Quality Assurance & Policies

Methodology

Our Degree Programs are delivered by state-of-the-art technology. SMC students have access to
exclusive learning and research resources, content, as well as collaboration systems, which
ensure an engaging and motivating learning experience.

The programs are organized as cohorts and follow an indicative calendar. Group-building and
networking is emphasized. Our students appreciate this aspect as a high value amongst the
manifold benefits of our methodology and service chain.

Weekly online sessions with the lecturer and fellow students are an efficient and engaging
means of knowledge transfer, discussions, and Q&A. All online discussions are facilitated by
our experienced faculty.

SMC provides all students with:

Access to the Online Learning System

Personal SMC e-mail & Team Account

Academic, Technical & Administrative Support

Access to Microsoft Office Online

Research Database & Resources

The Holistic Perspective

SMC supports students in their quest to become scholars and practitioners who make a real
difference in the world. In achieving this, each student examines theoretical perspectives
in the fields of business and economics through personal and academic reflection and
engagement to create practical applications that can influence life processes for the
present and future.

Guided in their introspection by their individual mentors, students examine and discern
the value and influence of varying forms of power: legitimate, expert, reference, informational
and reward power to inform and propel the use of knowledge.

Students balance theory and practical application of new knowledge, using critical,
analytic and reflective thought and action to embrace change and newness in their lives,
work, and interactions with people on a daily basis.

Self Outcome

The last required outcome is the student’s outcome, or the Self Outcome. Each
student comes to the school BEING a certain way, based on their personal and
professional histories.

If the Student leaves SMC remaining the same as when they arrived then
the school, its leaders, deans, professors and staff have not adequately performed
their mission. Thus, the Self Outcome challenges each student to move through the
stages of: Being to Knowing to Becoming more than was expected at the outset of
their academic journey. This process is a partnership between the student and
the institution. Each class allows for reflection of who the student is, what
the student does, how the student thinks, and what has driven the student’s
self-perspective to create new boundaries and new discovery.

System Outcome

The approach of SMC’s Academic Model suggests that focusing on the process and content of
change within disciplines is insufficient. Specifically, the System Outcome focus suggests
that Context, the picture of the whole, can dramatically shift or change the Content or
the components of the whole.

For example, if the context for addressing a sustainability issue in Business is in another country,
the content factors might be substantively different. The same can be true of the Process. How
one embraces and interfaces with the picture and components of the whole can be different. Again,
if the educational venue is in South America or China; educational contexts, contents and processes
might be different from a Western world view.

Thought Outcome

From a Thought Outcome focus, all assignments and readings in courses are designed to engender
changes in thinking for each student. Students are expected to engage the literature and critically,
analytically and reflectively explore theory and practice concerns to shift thinking and analyze the
value and bias that are often found in the literature of a given field.

Questions continually being asked by our students:

Why would the author of a field suggest this or that?
What is the impact of the choice made by the author?
How might gender, ethnicity, age, culture, geographical location shift the perspective put forward by the author?
When did the reading and perspective of the field occur?
Has the data, information and knowledge shifted over time?
Where might one discover differing perspectives that can yield new meaning to the issues of the day?
Is there a pattern that has occurred over time that might lend itself to a wisdom perspective?

Change Outcome

From a Change Outcome focus, assignments help students think about the connections
and interrelationships between the topics – not only in the current course one might take;
but all courses embedded in the curriculum. A student is challenged to explore those
connections and interrelationships; creating synthesis and integration from the explorations
of the materials to create new awareness that might shift the paradigms of thinking.

Though points may seem disparate and unrelated a student will explore the connections
between the various elements. Thus, a student will begin to say, I see some differences
that require greater research, or a student might say, The challenges of age and location
seem to be shifting the meaning of this concept or strategy, this approach to resolution!
By focusing on the change element students become better equipped to place their studies
within an integrated framework.

Letter grade	Grade mark	Status	Descriptor
A+	97-100	Pass / Superior	Work of exceptional quality. Exceptional performance showing comprehensive understanding and application of the subject matter. Evidence of extensive additional reading/research/work.
A	93-96	Pass / Excellent	Work of excellent quality. Superior performance showing a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. Evidence of considerable additional reading/research/work.
A-	90-92	Pass / Excellent	Work of excellent quality. Superior performance showing a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. Evidence of additional reading/research/work.
B+	87-89	Pass / Very Good	Work of very good quality. Performance is typified by a very good working knowledge of subject matter. Evidence of a fair amount of reading/research/work.
B	83-86	Pass / Good	Work of good quality. Above average performance, with a working knowledge of subject matter. Evidence of some reading/research/work.
B-	80-82	Pass / Good	Work of average quality. Considerable but incomplete understanding of the subject matter. Evidence of little reading/research/work.
C+	77-79	Pass / Satisfactory	Work of fair quality. Basic understanding of the subject matter. No evidence of additional reading/research/work.
C	73-76	Pass / Satisfactory	Work of rather low quality. Minimal understanding of the subject matter, with no evidence of additional reading/research/work.
C-	70-72	Pass / Satisfactory	Marginal Pass. Marginal performance, barely sufficient preparation for subsequent courses in the same area.
D	60-69	Pass / Sufficient	Narrow Pass
F	59-0	Not passing	Insufficient, failing work in any study-unit.