Dartmouth College Founded in 1900, it was the first institution conferring advanced degrees (masters) in the commercial sciences, specifically, a Master of Science in Commerce degree, the forebear of the modern MBA degree.
In 1908, the Graduate School of Business Administration (GSBA) at Harvard University was established; it offered the world's first MBA program, with a faculty of 15 plus 33 regular students and 47 special students.
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business first offered working professionals the Executive MBA (EMBA) program in 1943, first available in permanent campus in three continents (Chicago, London and Singapore) and this type of program is offered by most business schools today.
In 1946, Thunderbird School of Global Management was the first school to offer an MBA program focused on global management.
In 1950, the first MBA degrees awarded outside the United States were by the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario in Canada, followed in 1951 with the degree awarded by the University of Pretoria in South Africa. In 1955, the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi was established under the University of Karachi in Pakistan, in collaboration with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and became the first Asian business school to offer an MBA program under the US MBA model. In 1957, INSEAD became the first European business school to offer an MBA program. In 1986, the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College (Florida) was the first MBA program to require every student to have a laptop computer in the classroom. Initially, professors wheeled a cart of laptops into the classroom.
The MBA degree has been adopted by universities worldwide, and has been adopted and adapted by both developed and developing countries.

Program content

Most top MBA programs cover similar subjects within their core required courses. For information about the typical content of an MBA program's core curriculum, see the overview at the Wikiversity MBA topic page. MBA programs expose students to a variety of subjects, which students may choose to specialize in a particular area. Students traditionally study a wide breadth of courses in the program's first year, then pursue a specialized curriculum in the second year. Full-time students typically seek an internship during the interim. Typical specializations include: accounting, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, international business, management science, marketing, operations management, organizational behavior, project management, real estate, and strategy, among others.
Many individuals choosing a specialized field of study, such as real estate or accounting, are well-suited for their respective industries through pursuing a Master of Real Estate Development or Master of Science in Accounting degree, for example. Other specialized programs include Master of Science in Finance, Master of Science in Information Systems, Master of Science in Supply Chain Management.

MBA degree and current financial crisis

The Financial crisis of 2007–2010 has raised new challenges and questions regarding the MBA degree. Graduates of MBA programs have a reported tendency to go into Finance shortly after receiving the degree. As the field of Finance is tightly linked to the global economic downturn, anecdotal evidence suggests new graduates are stepping onto alternate paths.

Deans at top business schools have acknowledged media and public perception of the MBA has shown some shifts as a result of the financial crisis.
Articles about public perception related to the crisis range from schools' acknowledgment of issues related to the training students receive to criticisms of the MBA's role in society.

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program is a professional credential offered by the CFA Institute (formerly AIMR) to investment and financial professionals. A candidate who successfully completes the program and meets other professional requirements is awarded a "CFA charter" and becomes a "CFA charterholder".

The CFA designation

The CFA charter is a qualification for finance and investment professionals, particularly in the fields of investment management and financial analysis of stocks, bonds and their derivative assets. The program focuses on portfolio management and financial analysis, and provides a generalist knowledge of other areas of finance. Additionally, the CFA charter has experienced increasing relevance and demand within corporate finance.

The CFA designation was first awarded in 1963. As of March 2012, CFA Institute has about 107,000 members in 138 countries around the world, including about 98,000 CFA charterholders.

Requirements

To become a charterholder a candidate must satisfy the following requirements.

• Have four years (48 months) of qualified work experience (or a combination of education and work experience acceptable by the CFA Institute). However individual level exams may be written prior to satisfying this requirement
• Complete the CFA Program (mastery of the current CFA curriculum and passing three six-hour examinations)
• Become a member of the CFA Institute and apply for membership to a local CFA member society
• Adhere to the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct

Independent of any other requirements for becoming a charterholder, the CFA Program takes an average of four years for candidates to complete.

History

 The predecessor of CFA Institute, the Financial Analysts Federation (FAF), was established in 1947 as a service organization for investment professionals in its societies and chapters. The earliest CFA charter holders were "grandfathered" in through work experience only. Then, the series of three exams was established along with requirements to being a practitioner for several years to qualify to take the exams. In 1990, in hopes of boosting the credential's public profile, CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management and Research or AIMR) was created from the merger of the FAF and the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts (ICFA). The CFA program began in the United States but has become increasingly international with many people becoming charter-holders across Europe, Asia and Australia. By 2003 fewer than half the candidates in the CFA program were based in the US and Canada, with most of the other candidates based in Asia or Europe. India and China have shown some of the highest growth from 2005 to 2006 with increases of 25% and 53% respectively in the total number of charterholders.

