“We see a lot of folks who … will get an engineering degree or a liberal arts degree, (but) they end up in a business role where they’re being asked to make business decisions,” Frayer said.

The online programs, which include three to four eight-week courses, were created and designed through a partnership with University Alliance — a division of Florida-based Bisk Education that assists universities in transforming traditional classes into online courses.

Frayer said the schedule flexibility of an online course should be a benefit to people already working in the business field.

“I think that for a long time there were questions (about) whether online was an appropriate forum for learning, especially for business professionals,” he said. “I think the evidence is out there that it is.”

Adrian Marrullier, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Bisk Education, said the courses are different from many traditional online classes because students learn from video lectures rather than reading groups of text files.

Although University Alliance built the online components, the curriculum still has been created entirely by MSU faculty, Frayer said.

“(MSU is ranked) No. 1 in supply chain (management), so people want to not just read something,” Marrullier said. “They want to actually feel and touch and interact with the faculty who are the No. 1 faculty in their discipline.”

Supply chain management senior Jason Tan said that after working for Grainger Industrial Supply in Lake Forest, Ill., for a few years after graduation, he plans to enroll in graduate school, but prefers to earn a master’s degree rather than a certificate. Tan said if he decides to return to school, he likely would get a degree in something other than supply chain management to diversify his skills.

The online certificate programs neglect to give students the beneficial opportunity to interact and network with one another, he said.

“You can still learn effectively through it, as I experienced in my (previous) online class,” Tan said. “Not being able to see your peers is the negative part.”

University Alliance handles the marketing and technical support aspects of the courses as well, Marrullier said.

MSU and the company have a revenue-sharing relationship for the classes, he said, but he was unable to disclose any more details.