University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez Student Participates in Exchange To Stay on Track With Her MBA

MBA student Diana Velez Cartaya of the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez, which entered a memorandum of understanding with WNMU last fall

© Western New Mexico University

Diana Velez Cartaya is a master’s of business administration student from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez (UPRM). She is taking an online business statistics course this spring and was the first student who enrolled in a WNMU course since our universities entered a memorandum of understanding last fall.

The past biology student had begun a bioengineering program at UPRM but soon realized it was not for her. “Thinking about other options, I figured having a degree as flexible as an MBA would still allow me to work in the health field but taking a more administrative role,” she says. “With science it’s black and white but business offers you the gray part of the spectrum.”

In her third semester, she’s hoping to graduate in spring 2021, but due to having started in a different field, she’s behind her classmates. Courses are offered only every other semester at UPRM, so the option to take statistics online through WNMU helps Diana catch up. “This works with my schedule,” she says.

Diana says she prefers how WNMU evaluates students in the MBA program. “In my current classes, we have tests with bigger weights. With this course, we have lots of smaller opportunities to make sure our grades are doing well and to learn in smaller chunks. I think the pace of this course is helpful for the learners.”

The format of this course offers a fresh way for Diana and her peers to contribute to the class as well. “Instead of it having to be based on quizzes or face to face, you can still interact and help other peers through online platforms. The way I see it is communication is slowly becoming more online, and it’s time most institutions had these options that are more student-centered,” she says.

Diana feels a sense of gratitude for the chance to be a WNMU student. “I just think that it’s a good option for us to have here at our university,” she says.

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