Twice a year, William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business hosts its online graduate business students on its historic campus in Williamsburg, Va. Residency Weekend allows online students to connect with peers, professors, administrative staff members and useful student resources. Students also enjoy in-depth lectures and a group project around a central business focus each year.
While the experience began as an Online MBA residency, it is now open to all online graduate business students. Online MBA and Online Master of Science in Marketing students are required to attend at least one Residency Weekend during their tenure. For all other online business programs, this weekend event is optional. Students are welcome to attend more than one event during their time in their program.
The fall 2024 event brought together students from three online business programs, representing 16 states, Canada and China, for an immersive exploration of artificial intelligence in business. Read on to learn more about this valuable in-person component of the online graduate business programs.
The Power of In-Person Interactions
While online programs offer flexibility and accessibility, face-to-face interaction remains a valued aspect of the online graduate business programs at William & Mary. As Kate Bitely, MBA Candidate ’25, shared ahead of the event, “I can’t wait to meet my classmates in person. It's great to have virtual interactions but being able to bring that to life through person-to-person interactions…. I’m an extrovert. So, I’ve been waiting for this.”
This sentiment resonates throughout the William & Mary community. Faculty Lead for the Online MS in Marketing program Sailesh Patel noted, “It’s nice to see the students in person. Zoom is great and online is great, but it’s good to meet them in person.”
Building Lasting Connections
The Residency Weekend serves as a crucial bridge between online learning and the rich tradition of William & Mary’s campus experience. The weekend provides invaluable opportunities for networking, collaboration and personal growth.
Ivan Trent, MS in Marketing Candidate ’25, summarized, “It’s a networking opportunity; being able to meet people and see new faces and see the group of students that I’ve worked with, as well as new ones that are in different programs that I don’t have the opportunity to interact with, it bridges that.”
A Unique Learning Experience
Each Residency Weekend offers fresh perspectives and experiences, which makes attending multiple times worthwhile. AI has been the focus of the last two fall residencies, examining the topic from different perspectives. The spring 2024 weekend focused on crisis management. Attendees come away from each weekend with a deep understanding of a current business topic that will make a lasting impact on their coursework, day-to-day work or career trajectory.
Trent, who also holds an Online MBA from William & Mary, has attended three Residency Weekend events. He shared, “Not one residency is the same. They may have the same general topics, but how they approach them is not the same. The group of students that you’re working with is not the same. You may have a group that’s more creative or more analytic; it depends, it’s all a mixed bag. But that tests your ability to adapt to new scenarios.”
Diving Deep Into AI Innovation
The fall 2024 Residency Weekend demystified artificial intelligence. Sessions were led by Professor Tingting (Rachel) Chung, associate clinical professor of operations and information systems, alongside adjunct professor Przemek Praszczalek, who is also the director of Identity Products & Innovation, Cybersecurity & Intelligence (C&I) at Mastercard. The weekend’s curriculum offered hands-on experience with AI tools and concepts.
“It’s not the kind of AI workshop that stops at the surface level,” explained Xuanmiao Feng, MS in Marketing Candidate ’25. “It really shows you how models work and tells you how the code is working. I think that’s what I need. I am a marketer, so I write a lot of content about AI.”
Other attending students echoed Feng’s excitement about the weekend’s subject matter:
“I read through the lectures and I think it’s really great that the coursework is centered around AI as that’s super relevant and new right now,” said Cathryn Dawson, MBA Candidate ’25. “I’m looking forward to learning more about AI and how maybe that could be my career path.”
The sessions covered everything from basic AI concepts to practical applications, including:
- How AI works and key terminologies
- Model performance
- Regression vs. Classification
- Precision vs. Recall
- AI-powered business solutions
- Real-world applications in payments, digital identity and fraud prevention
Students got hands-on experience working with JASP (Jeffreys’s Amazing Statistics Program), an open-source program for statistical analysis that offers standard analysis procedures in both classical and Bayesian form.
Professor Chung reflected on the experience as the sessions were in progress, stating, “I’m grateful that these accomplished and curious professionals are willing to sit down with me and just draw neurons and neural networks patiently by hand so we can truly understand what AI is, instead of being afraid of the AI models that we have imagined from robot movies.”
At the conclusion of the weekend, she noted, “The 2024 AI-powered business solutions residency was full of magical aha moments, intense worksheets and very confusing matrices! I cherish every minute that my co-instructor Przemek Praszczalek and I spent with this impressive group of professionals pondering about how AI works and imagining how AI will fuel the future of business.”
Ready to Experience William & Mary’s Online Business Programs?
Join a community that values both innovative online education and meaningful in-person connections. A William & Mary education is not just a degree, but a unique connection to a tight-knit community of bold, driven, principled and connected leaders.
Learn more about our online graduate business programs and how you can be part of future Residency Weekends by connecting with one of our helpful admissions outreach advisors.