There are other courses available that are not shown in this list. These courses will be discussed in further meetings.

Pre-MBA Program Structure

The program consists of three (3) sessions, each session of 6 week duration. There is a two-week interval between sessions. Thus the total program duration is 6 months. Two programs can be offered every year.

Course Structure

• Weeks 1-2: Self study
  Students will be provided with course material (Notes, CDs, Course Syllabus, and Homework Assignments)
• Weeks 3-4: In-class lectures
  Professors from the USA/Europe/Asia will provide in class lectures. One class will be taught from 0900 - 1200 hrs. and the second class will be taught from 1300 - 1600 hrs.

  Classes will be scheduled from Monday thru Friday (Intensive executive program format). Professor will be available during the weeks for questions, discussions, etc.

• Week 5: Exam preparation (silent) week
• Week 6: Final Exam Comprehensive exam. Exam will be over the internet/email, including all exam formats (Essays, multiple choice, etc). A proctor and access to computers will be required.

Objectives of pre-MBA
This program has two objectives:

• Ensure that students are proficient in the English Language including oral and written communications, comprehension and business presentations. Students should be able to sit for either the TOEFL/IELTS at the end of the pre-MBA and score very well. The analytical ability (from other 4 classes) and their English Language skills should also help them perform very well in their GMAT exam, if they desire to continue studies overseas.
• The pre-MBA is also essential in monitoring the quality of students who are admitted into the (PCU) degree program. The quality of the MBA degree program is very high and very demanding. Hence, we have to have a method of knowing the preparedness of students entering into the degree program. The only way we can control the program quality is through the Pre-MBA program

Related Issues:

• A program manager should be appointed. This person will manage the program locally and serve as the liaison with 101 Business, LLC
• Minimum enrollment: 25 students

All the above issues as well as issues of revenue sharing, program costs and other administrative/financial/logistical issues require further discussion.

MBA

The MBA program is conducted in two stages. Stage 1 is the pre-MBA program and Stage 2 is the MBA (degree) program.

Stage 1: 9 month Pre-MBA (Diploma) program

Every student seeking admission in the MBA degree program must undertake the pre-MBA program. All students who successfully complete this part of the program will gain automatic admission into the MBA degree program. The pre-MBA program will consist of 6 classes (two terms of 4.5 months each), each class will be of a six (6) week duration. Program delivery will be as follows:

2 weeks: Online & self-study
2 Weeks: Classroom instructions provided by faculty from the United States.
(3 hours per day, Monday - Thursday, for two weeks)
2 Weeks: Preparation and Exam. Examination is online.

First term: Students will be required to take three classes (Business Statistics, Financial Accounting and Business Communications I). Each class is 1.5 months duration. We should allow students to enter the program on a rotational basis (can take any one of 3 classes and rotate on the other two). This way you have three entry points instead of one (lock-step) and this allows you to include more students in the program. We are following this model in other countries as well.

Second term: Students take Managerial Economics and Business Computing first and then the last class they take is Business Communications II( pre-MBA Capstone). Then they have a comprehensive final exam. Based on their performance, they gain admission into the University’s degree program. Others who do not qualify (who fail comprehensive exam) get a diploma in Business Technology.

Objectives of pre-MBA

This program has two objectives:

• Ensure that students are proficient in the English Language including oral and written communications, comprehension and business presentations. Students should be able to sit for either the TOEFL/IELTS at the end of the pre-MBA and score very well. The analytical ability (from other 4 classes) and their English Language skills should also help them perform very well in their GMAT exam, if they undertake it. Note: Students joining the 1 year MBA degree program will not be required to take the GMAT exam.
• The pre-MBA is also essential in monitoring the quality of students who are admitted into the degree program. The quality of the MBA degree program is very high and very demanding. Hence, we have to have a method of knowing the preparedness of students entering into the degree program. The only way we can control the program quality is through the Pre-MBA program.

