Doctor of Business Administration

Teacher

INTRODUCTION

The ZCAS University (ZCAS-U) DBA programme is a three-year minimum duration professional doctoral programme whose fundamental aim is to enable its candidates engender a significant contribution, both theoretically and practically, in their specific business specialisms and to develop encyclopedic academic traditions at the highest level in the explicit domain of business administration.

The primary objectives of the DBA programme are to:

Enable the student attain a pertinent level of academic competence.
Attain personal development for the student and to develop a critical consciousness about the dynamics that govern individual awareness and the environments within which organizations function and exist.
Develop skills of innovation and ingenuity, problem-solving, implementation and analysis in a range of settings.
Critically evaluate complex business issues, constraints and situations.
Develop research skills, analytical aptitudes and reporting for complex business problems.
Integrate theoretical knowledge and practical experiences in business administration issues pertaining to organizations, management and the human capital element.

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COURSE STRUCTURE

Completion Period: Minimum 3 Years, Maximum 6 Years: Part-Time/Block Release Mode Only

YEAR 1 COURSES

Semester 1		Semester 2
Code	Course Description	Code	Course Description
DBA111	Paradigms of Leadership	DBA122	Public Sector Management
DBA121	Managing Business Growth	DBA212	Human Capital Investment
DBA112	Managing Global Brands	DBA222	Supply Chains and Networks
DBA131	Research Methodology and Design I	DBA132	Research Methodology and Design II

YEAR 2 COURSES

Semester 1		Semester 2
Code	Course Description	Code	Course Description
DBA211	Global Finance	DBA310	Doctoral Research Proposal
DBA221	Managing Radical Change	A student SHALL ensure that the Doctoral Research Proposal is formally APPROVED and ENDORSED before commencement of the Doctoral Thesis.
DBA232	Emerging Issues in Quality Management
DBA231	Entrepreneurship and Social Innovations
Doctoral Research Proposal Due Date – Submission stage shall be within Semester 2 of Year 2

YEAR 3 THESIS

THESIS

DBA320 – Doctoral Thesis

(Word Limit: 65,000 words)

DBA330 – Defense

A ZCAS-U DBA student shall be required to complete a total of EIGHT COURSES and submit a successful DOCTORAL THESIS in order to be awarded the DBA degree. The eight courses will be undertaken as depicted below during the stated three semesters.

A - In Year 1 Semester 1

A – In Year 1 Semester 1, a student shall be registered for THREE courses only – that is the DBA131 being a core/compulsory course and hence must be taken by all students AND for the other courses, a student must choose and register for ONLY TWO of the following three courses:

1.	DBA111	Paradigms of Leadership
2.	DBA121	Managing Business Growth
3.	DBA112	Managing Global Brands

B - In Year 1 Semester 2

B – In Year 1 Semester 2, a student shall also be registered for THREE courses only – that is the DBA132 being a core/compulsory course and hence must be taken by all students AND for the other courses, a student must choose and register for ONLY TWO of the following three courses:

1.	DBA122	Public Sector Management
2.	DBA212	Human Capital Investment
3.	DBA222	Supply Chains and Networks

C - In Year 2 Semester 1

C – In Year 2 Semester 1, a student shall be registered for ANY TWO courses only out of the four courses indicated below.

1.	DBA211	Global Finance
2.	DBA221	Managing Radical Change
3.	DBA232	Emerging Issues in Quality Management
4.	DBA231	Entrepreneurship and Social Innovations

D - In Year 2 Semester 2

D – In Year 2 Semester 2, a student shall be registered for the DBA310 Doctoral Research Proposal. There is no fixed duration for submitting the proposal within this semester; however students are encouraged to submit their proposal promptly so that they can proceed to the thesis stage immediately the proposal is accepted.

Consequently, this DBA programme consists of 12 courses of which two are core/compulsory courses which all students shall be mandated to study. There are ten elective courses. Of these ten elective courses, students shall be granted the flexibility to constitute their own combination or set of six courses based on factors such as personal preferences, desired core competence areas of specializations or concentrations, personal career development objectives or other categories of individual influences and considerations.

SUMMARY:

In order to meet the academic requirements for the award of the ZCAS-U DBA degree, a candidate shall fulfil all of the following elements:

Complete the core/compulsory Research Methodology & Design component comprising two courses, namely the DBA131 and DBA132.
Complete a total of Any Six electives (as determined and chosen by the student) out of the provided ten elective courses.

Submit a successful doctoral thesis with a word limit of 65,000 words (+/- 10%, that is an approved/authorized effective word limit range of 58,500 – 71,500 words) and positively accomplish the DBA defence stage.

REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE AWARD OF MFS DEGREE

Duration of study

The course of study for the award of the DBA degree shall be completed in a period of not less than three years and not more than six years.

Student progression

The Programme of study shall be taken in the sequence approved by the ZCAS-U Senate.

A student shall register for and take two or three courses during the taught element of the programme, provided that a student may in exceptional circumstances be permitted to take one additional course whether carried over from the previous academic year or additional in any one semester.
A student who passes all the courses taken during the semester of study shall be allowed to proceed to the next level of study.
A student who fails in one or two or three courses in any semester may be permitted to proceed to the next level of study; provided that the student repeats the course(s) at the first available opportunity.
No candidate shall be permitted to proceed to the independent study (thesis) of the degree programme unless he/she has passed all the taught courses.

Deferred and supplementary examinations

Deferred Examinations

A student who is unable to attempt a scheduled assessment may be awarded a deferred assessment subject to a successful application based on extenuating circumstances. A deferred assessment shall be graded normally, i.e. the student shall be awarded the actual mark obtained in the assessment or a final grade of between D and A+ in the course.

Supplementary examinations

A student who has failed a course with a D+ grade may be awarded a supplementary assessment in the failed course. Supplementary assessments may be awarded in up to two courses in any semester of an academic year. A supplementary assessment is marked on a pass/fail basis.

COURSE ASSESSMENT

Various summative and formative assessments will be used on this programme depending on the nature of the course. These include assignments, group reports, individual reports, virtual class forum discussions, essays and case studies.

GRADING

To be eligible for the award of the DBA degree, a student must have:

Passed all the required eight taught courses.
Passed the thesis examination and defence.

In the grading of the taught courses, the following scale will apply:

Pass grades

A+ Distinction (86% and above)

A Distinction (76% – 85%)

B+ Meritorious (66% – 75%)

B Very Satisfactory (61% – 65%)

C+ Definite Pass (56% – 60%)

C Bare Pass (50% – 55%)

P Pass in a supplementary assessment

Fail grades

D+ Bare Fail (40% – 49%)

D Definite Fail (39% and below)

F Fail in a supplementary assessment

NE No assessment taken

WD Was withdrawn from the course with unsatisfactory academic progress – recorded where a student has not completed the required level of course work after a warning from the Dean of the School and/or the Deputy Vice Chancellor. The Deputy Vice Chancellor has withdrawn the student from the course before the examination.

LT Left the course during the semester without permission

DQ Was disqualified in a course by Senate

DR Was de-registered for failure to pay fees