Process

The basic requirements for participation in the CFA Program include holding or being in the final year of a university degree (or equivalent as assessed by CFA Institute), or having four years of qualified, professional work experience in an investment decision-making process. To obtain the charter, however, a candidate must have completed a university degree (or equivalent) and four years of qualified, professional work experience, in addition to passing the three exams that test the academic portion of the CFA program, as discussed below.

Candidates take one exam per year over three years (assuming a pass on the first attempt). Fees as of December 2009 for each exam range from $710 to $955, depending on the date on which the candidate registers to take the exam, plus an additional $400 to $480 for program enrollment for new members. Exams are challenging, with 38% passing the Level I, 42% passing Level II, and 52% passing Level III exam in June 2012. It should be noted that level 2 and 3 pass rates apply to candidates that must have already passed the prior level.

All three exams are administered on paper on a single day; the Level I exam is administered twice a year (usually the first weekend of June and December). The Level II and III exams are administered once a year, usually the first weekend of June. Each exam consists of two three-hour sessions. Level I has 240 independent, multiple-choice questions - all information required to answer the question is contained in the question. Level II has 120 multiple-choice questions, organized as 20 six-question item sets, each set having its own vignette of facts. To answer each question, the candidate must refer to the vignette as there is insufficient information in the question stem. Level III consists of a session of constructive response, essay-type questions, and a session of 10 six-question item sets as in the Level II exam. On the multiple-choice/item set sections, there is no penalty for wrong answers. For the test, only two models of calculator are allowed (the Hewlett Packard 12C including the HP 12C Platinum, and the Texas Instruments BA II Plus including the BA II Plus Professional).

Candidates who have taken the exam receive a score report that is intended to be fairly unspecific: there is no overall score for the test, only a Pass/Fail result, and a range within which his or her performance for each topic area falls: below 50%, between 50% and 70%, and above 70%. Additionally, failing candidates are informed of their decile rank within the body of failing candidates. The passing grade for the exams had been defined as 70% of the top percentage of exam papers until 1989; since then, the grading method is not explicitly published and the minimum passing score is set by the Board of Governors after each exam. The Board of Governors reviews the results of the standard setting process and input from psychometricians.

Standard setting is a process that defines the passing score of the exam. The CFA exam utilizes the modified Angoff method which is a commonly used approach to setting standards for certification and licensure examinations. Subject matter experts review the exam and recommend a minimum passing score for the "just-qualified candidate". The minimum passing scores are presented to the Board of Governors in a report. The Board of Governors is not bound by this recommendation, but does recognize it as very important information.

London School of Business and Finance

The London School of Business and Finance (informally LSBF) is a private business school based in London, United Kingdom. It offers Master's degree programmes in management, finance and marketing; bachelor degrees; executive and corporate training; and professional qualification training for the ACCA, CFA, CIM and CIMA qualifications. LSBF's programmes are currently validated by partner institutions including the University of Bradford, the University of Central Lancashire, Grenoble Graduate School of Business and London Metropolitan University.

LSBF is based in Holborn, with two campuses in central London. In addition the school has campuses in Manchester and Birmingham, United Kingdom; Toronto, Canada; and Singapore. LSBF's teaching and education philosophy is based on offering students the opportunity to pursue both an academic degree and a professional qualification simultaneously.

History

The London School of Business and Finance was founded by Aaron Etingen in 2003. It began as a provider of accountancy and finance programmes and training for professional qualifications such as ACCA and CIMA, later expanding to provide undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in partnership with other higher education institutions.

LSBF opened its first campus outside of the UK in Toronto, Canada, in February 2011. In June 2011, LSBF opened an institute in Singapore, the first Asia-Pacific campus of a UK-based business school. At both international campuses, the school provides accounting programmes and professional qualification training.

In October 2011, the British television channel BBC Three featured the LSBF School of English in a documentary about a group of young immigrants who went to the UK to realise their professional ambitions. One of the students was an LSBF student who enrolled for an English course to be prepared for an important job interview.