Students seeking admission into the pre-MBA program will have to provide proof of eligibility including undergraduate transcripts, English language ability, letters of recommendation, etc. To enter the Degree program, students must be completely successful in the pre-MBA program. Thus the Pre-MBA program will act as a screen to weed out weaker students (Quality control).

Stage 2: 1 year MBA degree program

The MBA program will consist of 8 classes, each class lasting 6 weeks. The course format will be very similar to the pre-MBA program. The classes are:

• Organizational Behavior
• Business Law and Ethics
• Marketing Management
• Management Information Systems
• Operations Management
• Financial Management
• Organization Structure
• Business Strategy (Capstone)

Students may also take three (3) additional classes and specialize in the following fields:

• Marketing
• Information Technology Management
• Management
• Finance, etc.

Stage 2A: 1 year MBA in Financial Planning degree program

The MBA in Financial Planning has the same pre-MBA (stage 1) requirements as the General MBA.

The main reason for a departure of an International curriculum from the U.S. curriculum are the national differences in rules, regulations, structures, instruments, etc. in every field of financial planning. Yet, if one considers the individual’s financial planning needs, it is easy to observe its very universal nature. For example, individuals are concerned with their children’s education, retirement; need to plan for an unforeseen demise, minimizing taxes, etc. Thus, an international curriculum which is based on needs analysis should provide a much more flexible framework to deliver core knowledge/skills components that train planners to assess situations and provide solutions. It is interesting to note that the U.S. curriculum inherently understands and incorporates this framework within the individual courses (Investments, Insurance, etc.) but cannot explicitly do so because of the maturity of the program itself. An analogy would be like the US understanding the benefits of a metric system but incapable of changing into the system.

The MBA program will consist of 8 classes, each class lasting 6 weeks. The course format will be very similar to the pre-MBA program. The classes are:

Course 1: Principles of Finance
This is the general foundation level course in finance and is a standard requirement to build a program on financial planning. This course would include material on Financial Statements Analysis, Time Value of Money, Valuation of Securities, Valuation of Closely Held Companies, Project Finance (Capital Budgeting and Structure), etc.

Course 2: Principles of Personal Financial Planning.
This course would include topics of primary (foundational) concern such as Basic Taxation, Macroeconomic environment, Personal Financial Analysis, Planning & Budgeting, Client Counseling & Behavioral Issues, Practice Management, Ethical concerns, etc.

Course 3: Intermediate Personal Financial Planning
This course would introduce students to advanced issues in Investments, Estate Planning and Insurance

Life Planning Series: 3 Courses

Course 4: Financial Control
This course would look at financial planning needs during the gainfully employed period of a client. Thus, the class would begin by understanding issues in employee benefits, savings and investments for the acquisition of real and financial assets and retirement needs, risk management, planning for children’s education, etc.

Course 5: Retirement Planning
This course looks at that period in time beginning at some point before retirement (about 5 years before) through the retirement years. Issues regarding retirement fund accumulation, portfolio structuring and management, healthcare and long term care, budgeting and planning, etc. are considered in this course

Course 6: Succession and Continuation Planning
This course looks at the issues surrounding mortem and post-mortem transitions. Topics include the understanding of testamentary documents, wealth transfer vehicles (Trusts, Gifts, Real/Financial Assets, etc.) and issues regarding longevity planning.

Note: each of the above three courses will have overlapping planning fields (times) - which is as it should be for life transitional phases.

Course 7: Capstone in Personal Financial Planning
This course could be a simultaneous and two-tiered class. One part should be an overview/recap of everything learnt in all previous classes while the other part would be devoted to their applications in comprehensive case studies. Thus the course would both refresh all acquired knowledge and skill sets while at the same time elaborating how these different fields come together for clients (Cases) in a holistic manner.

Course 8: Finally, thought should be given about a class that is tailored towards the idiosyncratic issues of each national system.