Boston university online degree

The virtual doors have been thrown open at the hallowed halls of a Web-based executive MBA program hosted by an Ottawa software company.

Approximately 12 students are expected to begin a two-and-a-half year stint of courses ranging from technology marketing and e-commerce at Unexus, the brainchild of Learnsoft Corp. The executive MBA program, which costs $25,000, has attracted pupils from Cisco, GE Capital ITS and Atomic Energy, among others. All the students are Canadian, from Calgary to Hamilton.

Michael Gaffney, president of Learnsoft, said the beauty of learning through Unexus is the flexibility it gives its students to schedule classes when they choose. He said some will be working out of hotel rooms in Tokyo and London, England while on assignment for their companies, while others might work in the evenings at their homes.

The degree -- which is the first in Canada to be granted over the Internet -- is called an "executive" masters in business administration, due to the average age of the students, which hovers around the 40 mark. The hard part, Gaffney said, will be to create the sort of credibility enjoyed by Ivy-league brick-and-mortar institutions.

"We've got to build it from scratch," he said. "Education is one of those things where brand is built on longevity, not on how good your product was last year."

As a result, Unexus is selling itself based on offering the best content, delivery and service. Professors come from all over Canada and the U.S., including Northeastern University in Boston, the University of Texas and Ottawa's Wilfred Laurier.