Online MBA Compendium

Do you know why a majority of the online MBA programs require foundation courses?

Part of the reason is that online MBA programs often have less stringent admissions criteria in terms of GPA and GMAT than traditional MBA programs. Since they do not screen out weak students by these criteria they have highe foundation requirements to make sure students are up to speed. Foundation classes are also a good way to get students to pay for some additional classes.

I have several questions regarding online MBA program:

1. how do employers value an online MBA degree?
2. will my certificate/transcript say "online" or state the same wording as regular/full-time MBA program?
3. is it really can save a lot of money?

I want to enroll to the online MBA program mainly because of money and family. It will let me keep my current job (to fund my MBA) and allow me to live with my family.

There are tons of online MBA programs out there. Look at a small sampling at GetEducated DOT com (unfortunately I can't post the exact link...but poke around on that site, you should find it very helpful)

Although it is not too clearly designated, there are MBAs that you can earn online, and then there are online MBAs. With the former, you take the same coursework as the part-time and/or full-time MBA students; just via online course sections. In these programs, your MBA is the same as any other MBA from the school. In the other scenario, you have specialized 'iMBA' or 'WebMBA' programs; or sometimes the MBA is part of a different division (like with Penn State's "World Campus"). Although it is far from being a rule, it seems that the more prestigious schools who offer online MBAs tend to designate the online students to a different program. You see this a lot with big state universities with a large MBA student body.

MBA lessons on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/clickokDOTo ... e=mhum#g/u

To be honest, I really doubt the value of online education, especially for MBA students. A big part of the business school experience is the network you build with other students and alumni, something that is missing in online programs. Also, recruiters don't place much value on an online degree. In many cases it can be a total money suck and not deliver what students expect. You are also investing a ton of time into something that might never pay off. I would really think if this is the best route for you.

I think that if you are promoting the networking value of MBA programs, then online MBA programs are not the only type of MBA programs that will come up short in this area. Part-time, on campus MBA programs and non top-100 MBA programs, maybe even non top-50 MBA programs will also run the risk of coming up short in regards to networking opportunities. I'm a member of both the National Black MBA Association and the Women's MBA Association. I have heard at least 5 different instances of people who attended on-campus, full-time MBA programs and they have remarked that the network opportunities in their MBA cohort were lacking. Now almost all of these people pursued their MBA in the Pittsburgh, PA area (where I live) and none went to Carnegie Mellon's Tepper school....which is probably the highest ranked program in the region. But they still represent a large selection of other area schools. The consensus is that stand alone, regional MBA efforts, such as the aforementioned groups and other organizations, like Net Impact, have been more beneficial for professional networking.

I will also point out that I realize that the group of people that I am speaking about is entirely comprised of ethnic minorities and women. So that could also be a concluding factor. But one thing is clear to me, that the benefit of a strong professional network is not a guarantee with all on-campus or even all full-time MBA programs; and your results may vary by person. Even though my MBA program was online (although there's really no way to know this...my degree is no different in name or requirements in comparison to any other MBA issued by my public state university), I did gain some professional contacts among my peers. I did not walk away with my MBA degree + this fantastic professional network. However my MBA also cost less than $15K. So my ROI, based on increased salary alone, has made it more than worth it.

Ultimately every case and situation is different.

I think it's going to depend on your goals and where you're at for most of the value. If you're already pretty established in your industry and need an mba just to get to your next promotion, the networking at school isn't going to be nearly as valuable as the networking you could have been doing from your current position.

And it's not like your degree is stamped with a big ONLINE STUDENT. It looks the same as an onsite student. So if you get your online degree from Kelley, all recruiters are going to know is that you went to a top 20ish school.