Information Security MBA Program - Prospective Students

Prospective Students

Thank you for your interest in the JMU INFOSEC MBA program. If you have questions or would like an information packet sent to you please send your name and mailing address to mba@jmu.edu.

Program Length

The MBA Program with a concentration in information security began in August 2000 with its first cohort group of 17 students. A second cohort started April 2002 with 27 students. A third cohort began in April 2003 with 23 students. A fourth cohort started April 2004 with 20 students. The fifth cohort started April 2005. The sixth cohort started December 2006 with 22 students. Cohort 7 started in April 2006 with 20 students. Cohort 8 is scheduled to start April 27, 2007. Cohort 1 is planned to start August 24, 2007 in Los Angeles.

Each cohort group moves through the 14 sequenced courses together during a 26-month period. This provides the students with a well-paced educational experience as well as a familiar peer group with which to discuss course topics and issues. It is planned that no more than five or six students in each cohort will be from any one organization.

Remote Learning

Aside from the initial four hours face-to-face meeting at the beginning and ending of every course, the Infosec MBA is completely Web delivered. Our Internet-based remote learning program employs the latest modes of delivery and allows students to learn, complete assignments and interact with faculty at any time and from anywhere. It's truly the future of learning and its format fits this curriculum.

At the beginning and ending of each course, cohort groups meet for four hours on a Saturday in Northern Virginia. The location is a short drive from Dulles International Airport and is convenient to the Washington Beltway. Students receive course information on information security and text two weeks before the initial meeting. Additionally, a West Coast version of this program is planned to begin August 25, 2006 in Los Angeles (hotel to be assigned).

Prerequisites

Applicants to the MBA Infosec graduate program who do not have a Bachelor of Business Administration degree are required to successfully complete up to six self-paced, internet-based MBA five hundred level courses. Each of the six courses is offered in a block system 3 times per year. First block fall semester is MBA 501, 502, and 503. Second block fall semester is MBA 504, 505, and 506. This same sequence takes place in the spring and summer semesters. Each course is three credit hours. Course listings are presented below:

MBA 501 Management and Organizational Behavior
MBA 502 Statistics and Management Science
MBA 503 Financial Accounting
MBA 504 Managerial Finance
MBA 505 Foundations of Economics
MBA 506 Legal Environment of Business

Each course is offered three times a year and is 100% self-paced. Further, each course requires eight weeks to complete. The advantages of this option are: (1) Each course consumes only half the time of its undergraduate equivalent so that two MBA 500-level courses can be completed in the same time it takes to complete one undergraduate course; and (2) Students who are employed full-time can work on these courses at their convenience rather than having to come to campus at times that may conflict with their travel or work schedules.

Register for Online Pre-requisite 500-Level Courses

With the MBA Program
Students need to take certain steps to gain access to this online program. If a student fails to follow these steps, he or she will not be able to start his or her online prerequisites at the beginning of the limited allotted time.
To register for an online prerequisite course, please e-mail the MBA Program Office at mba@jmu.edu and include the following information:

Name
Course Requested
Semester Requested

The MBA Program Office will then provide you with the link to the College of Graduate and Outreach Programs page to fill out the correct form. Once the form is completed and paid for (a $15 fee) the MBA Office will recieve the form, we will sign it and forward it to the correct office and you will be registered. When this is completed, the student will be contacted. At this point, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the Univertisy Business Office to make arrangements to pay tuition. Please phone (540) 568-6505 or mail the payment to the University Business Office, James Madison University, MSC 3516, Harrisonburg, VA 22807.

The following credit cards are allowed for payment:

Discover
MasterCard
American Express

Important note - Include the credit card expiration date and a daytime phone number when mailing payment information.

With the JMU College of Graduate and Professional Programs
Students who are not accepted into the MBA Program need to fill out a Special Student Form with the Professional Programs Office. Please go to http://www.jmu.edu/cgop/forms.shtml and complete this form.

Important note - You can access your JMU e-mail account and password only after this process is completed.

