MBA- Looking for NA program

My husband's bachelor degree will be from a NA college, and he is looking into ideas for his MBA. If you are attending or have attended a NA MBA program, we would like to hear about your experience. Also, if you ruled one out for some reason I would like to hear that too.


Requirements:
1. NA - not a mill - reputation must be good
2. MBA title (not MS, iMBA, eMBA)
3. 100% distance

Considerations:
1. Hotel / Hospitality / Restaurant / Tourism related concentration a plus
2. No GMAT/GRE
3. No thesis
4. USA location

Not a consideration:
1. Cost
2. Length of program

 

Aspen University

DETC accredited. (NA)
Tuition = $4,500.00
You might get $1500 discount/scholarship if paid in full.

Contact the school: www.aspen.edu

http://www.aspen.edu/programs/degree_programs.htm

 

I'd love to hear--because no one has ever been able to establish it, why getting a degree from an NA school is a good idea compared to the many RA alternatives available, especially for the MBA. I'm sure a little bit of searching would find a school (a) as cheap, (b) as good (or better), (c) as flexible, and (d) likely to accept an NA bachelor's. (Even if their literature doesn't say this, one should ask--negotiate!)

Strange.

 

Hi Cookderosa,

I concur with dl mba. The Aspen MBA is a great deal at $4,500.00. I think they just started charging $100.00 for lecture notes (it is $75.00 for current students). At present, the MBA program only has two or three lecture notes for for the whole 10 or 11 class program. Still, a damn good deal. As far as books, I buy them all from abebooks.com I buy the international editions, so I could purchase a $160.00 - $170.00 book for $25.00 to $35.00. I am about halfway through the MBA program, and find it very satisfying, as well as challenging. Aspen has a well established history, and I believe they were the first ones to offer a 100% DL MBA. Feel free to ask me any questions. You are also welcome to PM as well.

Also, In case you are wondering, I prefer the online independent mode. You get 8 weeks to complete eight modules, with an additional two weeks if necessary. I like the independent mode because I do not have to sign in at certain times (blackboards), and I work at my own pace.

See ya,
Abner

 

>>

Of course that would be fine. I thought it would be easier for now to create a list of good NA schools since his bachelor degree is NA. If a college pops up that fits his needs, and is RA, that's great. However, my hubby's job doesn't care about NA/RA but it does have to be "accredited" nationally at a minimum. RA isn't a priority for him like it is for me.
So, if you know of any RA programs, please feel free to shout out!

 

>>

First, I let me preface my answer by saying that I was not asking general RA/NA info. I had a specific question for a specific situation. Maybe we could start another thread and discuss that issue?

In my hubby's case, it's only strange if you don't understand being a chef.... but, since you asked, it's a good idea because he doesn't want to negotiate. I'll elaborate since it's relevant. For his bachelor degree, he applied ($) sent transcripts ($) and negotiated with Thomas Edison, Excelsior, and Charter Oak Colleges. This process took him 8 months. 8 months of concurrent acceptance letters, followed by written transcript request forms, followed by transcript evaluations, followed by denial of credit letters. At the end of the time, not one of those three took his NA credits from his associate degree. (see my intro- we went to the same school- we had the same problem- we both went to the Culinary Institute of America before it was RA....but you should know there were no RA culinary schools in 1988)

Anyway, A lot of effort for no results. Maybe he could have kept looking- maybe there was someone somewhere that would do it. Or not. In the end, he found a program (brand new) with a good reputation in our industry that started him off as a junior. So, he is very pleased with his industry-specific courses, and he isn't starting from scratch. He has 20 years progressive management experience in his field, and he LOVES his classes! I don't know that he would be so delighted with a BSBA. He earned 60 credits the first time he went to school, and now he only has to earn 60 more = 120. Perfect fit. So it's a different road. <shrug> It's actually a more practical road with all things considered. Applied professional degrees really serve career trades very well.

Our industry wants accredited degrees and certification. The number of certified executive chefs with bachelor degrees is less than 20%. My husband's bachelor degree already propels him to the upper fifth of the pile.
This has put him on a NA track rather than a RA track. It's that simple.

So, if you happen to know of RA MBAs that take NA credits that would be awesome, and certainly worth contributing to the thread! Thanks!!

 

http://www.mba.uoguelph.ca/

I am sure that U of G will welcome your husband and his credentials.

A top tier University that is very definitely RA equivalent.

 

Not all courses require these notes. I finished the entire MS IT and half the MBA - IM and have not had to pay for notes yet. It's possible something changed since I started.

Also, I purchase most of my books used so it's rare to have to pay $100 for books, yes I know they average $100 for books on their website in an effort to help show the student the true total cost of the program and not give an overly optimistic view on the price.

With very few exceptions schools don't include books, how was Aspen's lack of including them within their total tuition price disingenuous? In addition I'm not sure how you get 40 courses? Aspen's Bachelor's programs are for students that have already accumulated a minimum of 60 credit hours. Disingenuous indeed.


cookderosa.. sorry for going off topic. I of course support dl_mba's suggestion of Aspen if an NA school is what your husband is looking for.

 

Columbia Southern University's MBA has a hospitality and tourism concentration.

http://www.columbiasouthern.edu/programs/mba_hospitality.asp

 

>>

Thank you turtle! That looks exciting! You can pm me if you like, but I am wondering more about your experience there. Anything you are willing to share? Thanks.

 

Thank you!

 

Hey, no problem. I also had a couple PMs for Aspen. I think it's worth looking into! Thanks!

 

California National University has an MBA program

http://www.cnuas.edu/Programs/DegreePrograms/BusinessAdmin/MasterBusinessAdmin.asp

I have no experience with CNU but I suggest this MBA because CNU has many several courses in Quality Assurance at the 400 level that you might be able to include in an MBA. It seems to me that some knowledge of quality control might be useful in your line of work.

 

The University of Guelph is a top ranked Canadian university. The program they offer requires a series of residential stays and then some very intense on line work. The campus is exceptional and the town of Guelph is very inviting.

As you can see from my information line I have completed an MA from Guelph and it was in distance mode. The program is cohort based so you start with and continue the program with the same group. My experience with Columbia Southern is in an individual study mode where I interact with the computer and the text. Frankly the cohort model is much more stimulating.

Althought the MBA was not my line of study many of the students joined the courses from the Leadership program. I think you would find the program challenging and very rewarding.

The conversion advantage you would have enjoyed a while ago is gone now that our dollars are at par but the experience is worth it.

 

>>


Thanks, I showed this to my husband last night and he is going to look into it. His program now is a cohort model like you speak of. There is a carousel of classes being offered one at a time. Everyone takes them- so you have people getting off (graduating) and getting on (starting) but ultimately you are with the same group. My husband speaks highly of this style! So that is a major plus.
Slightly off topic, we have family in Maine that we visit each year, so I think we might like to visit the campus on our way home for fun.
Thanks everyone!
Please keep the ideas coming!

 

Hi cookdersa:

I’m the director of Aspen’s Alumni Association, something new that we have been working on this year and that is now getting started. The great thing about Aspen is that after graduation, there is a large community of people that you get introduced to, your fellow alumni. This is turning out to be very cool, as many alumni are well placed business people, and they all are engaging. Just another benefit to a school with a decent reputation.

I have 2 masters degree’s from Aspen and they serve me very well.

DEL

 

>>

Oh great! That's good to know, thank you!