Meet Flavia Jones. She is a student in the Master of Accountancy (iMSA) program in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Flavia works at AT&T headquarters in Dallas, Texas. She discovered Coursera through AT&T University, which encourages employees to develop skills and advance their careers through online courses.
Flavia started on Coursera by taking Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and continued her studies through her Master’s program from Gies. This is her story.
Starting with open courses
Flavia already had a diploma in accounting, but wanted to refresh her accounting knowledge and learn more about data analysis for accounting. Through AT&T University, Flavia soon found Coursera’s introductory specialization with open courses taught by Professor Ron Guymon. She liked the classes and noticed that Professor Guymon was teaching from UIUC. As she moved forward, she always kept UIUC in mind when she would eventually pursue a master’s degree.
The iMSA selection from Gies
Later, when Flavia was looking for a master’s program, she was looking for a hybrid learning experience that included both live sessions and asynchronous work. She was determined to find a highly rated accounting school that offered an affordable program and engaging experience.
Looking back at UIUC, Flavia saw that Gies’ iMSA had weekly live sessions and lower tuition than competitors. For other programs, Flavia would have to take the GMAT exam and attend some courses in person before applying. With iMSA by Gies, she qualified for the fully online program based on her references and professional experience.
Do more with MOOCs
Flavia now invites colleagues interested in data analytics for accounting to enroll in the Coursera specialization with open courses. He says you can gain insight into the subject and get a sense of how to manage your study time through MOOCs. He also says you can be sure you’re learning from experts who teach the current curriculum when you’re on Coursera.
Flavia even enrolled in other MOOCs recommended to her by other students and became a board member of a student organization called the iDegrees Graduate Business Association. Through this organization, she is able to work with other Gies students on new ideas for MOOCs.
Are you on a similar journey as Flavia?
Flavia’s story is a powerful example of how individual courses can help you prepare for a degree program. If you were inspired by Flavia, you can check out iMSA here and explore UIUC’s MOOCs here.