Register for Blackboard Software

(used in 500-level prerequisite courses)

Step One
You need a JMU e-mail account and password. Go to http://www.jmu.edu/accounts to establish your e-mail account. Your JMU password allows you to access Blackboard, the online software program used with classes. If you have difficulties with this procedure, contact our JMU Help Desk at (540) 568-3555. Please wait about 24 hours after you have completed this step before starting the next step.

Step Two
When you are registered for the 500-level prerequisite course, you are automatically enrolled in Blackboard. To access a course, type http://blackboard.jmu.edu into your browser and login using your Blackboard userid and password. Your Blackboard userid is the same as your JMU e-mail userid. If you have never logged into Blackboard before, or you have forgotten your password, click the button "Forgot Your Password?" and follow the directions to make your Blackboard password the same as your JMU e-mail password. Once you have done that, click the link that says "Back to Blackboard" and on the resulting page click the button that says "Login." Enter your username and password and click OK. You will now see your “My Blackboard” homepage. The course name should be listed under "My Courses." Click on the course name to access the course.

MBA 500 Level Class Information

Course Number and Name	Professor	Textbook
MBA 501. Management and Organizational Behavior	Carol Hamilton (540) 568-3412 hamil1cw@jmu.edu	To Be Announced

MBA 502. Statistics and Management Science	Scott P. Stevens (504) 568-3060 stevensp@jmu.edu	Introduction to Statistical Reasoning by Gary Smith, McGraw Hill 1998

MBA 503. Financial Accounting	Michael P. Riordan (504) 568-3209 riordamp@jmu.edu	Financial Accounting Concepts, by Edmonds/McNair/Milam/Olds 4th Edition Irwin, McGraw ISBN: Waiting on Info.

MBA 504. Managerial Finance	Hugh Hobson (504) 568-3277 hobsonha@jmu.edu	Practical Financial Management by William E. Lasher, 1st Edition

MBA 505. Foundations of Economics	Phil Heap (504) 568-3031 heapps@jmu.edu	Essentials of Economics, Gregory Mankiw, ISBN #0-324-17191-9, Southwestern.

MBA 506. Legal Environment of Business	Mark L. Usry (540) 568-3069 usryml@jmu.edu	The Legal and Regulatory Environment, 2nd Edition Cheeseman Prentice Hall ISBN: 0-13-013739-1

Core Courses

The 2005-06 Graduate Catalog contains detailed information about the required core courses along with specific details about the Information Security concentration.

Summer 2006 Course Schedule

On-Line Pre-Requisites 1st six weeks
Start: May 15	End: June 23	MBA 501 Management & Organizational Behavior	MBA 502 Statistics & Management Science	MBA 503 Financial Accounting
On-Line Pre-Requisites 2nd six weeks
Start: June 26	End: August 4	MBA 504 Managerial Finance	MBA 505 Foundations of Economics	MBA 506 Legal Environment of Business

Fall 2006 Course Schedule

On-Line Pre-Requisites 1st six weeks
Start: August 28	End: October 13	MBA 501 Management & Organizational Behavior	MBA 502 Statistics & Management Science	MBA 503 Financial Accounting
On-Line Pre-Req's 2nd six weeks
Start: October 16	End: December 15	MBA 504 Managerial Finance	MBA 505 Foundations of Economics	MBA 506 Legal Environment of Business

Tuition

Please see the University Business Office site for tuition fees.

System requirements for Centra (keep in mind these are minimum requirements):

System Requirements
Windows 98, 2000, XP

Internet Explorer 5.0 and later. Netscape 4.5x, 4.7x, 7.0 or later (SSL events require IE 5.01 or later)

28.8 kbps or faster Internet connection

P133+ MHz, 64+ MB memory

800x600 or higher display resolution

Internet Voice (VOIP) Requirements
VOIP audio is not required for events that use telephone for audio. Some events may not require you to have a microphone. Check with your event organizer for specific event requirements.

sound card, speakers

microphone

At some point will probably be a version compatible with Windows Vista.

As far as network connectivity, Centra will run over dial-up but it is not reliable and can be very frustrating during live sessions.

DSL, Cable Modem, or faster is recommened.