Micah with wife Sarah
While the first online course was offered in 1986 on the Electronic University Network, the technology developed through the 1990s and 2000s into its present form.
Students unfamiliar with recent developments in online education may be surprised to find the technology has become far more sophisticated and user-friendly, as did Micah Gillum, when he began the online Master of Business Administration program at Northern Kentucky University.
“To be honest with you, I am more of an in-person person. I haven’t really enjoyed online programming in the past just because it’s a little bit boring to me. I have a better learning experience when I’m having conversation with people, and we’re problem-solving,” said Gillum, a quality manager at an automotive plastic extrusion plant.
Though Gillum, a husband and father of four, began with a mix of online and in-person classes, he found the online classes a better fit for his busy lifestyle.
“I did the online courses because they were much more accessible,” he said. “I didn’t have to take time out of the evening necessarily to go away. It was probably more of a work-life balance solution.”
The courses in NKU’s MBA program provided Gillum with something he missed in previous online learning — a sense of interaction.
“NKU’s courses had a much more collaborative feel,” he said. “And the five-week classes were nice because it didn’t feel like it was extended. It was enough to keep my attention and be challenging at the same time.”
He graduated in the spring of 2019 and credits the online MBA program with strengthening his problem-solving skills in a corporate environment.
Choosing Ideas
Micah with wife Sarah and his four children Grace, Macie, Aden and Ben
In 2009 Gillum received his bachelor’s degree in integrative studies from NKU. Following a brief stint in the MBA program the following year, he decided to focus on boosting his engineering skill set, having minored in engineering technology as an undergrad.
His desire to differentiate himself resurfaced after a few years in the corporate world.
“I earned my MBA because I felt like I needed to set myself apart on a professional level. Most of my education has been on the job, so I really wanted something that would give me a higher level of competence.”
Gillum’s favorite courses in the online program were MBA 620: Ideation to Innovation and MBA 621: Competitive Intelligence because they helped him identify the most important ideas in his working life.
“The real key is knowing which ideas are the right ideas to work on and which ideas need to be held back for a little bit,” Gillum said. “Those classes gave me the toolset to add more value in my position.
“The tools provided in the innovation courses provided insight when analyzing the process (Tier 1 Automotive Assembly). By focusing on the root causes associated with human performance, we were able to reduce internal scrap by as much as 25%.”
Online Benefits and Flexibility
Thanks to the support of his wife Sarah and his four children Grace, Macie, Aden and Ben, Gillum could find the time he needed to complete the MBA program online and enjoy its many benefits.
“My wife definitely wanted me to complete my education goals, and she was more than willing to work her schedule around anything that I had to do,” he said. “Same goes for my kids. They probably took a little bit more of a hit in terms of time, but they were totally happy with me going to school and proud of me. They were all just always flexible with whatever I had to do.”
For anyone who is thinking of going back to school for an MBA, Gillum’s advice is to be clear on the reason.
“Try to determine if it’s really what is going to help you succeed in your career,” he said. “For me, the biggest benefit is the ability to communicate between different levels of organization in a corporation. I work in continuous improvement and being able to interface with the different departments has a lot of value.”
Gillum suggests that everyone take another look at online learning, citing his own shift in format preference from in-person to online.
“It depends on your learning style,” he said. “If you do a better job working with a group and you want some face time, I would encourage you to do that, but I also think that by year two you’re going to want to move to the online courses.”
Learn more about the NKU Master of Business Administration online program.
