Furthermore, San Diego State University, California State University, San Marcos and United States International University each offer one e-business class. Up at UC Irvine, laptop computers are issued to students entering the Graduate School of Management. That sets the stage for the school's Information Technology for Management focus that integrates technology into business courses. Faculty approved that focus in 1994, the first classes were held in 1996, and UCI's techno-MBA program was ranked fifth in the nation last year by ComputerWorld magazine. Information technology management is the strength of the graduate school program, says Anne Ambrose, UCI's communications director.
Students use laptops to download lectures.
Hands-on assignments demonstrate how businesses currently use technology. For example, students use software in the marketing lab for an assignment to develop a national chain of stores. National University began offering an MS in electronic commerce in July 1998. A year later, the university went online with the 60 quarter-unit program. The university awarded 16 e-commerce degrees last July and about 20 more in December, says Peter Buletza, a professor in the School of Business and Technology.