In December 2011, the comedian Jo Brand interviewed a group of LSBF business students at the LSBF's London campus as part of a programme which was broadcast on BBC4 in February 2012.

The school also has a partnership with the India-based education provider CL Educate.
In 2012, LSBF formed a partnership with London Metropolitan University, as part of which a suite of new London Metropolitan University-validated undergraduate, postgraduate and professional programmes will be delivered by LSBF at its UK campuses, for both UK and international students.
In August 2012 after a visit from the concerns team LSBF faced wide ranging criticism from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education over its academic standards and quality of delivery. The report referred to a disputed agreement between the LSBF Group and the University of Wales, which has now ended.

Academics

Programmes

LSBF collaborates with Grenoble Graduate School of Business to provide two year Master’s degree programmes including MBA, MSc in Finance, and Master of International Business (MIB) and MSc Fashion and Luxury Management in addition to one undergraduate degree, the Bachelor in International Business. The school also provides dual MBA programs, which combine an MBA degree with another program, such as ACCA, CFA or CIMA.

In partnership with the London Metropolitan University, LSBF offers a range of undergraduate, postgraduate and professional programmes, including MBA Global, MSc Finance & Investment, BSc Business Management and Diplomas in Accounting & Finance and Strategic & Financial Management.
With the University Of Central Lancashire (UCLAN), LSBF delivers a range of undergraduate programmes including Bachelors in Business Administration, Bachelors in Accounting & Financial Studies and LLB Law.
LSBF offers an LLM in International Business Law in association with Bradford University.
LSBF is also certified by the ACCA for tuition for the Diploma in Financial Management 

Online programmes

LSBF delivers a wide range of programmes through the e-learning platform InterActive. This includes MBA, MSc in Finance, MSc in Marketing, ACCA, CIMA, CFA and a range of over 20 online Postgraduate Certificates. Through InterActive, students have access to online classrooms, discussion forums and a range of resources including live and recorded video lectures, 24-hour technical support service, online library and Harvard Business School 'Case in Point' publications to support their learning activities.

In 2010 LSBF developed two applications using the social media platform Facebook: The LSBF Prep Centre for ACCA, a comprehensive study resource for students of ACCA, and the LSBF Global MBA, the world's first Master’s degree that is delivered entirely on Facebook, in a ‘try before you buy’ manner. Both applications offer study material that is available for all to view, free of charge.

Students of the LSBF Global MBA have an additional option to opt in for evaluation and pay for their qualification.

Scholarships and bursaries

LSBF's patron, Prince Michael of Kent, sponsors a scholarship scheme at the LSBF for students from emerging markets countries. LSBF's other scholarship programmes include a Corporate scholarship, with a focus on connecting students directly with corporate employers via the LSBF Corporate Division, and The Women in Business Scholarship, intended to help more females to become corporate leaders. There are also scholarships sponsored by LSBF's Principal and Vice Rector.

LSBF offers bursaries to Singaporean students who have completed the ACCA to pursue Master's degrees online, or in the UK.

QAA assessment

LSBF were visited by the QAA as part of an investigation into ultimately well-founded concerns about the poor standards and quality of higher education offered at LSBF. The report was released to the public on 9 August 2012. The investigating team found that a partnership between LSBF and the University of Wales had recruited more students than its resource base justified, placing an intolerable burden on physical and human resources. The report stated that LSBF had recruited students to pathways which were not validated (no award would be received from the University) despite advertising these courses as validated. They also expressed deep concerns over the technical and English language competence of some staff, a lack of transparency over bottom-line fees, alleged misinformation over visa working restrictions, confusion over the availability of some pathways, the non-availability of some textbooks, and the limited usefulness of the evaluation and representative systems. It went on to state that a number of weaknesses were attributable to a range of factors including institutional immaturity and an inadequate understanding of the expectations of a higher education provider in the UK. It found that in one intake 54% of the students had complained about the poor quality of LSBF education. Furthermore, it stated that the admissions process (largely devolved to FBT/LSBF from the University) was insufficiently closely managed, and led to the acceptance of many inappropriate students. It concluded that more recently LSBF had put in place measures to strengthen its quality management arrangements, but nonetheless requested it to report within 6 weeks an action plan to address the issues. In reference to the QAA report in 2012 the Times Higher Education reported that "Watchdog sniffs out business school failures". The article relates to the Birmingham-based Finance Business Training, which is jointly run with the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF), accepted "many inappropriate students" and at one point had a student complaint rate of 54 per cent, the agency found during an investigation between January and April. The report says that there have been "significant improvements" in a number of areas, including teaching quality. However, claims that the problems had been "decisively corrected" understate "the nature and extent of the challenges". The two colleges have the same principal and academic framework, and began validation agreements with London Metropolitan University in April after the Wales partnership ended in November 2011. LSBF's new academic partner London Metropolitan Universities tier 4 sponsor license was suspended in July 2012. London Met said that it had been aware of a "range of concerns" at the institutions when it announced a "large-scale" validation scheme in April, and that it was working to ensure compliance with the QAA. LSBF are not a degree awarding power and therefore rely on UK Universites to validate and award their qualifications.

