The University is dedicated to increasing professional effectiveness in the workplace through the action learning processes. It is based in Boulder, Colorado, USA (formerly known as the University of Action Learning, Boulder).

It is sponsored by the International Management Centres Association (IMCA), the leading global action learning association.

It offers DETC-accredited Associate, Bachelor and Master Degree Programs.

Master of Business Administration ( MBA )

Overview
The MBA program is designed for professionals already working in management and is a customer-focused program with fourteen achievement routes currently available. Associates must make contributions of significance to their organization while addressing real strategic issues. This degree can be achieved on a face-to-face basis, with members attending regular workshops, or over the Internet through distance learning.

Additional Entry Requirement
Applicants must produce a written account of not less than 3,000 words on the role and purpose of their organization describing their current job, its significance and its relationship to their personal career development. It shall be done as soon as possible after their acceptance but before their program begins.

Credits are awarded on the basis of workload, depth of study and outputs required. For this reason, not all courses carry the same credit weights.

Organizational Analysis and Career Development Review: This assignment is intended to develop a deep understanding of the Associate's own organization, their role within it, and the nature and significance of their work. Additionally, the Associate will consider what are the most significant issues for their organization in the future, the factors influencing the organization's structure and culture, the predominant management style in the organization, and methods of quantitative information analysis used by the Associate within his/her managerial role

Financial Management: This core course provides the Associate with a broad understanding of financial management and investigates the basic language and method of accounting as applied to the Associates own organization. Associates will learn to interpret basic accounting information and understand the information they are required to supply for accounting purposes so that they will be able to contribute on an informed basis to the process of improving the quality of accounting information provided

Operations Management: The focus of this course is on the interrelationships between systems, service and technical factors, product quality, capacity and productivity. The Associate will learn to develop an organizational view of operational systems and procedures and the ability to audit all aspects of the service product and service processes which are planned, implemented and controlled by operations managers

Marketing Management: The aim of this core course is to improve the Associates' understanding of key marketing concepts and help prepare them to respond to current and future demands of customers and their organizations. Upon completion of this course, Associates will be able to understand strategic marketing concepts and how to apply these within their organizational culture; and assess how the needs of current and future customers are being met

Human Resource Management: Upon completion of this course, Associates will be able to identify the issues and appropriate measures relating to effective managerial performance and the implications for self-development. From this they will be able to contribute effectively to the development of organizational units

Analysis of Interface Relationships: Usually the Associate will hold managerial responsibility in a particular function and this assignment should take the form of an analysis of the way in which other areas interface with the Associate's own function. The Associate will draw upon concepts and theories of human resource management in order to investigate the dynamics of internal communication between different functions and areas. (Prerequisite: Human Resource Management)

International Business: The Associate will develop an understanding of how environmental factors and management instruments are brought together through internal systems in a successfully run international business. Associates learn how to undertake research into the business operating environment in a country other than their own; identify, analyze and evaluate opportunities for the development of their business in a country other than their own, prepare a business implementation plan for developing the capability for either producing or marketing in a country or countries other than their own; and provide appropriate advice on the implications of the plan for the development of the business as a whole. (Prerequisites: Human Resource Management, Financial Management, Operations Management, Marketing Management.)

Knowledge Management: This course will consider the implications for businesses, managers and employees in the 'Knowledge Economy', and in particular, how they relate to their own organizations. Associates will evaluate the value of organizational knowledge to their business; manage knowledge resources more effectively; use a range of knowledge management tools and technique; and relate the knowledge creation process to their personal career development paths. (Prerequisites: Human Resource Management, Financial Management, Operations Management.)

Strategic Management: The aim of this core course is to develop an orientation towards strategic thinking and give Associates appropriate techniques and tools. Upon completion of this course, Associates will be able to: understand the nature of strategic thinking; identify a range of tools and techniques to use in strategic thinking, planning and management; and apply the techniques as appropriate to their own organizations (Prerequisites: Human Resource Management, Financial Management, Operations Management, Marketing Management, Knowledge Management, International Business.)

Thesis: Seeks to demonstrate the Associates own ability to apply concepts, techniques and skills gained from the course and draw from their own experience and the experience and expertise of others. The aim is to draw out the options, recommendations and action lines from the data gathered. The project must be actionable and conclude with a discussion of the implications and outcomes, with particular reference to personal learning and client requirements.

Literature Review: This is a prime feature of the Thesis and provides the theoretical basis for the body of work.

Assessment and Evaluation of Management Learning: Gives expression to the effective combination and integration of experience and learning from experience. The aims are to provide a disciplined structure for the review of learning achieved during the period of the program, and to provide a helpful process through which learning during the program is made more conscious and evident.

Bachelor Degree Programs

Overview
Bachelors programs are undertaken by junior executives who wish to handle broad and complex projects confronting professional managers through their changing careers. The courses combine a rigorous academic process with the strongest possible focus on learning from real experiences.

Using job or organizational areas as a basis for the program content, participants research and act upon real issues. Through applying theoretical and practical knowledge to key management areas, the Associates produce work-based projects of real value in the organization. By working together in Sets, participants not only gain the benefit of self-development but also gain a wider understanding of their enterprise and key managerial issues.

The Revans University final year Bachelor programs run for eighteen to twenty seven months and all prior learning and experience is evaluated before entry.

