Quality Online MBA

[Chemical Cookie]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

The GEMBA also only offers 20k tuition assistance for a 160k program.

JEBUS! I hope that came with free nightly massages, all the Pappy you can drink, and use of the school loaner Chiron.

Yale, Harvard, and UPenn are only marginally higher, program dependent.

[Crucible guy]

I was on another forum and ran across this about the JWMI program and what makes it different. I may have explained it before, but the difference I see is that they use actual business professionals as instructors, and they listen to the student. This is a blurb from one of the Deans and it is dead on true. They will can a professor if they don't match up with customer service (read student) reviews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDScP7ARzUs

[mdwest]

Originally Posted by Massgrunt

I believe mdwest is getting one through Oxford?

Not sure how I missed this thread before...

I picked up my MBA from Anglia Ruskin University in the UK.

It was a reasonably decent program.. Their online platform is pretty well put together, the instructors were reasonably well engaged, etc..

The primary driver for selecting ARU was pretty simple.. The dollar at the time was ridiculously strong against the pound.. ARU is a pretty good sized brick and mortar school that would be considered the equivalent of your "average" state school here in the US.. The difference is the cost was less than 1/2 of what most MBA programs I looked at here in the US cost.. and as little as 1/3 the cost of some I considered.. and the curriculum for their online program was nearly identical to the resident program.

I didnt really care where I got the degree from as long as it was a reputable school that held accreditation that would be recognized in the US.. Overall ARU was a pretty good choice for me.. Besides.. who wouldnt like to be able to claim the same alma mater as Syd Barrett and David Gilmore from Pink Floyd and Billionaire English investor Lord Ashcroft

Fast forward a few years... and I am finishing up a second online masters program with another UK university this month.. Assuming I didnt completely blow my dissertation I should be picking up an MS in Strategic Management from the University of Derby here shortly..

The motivation for selecting a school in the UK remains the same as it was the last time... equivalent quality of education that you will find in most US brick and mortar "state" schools.. for less than 1/2 the cost of the same degree if you were to pick it up from somewhere like the Univ of North Texas or Univ of Memphis, etc..

[Balls]

I went through this "online MBA search" just recently. Background on me: work FT, wifey and baby, live in Europe. So, this affects my choices.

My criteria:

1. Must be solely or mostly online - traveling outside of Norway often while working FT is not possible
2. Classes must be mostly asynchronous (don't have to attend in real-time)
3. Cost should be reasonable... I have 2 remaining years of Post-9/11 MGIB and would like that to cover most or all of the program
4. Well known and accredited by leading organizations (AACSB being most important, but also ideally AMBA and EQUIS)

Initially I found all the normal top names... Indiana (Kelley), UNC (Kenan-Flagler), Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) etc. All of these were either very expensive (I don't want too much out of pocket cost) or required me to attend classes during evenings EST (which is middle of night in my timezone). So, those options were out.

I ended up narrowing down to 3 schools/programs

UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management, Online MBA, which was my top choice for US online schools, but #3 choice overall for the following reasons (not in order):
1 - You can complete the degree at your own pace (up to 5 years)
2 - It has some decent specializations
3 - They are pretty well known (and AACSB accredited)
4 - Tuition was rather reasonable ($35K or $41K with specialisation)
5 - They have a veterans liaison for MGIB stuff
6 - ZERO in person requirement
7 - GMAT waived with work experience (10yrs, I think)
8 - Downside: No in-person networking opportunity

IE Business School, Executive MBA (in English), program is located in Madrid with a few weeks on campus or in other locations (US, Singapore, Norway, etc.) and this was my #2 for these reasons:
1 - Very well respected school in Europe (and globally)
2 - Ranked #12 in the world for Exec MBA programs by Financial Times and #1 for distance MBA
3 - Who doesn't want to study in Spain?
4 - They do a hell of a job of marketing the school and recruiting
5 - Only 3 weeks required in-person (but there are 3 other "optional" weeks for various classes or networking)
6 - Total length of 15 months
7 - Dedicated veterans office to help with MGIB
7 - Downside: Pricey at $69K

BI Norwegian Business School, Executive MBA (English), located in Oslo. This is the program I ended up choosing, primarily for networking opportunities and because I live here already. Other reasons:
1 - "Triple Crown" accredited (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS)... only 1% of business schools achieve this.
2 - Very well known and respected locally (and also throughout Europe)
3 - Ranked #29 in the world for Executive MBA programs by Financial Times
4 - Networking opportunities
5 - Total of 8 weeks in-person first year and 6 weeks second year
6 - Offers specializations that are very interesting
7 - Price not terrible at $50K
8 - Downside: the school is approved for MGIB but my program is not (nobody has done it yet) so that puts me in the limbo for back-and-forth between VA and school for program approval. Should be not too hard to fix though. Also, goodbye vacation days.

So, anyway, I found both UMass Isenberg and IE to be top choices for anyone else considering the need for an online MBA that does not require you to be "in class" at specific times, accepted by MGIB and are well known schools.

Hope that helps anyone else considering the same.

[mdwest]

Originally Posted by MixedLoad

One thing I found interesting is to see that JW mentioned he would send someone in his family to HBS rather than sending them through his own course.

While NOT an MBA.. Harvard does offer a Masters Degree in Management online through the Harvard Extension School..

Getting in is actually very easy.. just sign up and take a class... pass 3x classes and maintain a 3.0.... and youre in (no GMAT, GRE, etc.. required and no one cares what your undergrad GPA was or where you obtained it..

The cost isnt too crazy either.. the program is 12 classes.. each class is $2750.. so total tuition is $33K...

If I could go back and do it all over again, I think this might have been the path I would have taken..

Now that I have finished up at Univ of Derby, I am thinking about enrolling in one of the Harvard Extension School Graduate Certificate programs..

I figure my firm offers a tuition reimbursement program that exceeds the cost of a grad class through the extension school.. I can take 1 class a year for the next 3 years at no real cost to me.. and add "Haaaavard" to the resume (albeit the "light" version).. so.. why not?