Griffith College ACCA School

Griffith College ACCA School is committed to the facilitation of all ACCA students. So whether you are in rural Ireland or a busy parent, Griffith College can come to you. Griffith College offers ACCA Distance Learning Courses in the Irish Variant – now with the added option of online video support for a wide selection of papers. The programme is designed for you as a student studying predominantly on their own with online support. It is structured in such a way as to promote self-managed learning. The course incorporates activities throughout to help consolidate your learning and give you the opportunity to relate your knowledge to a practical, workplace situation.

Subjects Provided

• F1 Accountant in Business (Inclusive of Recorded Lectures/Classes)
• F2 Management Accounting (Inclusive of Recorded Lectures/Classes)
• F3 Financial Accounting Int (Inclusive of Recorded Lectures/Classes)
• F4 Corporate and Business Law  (Inclusive of Recorded Lectures/Classes)
• F5 Performance Management (Inclusive of Recorded Lectures/Classes)
• F6 Taxation (Inclusive of Recorded Lectures/Classes)
• F7 Financial Reporting ((Inclusive of Recorded Lectures/Classes)
• F8 Audit & Assurance (Inclusive of Recorded Lectures/Classes)s)
• F9 Financial Management (Inclusive of Recorded Lectures/Classe

The Distance Learning Program will provide the following benefits:

• Recorded Lectures/Classes available to students to view and review One to One advice from a tutor
• Indepth Course Material
• Mock Exams
• Access to student intranet (moodle.gcd.ie)
• Marked Homework
• Revision Courses at discounted prices

Kaplan Financial Ltd

Kaplan Financial Ltd was founded in 1958 and is one of the UK’s leading providers of training in accountancy and financial services. Kaplan Financial is part of Kaplan Inc., a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO). Kaplan Financial has been providing professional accountancy, tax and financial qualifications for more than 50 years. It serves more than 48,000 students a year, both in the UK and overseas. Kaplan Financial offers courses in 28 training centres throughout the UK as well as home study and online learning.

Kaplan Financial prepares students for professional accountancy and tax exams including the AAT, ACA, ACCA, and CIMA, and investment qualifications such as CFA, CAIA, FRM, IAQ, IMC and SII. Kaplan Financial also offers a range of postgraduate courses including MBA, MA and MSc, as well as management and personnel qualifications.

History

Kaplan Financial was formerly known as the Financial Training Company, then as FTC Kaplan after its acquisition in February 2003 by Kaplan, Inc., a global provider of education and training services. FTC also produced exam-focussed study materials, test prep and courses for the American Academy of Financial Management, AAT, ACCA and CIMA that were also used widely in other training institutions in the public and private sectors. These materials are now produced by Kaplan Publishing, another company in the Kaplan group.

Acquisitions

Major acquisitions in the last decade include:

• 2003—UK Accountancy Tuition Centres Ltd (ATC), provider of accountancy and professional training in the UK
• 2003—Emile Woolf Colleges Ltd., provider of CIMA and ACCA training
• 2003—AT Foulks Lynch Ltd., publisher of accountancy training materials for ACCA, CIMA, AAT and CAT syllabi
• 2003—Portman College of Management, a Newcastle-based professional school offering management training programmes
• 2008—Hawksmere Limited, a London-based training and conference provider
• 2009—West of England Language Services Limited (WELS), an international group of English language schools located in the United States, Australia, and the UK

Awards

In July 2009 Kaplan Financial was the first ACCA distance learning provider to be awarded Platinum status by the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants). This is the highest status awarded to a tuition provider.