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Online Learner Profiles: Randy

Profiles of Real Online Learners

Guide to Online Education > Online Education In-Depth > Meet Real Online Students > Randy, MBA

As a student at Western Governors University, Randy enrolled in the courses solely to learn the material, not to receive a particular grade to be submitted on a transcript for a graduation requirement. He was still required to pass the WGU competency assessment.

Competency is measured in a variety of ways including proctored essay assessments, exam assessments, and work proposals, he explains.

"Although I've worked in upper level management, there was a lot I had to come up to speed on," he says of pursuing his MBA in Information Technology Management. He identifies finance and quantitative analysis as two areas that were especially challenging.

As an IT security manager in the healthcare industry, he has not had a pressing need for microeconomics or macroeconomics on a daily basis either. His degree program allowed him to devote less time to areas where he already had a "firm grasp" and to concentrate on those areas that required more attention.

He contributed to his learning experience by forging relationships in the business community, attending seminars, and reading everything from Harvard Business School case studies to annual reports.

Finding time to delve into the material required a great deal of focus. His day job is very demanding. He arrives at the office before 6 a.m. most days to do research on his profession, write reports, and take care of other administrative tasks before his co-workers arrive at 8 a.m.

From then until the late afternoon he conducts assessments and training, develops and reviews standards and procedures, and advises executives in the end-user community on proper handling, storing, and placing the proper mitigative technologies to safeguard sensitive information.

Throughout the day he may also be called upon to switch gears and work with the architecture staff and developers to ensure that code is developed without introducing risk. Aside from occasionally doing some reading at lunch, he does not do schoolwork at work.

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