FAQ
Q: How much does this degree cost?
A: Please go to the following site to get the most up-to-date tuition and fees:
Q: What is the average amount of time required to complete this online degree?
A: 3 years
Q: How often are the courses offered?
A: Each course is offered at least once over a two-year period, allowing a student to obtain the full complement of required and elective courses. Quality courses which are used by other degree programs at EMU are offered more frequently.
Q: How many weeks do courses run?
A: Fall and winter online courses are offered on a semester basis (15 weeks), while spring online courses are offered on a term basis (8 weeks). The fall semester runs from September through December, the winter semester from January through April, and the spring term from May through June.
Q: How many courses do most students take during any semester or term?
A: Most students register for two courses per semester and one course during a term. Since a term is half as long as a semester but the course content and requirements remain the same, some consider the accelerated pace too burdensome to carry two courses simultaneously. In either case, the final decision is dependent on one’s personal and professional responsibilities.
A: All assignments and tests are submitted online through the Internet course using various tools such as document sharing, threaded discussion, chat rooms, and e-mail attachment. These tools are all provided as a result of registering for an online course. When assigned to online, team-based learning activities, students will correspond with fellow team members using the same tools. Professors, in turn, respond to online submissions the same way.
Q: What is the difference between a development project and a thesis?
A: Whether or not the research data are proprietary determines the primary difference between a development project and a thesis. Since most of the students in the program are employed in business or industry and conduct their graduate research in conjunction with their job, they choose to complete a development project because of the proprietary nature of their research. Finished development projects are housed in the Quality Management program office. A thesis, on the other hand, is housed in EMU’s library, is archived in an international database, and becomes public domain. A development project is equivalent to four graduate credits and exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Quality Management faculty. A thesis is equivalent to six graduate credits but is also under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School, for which the Graduate School imposes additional requirements.
Q: How long does it takes to complete a development project or thesis?
A: With sustained effort, a student could complete a development project or thesis in two consecutive semesters.
Q: Will a student ever have to travel to EMU to fulfill a residency requirement?
A: No, all degree requirements can be met solely online.
Q: What does “conditional admission” imply?
A: Conditional admission is reserved for students who do not meet the minimum academic requirements for admission (2.5 undergraduate gpa). Under the supervision of a Quality Management faculty member, a student is given an opportunity to become admissible by successfully completing twelve, graduate-credit hours of Quality Management coursework and earning no less than a B grade in each course.
Q: May a company pay for a student’s tuition using vouchers?
A: Yes, for some students this has always been the means by which they pay for their education.
Q: Does EMU online offer students an opportunity to take a course prior to gaining degree acceptance?
A: Yes, a student may register for courses through EMU’s Continuing Education by going to: www.emuonline.edu. This will give the student an opportunity to experience an online Quality Management course. The student may then decide to apply for graduate admission and apply the course to the Master of Science in Quality Management degree.
Q: What is the deadline for applying for admission to the MS in Quality Management degree program?
A: Please go to: Admissions Deadlines
Q: With appropriate background, training and/or professional experience, are course prerequisites negotiable?
A: Where students can demonstrate applicable professional experience, training, or certification, they may negotiate alternative courses with their academic adviser to customize a program of studies.
Q: Does course numbering represent any type of difficulty level?
A: With the exception of three courses (QUAL 647, QUAL 651 and QUAL 652), all other courses are 500 level. This does imply a different level of difficulty or background preparation. For example, QUAL 647, Research Methods is the course that is used to prepare students to conduct a development project or thesis. Students are required to have completed 12 credit-hours of core coursework prior to taking this class. Since the project or thesis is the culminating experience in the program, QUAL 647, Research Methods is a 600 level course, indicating that a solid background in the theory and application of quality principles must first have been attained through 500 level courses. QUAL 652, Experimental Data Analysis is definitely of a higher level of difficulty, with QUAL 551 and QUAL 651 as prerequisites.
Q: How long does it take to get accepted into the program?
A: The amount of time to be admitted to the program depends on how long it takes all of the required documentation including, official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate coursework, to reach EMU; that varies by institutions sending these documents. If EMU receives transcripts within several weeks of a student’s application for admission, it could be as early as several additional weeks. You may, however, register for a course through EMU’s Continuing Education while your graduate application is being processed by going to: www.emuonline.edu
