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[this is an example of the working documentation produced for a new OU course]
7170 MA (Marketing) Minutes
Minutes of Marketing Group 03/06/99
REPORT ON THE OUTCOMES OF THE MARKETING MASTERS MEETING
3 June 1999
This meeting, attended by all members of the Academic Marketing Group, along with others involved in the proposed launch of the Masters in Marketing, had the objective of agreeing the formal outlines of the new programme to be submitted to the School and University. Full minutes are being prepared by Mo Vernon, but the main outcomes are provisionally listed below:
1. Not unexpectedly, it was agreed (enthusiastically!) that OUBS should proceed with the proposal. Although, as the academic 'owners' of the programme, OUBS would be responsible for all content and activities, extensive liaison with CIM will be maintained - to ensure that the programme meets the needs of its members.
2. The only entry to the programme will be through a CIM PGDip qualification (or equivalent), which will also count as the first stage (60 points) of the Masters. Thereafter, although there will be some overlap of courses, there will be no transfer to the MBA programme (save those which are already possible).
3. As the offering would be designed for practitioners, the programme will lead to an MA (Marketing).
4. The second (120 point) stage of the MA (Marketing), will be made up of four 30 point courses; each 6 months long - following the model of the MBA. Three of these courses will be compulsory, marketing-oriented, offerings (see below) and one will be an elective, to allow students to widen their experience, to be chosen from the whole range offered on the MBA programme.
5. The three compulsory courses will be;
STRATEGY (B820) - as marketing and corporate strategy very closely parallel each other, and marketers are inevitably involved in discussions with senior management about such strategies, this course (the core course for the MBA) is also an essential ingredient for the MA. Students will, therefore, follow exactly the same syllabus - for this element - as those on the MBA.
MARKETING IN A COMPLEX WORLD (B825) - clearly the new marketing course in the MBA will be directly relevant. The students will again follow exactly the same syllabus as the MBA, with the (administered) exception that they will be restricted to taking two selected electives instead of any two of the range on offer.
LONG-RANGE MARKETING (B82X) - the final compulsory element will be a new course, based (approximately 50:50) on the long range (marketing) planning elements of 'The Challenge of the External Environment' (B885) and selected electives from B825. This course will only be available on the MA (Marketing).
6. The proposed launch timings are:
Autumn 1999 - submission of the formal proposal to OUBS/OU boards
Spring 2000 - promotional/advertising campaign begins
November 2000 - first students start B820
May 2001 - B825 launched (for both MA and MBA)
November 2001 - students take MBA elective
May 2002 - B82X launched (for MA students only)
November 2002 - first MA (Marketing) graduates.
Note: the lag of a year between the launch of B825 and B82X is to allow time for the lessons learned in the launch of the former to be transferred to the latter (and for the marketing group resources to be scheduled most effectively to each). Subsequently, students will be expected to take B82X after B825 and before the MBA elective.
7. The programme will be run, at least initially, under the existing the MBA Board (and Programme Director), and the formal proposal will be submitted in the first instance to this board (which has already indicated its support in principle). A formal proposal will also be submitted (probably in Spring 2000) for the new course, B82X, and it is anticipated that the course team for this will be made up of a combination of members of the B825 and B885 teams (which already overlap extensively and largely include members of the Academic Marketing Group).
8. In order to establish final viability (where at least 200 students are year are needed - for B82X - to establish national tutor group support) it was requested that Colin Gray should undertake research (in conjunction with David Sagar at CIM) with CIM members/students to establish the likely uptake.
9. Discussions about development of OUBS versions of CIM Certificate/Diploma courses will continue, but resources are unlikely to be available to develop these before 2001.
10. Once established, the model could be used for other groups (such as MRS) in the marketing sector; an MA (Marketing Research), for instance, would replace B820 with B826 (the research project) - suitably strengthened by MR elements. Colin Gray would again liaise with David Sagar to establish likely candidate institutions.
As can be seen above, it was a very successful meeting; in terms of setting the precedents for other potential masters programmes as well as for the MA (Marketing). Not least, it has provided a clear-cut model which largely uses proven elements and which it will be possible to implement within our planned resource availabilities.
Please submit any corrections/comments asap, so that we can incorporate them in the minutes.
David Mercer
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