"California Lutheran University is launching an online MBA program in financial planning that educators say is the first of its kind. Beginning in January, students will have the opportunity to get certified via live chat rooms, e-mail, message boards, Web pages, Power Point presentations and pre-recorded lectures.
People who complete the course successfully are eligible to sit for the CFP Certification Examination, said Somnath Basu, director of the California Institute of Finance and a finance professor in the School of Business at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.
‘This is rare because there are only 14 programs in the country with an MBA in financial planning, and none of them are online,’ Basu said.
The CLU campus offers the only CFP board-registered program that features an online master of business administration program geared solely toward financial services professionals, he said. The program is based on a rigorous curriculum and registered by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. in Denver, Colo.
‘We have big hopes for the future,’ said Ann Farnham, project manager for the online program. ‘The market for becoming a financial planner is huge.’…
At CLU, each virtual class contains an instructional module of pre-recorded audio lectures synchronized with PowerPoint presentations. Students spend at least three hours per week, per course online hearing lectures, reviewing lessons and taking quizzes. At least three hours of independent work is also required each week."
More for Ventura County Star website registrants at http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/business/article/0,1375,VCS_128_3395119,00.html
Registration is free.