42-hour program ($44K /$1,046 per credit hour)—14 courses; each course is 7 weeks in duration. Online Master's Degree | LSU Online
I looked into this program, and I got several calls from them. But unfortunately, they only have one MBA concentration.
There is nothing wrong with a general MBA, but having more options as always appreciated. My issue with general concentrations is that they focus to much on theory (because they are general) and not enough on real world business strategies and current best practices. Theory has its place when you have limited real world business experience, but when you have real world business experience, I find it lacks utility IMHO.
I agree Steve ... but the consumer will just have to pay for the LSU Tigers brand name vs., IMO, the renown of the Ourso College of Business /MBA.
Paying 44K for an MBA is ridiculous, unless it's from Harvard or an Ivy League school -- and even then, it's way too much, unless your employer is paying for it. Where do they come up with these prices? Ahhhh all about supply and demand.
I agree about the high price. With so many other MBA programs around I'd never pay that much. I like the LSU brand but is it really any more prestigious than say UMass? I'd say no.
Will the ROI on an LSU MBA make the price worth it? I don't know. But, if you graduate from a top 20 MBA program, then there is a high chance of you making back that tuition in a few years.
And a Top Twenty MBA will likely entail a substantially higher dollar amount of investment expenditure. Consider too the TVM when calculating ROI...
Forbes ranked US business schools in 2013. Their rankings were based solely on one factor: the ROI achieved after 5 years by the Class of 2008. The detailed methodology behind their ROI calculations is described here. Forbes ranked LSU at #67 among US business schools (which was relatively low, since they only ranked a total of 70 US schools). According to the Forbes calculations, it took an average of about 4.6 years for a 2008 graduate to "break even" on the investment in an LSU MBA. After 5 years, the average graduate was ahead by $9,600. At the Top 20 schools (as ranked by Forbes), the average graduate "broke even" at about 3 to 4 years after graduation, and was ahead by $60,000 or more after 5 years. The highest-ranked school was Stanford, with a 5-year gain of $99,700. According to Forbes, the top international business schools offer even greater 5-year ROI than Stanford. The top-rated international business schools tend to have lower tuition than US schools, which presumably improves their 5-year ROI.