Degree Credits
Credits are awarded on the basis of workload, depth of study and outputs required. For this reason, not all courses carry the same credit weights.

Minimum Grade Requirements
To achieve the Bachelor degree of the University applicants must earn 120 undergraduate credits with a minimum of 60 per cent for each course completed and a passing grade of at least 70 per cent for all courses taken.

Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning
A maximum of 75 per cent of the required credits for the Bachelors degree may be achieved by transfer or a combination of transfer and validated experiential credits. No more than 25 per cent of the required credits may be for documented workplace experience. This document must be formally presented for its learning outcomes and evaluated for credit by the University.

The specific degrees available are Bachelor of Management ( BMgt ), Bachelor of Administration ( BAdmin ), Bachelor of Professional Studies ( BPS ) and Bachelor of Science ( BS ), the latter three with an action learning designation that reflects the major portion of the successful candidate's learning, e.g. Health Care, Tourism, Marketing and Quality Management. The 30 credits gained represent the fourth and final year of Bachelor programs, achieving 25 per cent of the total 120 required. The choice between the BPS/BS and the BMgt/BAdmin is determined by the professional focus the Associate follows.

Admission Requirements

• High school diploma or its demonstrated equivalent. Where a high school diploma or equivalence is necessarily demonstrated, the University's "Global Centre for Credit Mapping and Accreditation of Prior Experience & Learning (GLOCCEM)" provides guidelines and facilitation.
   
• A minimum of three years of workplace experience or work in specific professional areas.
   
• The minimum age of entry is twenty-two years.
   
• All candidates must demonstrate that they have earned 90 undergraduate level credits at accredited institutions prior to entry to the final year Bachelors Program. No more than 25 per cent of the required credits may be for documented workplace experience

The remaining 8 credits are made up from assignments relating specifically to the chosen area of concentration:

Credits are awarded on the basis of workload, depth of study and outputs required. For this reason, not all courses carry the same credit weights.

These programs can also be undertaken by addressing 10 Action Learning Questions determined by the professional concentration the Associate chooses.

Course Descriptions

Action Learning and Team Development: Explores the origins and growth of Action Learning and its application to managerial development. This course will identify how experience has aided personal learning and builds from the prior experiential learning evaluative process and the Aptitude Tests to create a plan for continued personal career development and workplace effectiveness. This is approached through an understanding of effective teams.

Entrepreneurship, Intrapreneurship and Business Policy: Explores the nature of entrepreneurial business start-ups and early development and compares it with the intrapreneurial challenges currently facing managers in established workplaces. Criteria for success are critically examined, leading to analysis and evaluation of strategic approaches in managerial policy formulation.

Organizational Behavior, Interpersonal and Communication Skills: Offers a systematic evaluation of organization form and behavior with guidelines for development and adaptation with workplace colleagues.

Contemporary Business Issues: Associates are required to identify the significant contemporary issues affecting professional management and the specific industry sectors concerned. These issues are monitored and debated within the Set to encourage prediction of their likely impact and how it can be accommodated.

Marketing Management: This course examines the principles and practices of marketing management for manufacturing and service industries, including the public and private sectors. Distribution systems and communications media are modeled.

Financial Management: This course examines the funding of enterprise and the management of cash flows and profitability, including the use of budgetary disciplines and cost drivers/margin analysis. The presentation of financial reports and accounts is explored from the Associate's own workplace.

Information Management: This course explores the gathering of internal and external data and its transformation into information and timely intelligence for managers and stakeholders. The employment of IT in the workplace is evaluated.

Operations and Quality Management: This course examines the nature of operational systems and services including logistics, their routines and control, and explores how quality measures of performance are derived and audited.

Marketing Planning and Control: This course examines the planning process and the particular role of marketing therein. The marketing mix is evaluated and marketing information systems and research procedures examined. The special planning characteristics of service industries are examined.

Marketing Communications: This course examines consumer behavior, purchase motivation and promotional communications, including relationship selling. Segmentation and niche market positioning are evaluated. Campaign planning above and below the line and database marketing approaches are considered. Consumerism and legal controls are evaluated.

Marketing Analysis and Decision Making: This course involves the systematic identification of problems and their public solution in marketing cases. A rigorous methodology is applied that requires hypotheses and extensive evaluation of alternatives followed by recommendations for action and feedback on eventual outcomes.

International Marketing: This course looks at the rationale for global marketing and exportation and importation strategies. Comparative analyses and international regulation are examined in light of key global issues. International infrastructures and approaches for product development, communications, research and distribution are evaluated.

Bachelor Thesis: The thesis will be started not later than twelve months after the program begins. It must demonstrate the Associate's understanding and use of research methods, of the relevant literature and of report writing for both an academic and professional audience. The topic selected must be derived from the workplace challenges faced by the Associate and, for those proceeding to Graduate level studies, shall be in the area identified for specialization. The Thesis shall be between 7,000 and 10,000 words in length, including the literature review and shall be accompanied by a 400 word abstract in the form required which shall be publishable.

Assessment and Evaluation of Management Learning: This course is mandatory for all Associates in the concluding three months of the program. It examines the patterns of learning achieved throughout the 30 Degree Credits of the Bachelor's program. It makes specific reference to the issues discussed in Action Learning and Team Development and to each Associate's continuous Learning Log.