I t was rapidly mentioned here in this board that HWU, is the inexpensive accredited MBA program. But, for those with less income, I still find no way for some one who has little money like me. May be someone know better, how to sit their exam without paying for the book and tuition as purchases? More help to avoid paying tuition will be helpful?
Dede, If you're looking for a cheap MBA, I would suggest Ashworth College. Granted, it's not as "prestigious" as Heriot-Watt and it's nationally credited which, for one odd reason or another, isn't regarded as highly as the regionally accredited schools. However, it DOES have recognized accreditation and here's what I like best about it: 1. Cost is under $5000 USD and you can make INTEREST FREE monthly payments to the school for only $99 USD per month. 2. Open enrollment. If you have a bachelor's degree in any field with a minimum GPA of 2.0 you're in. Also, you can begin your studies at any time & you can rip through it in a year or take up to 5 years. It's not structured on semesters, etc. so you can navigate through the program at a comfortable pace. Take a look at this link for more information: http://masters.ashworthcollege.edu/academic/ma/ Best of luck.
Also, why are you (apparently) avoid tuition? Everything has a price (not necessarily monetary either). I can understand researching cheaper options so, IMHO, your efforts should be directed towards finding cheaper options not dodging tuition. That was the basis for my recommendation of Ashworth College. Prestige, etc. aside. Ashworth is half the cost with, again, interest free monthly tuition payments. Otherwise, I suggest you seek out some scholarships, grants, etc.
Italiansupernova, Thank you very much for providing a low cost alternative from Ashworth College. Probably HWU isn’t less expensive: eMBA courseware $1200x9 + $100x9 = $11,700 Paper-based courseware $900x9 + $100x9 + $50x9 = $9,450 However, yes for Ashworth College, but what do you means by nationally accredited? Regard
http://educationusa.state.gov/study/admissions/accreditation/institutional.htm The link above is from the U.S. Department of State in regards to accreditation. You'll see a link that says "Regional Versus National Accreditation". Click there. Read the article and draw your own conclusions, but there is something I want to point out: In that paragraph, there is the following statement "...regional accrediting bodies require that between one-quarter and one-third of the institution's curriculum be allocated to courses in general education (humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences); this is a problem for some specialized institutions." The keywords for that statements are "SPECIALIZED INSTITUTIONS". Ashworth College is a branch of the long standing Professional Career Developments Institute (www.pcdi.com) which offers specialized career diplomas. Thus, it's probably the best explanation for their having national accreditation. Tell you what, read the article and should you have any further questions just send me a PM or, if you prefer, you can just make another post.
In Ashworth's case, the general education requirement is really most applicable to its associates degrees, I think -- in part because it doesn't offer any bachelors-level programs. I noted when reviewing their AS in Business Management curricula, for example, that it seemed like they were providing the bare minimum in "general education" type courses that they could get away with. I'd have to look closer, categorize the courses and add-up all the credits in order to say what I'm about to say with any certainty, but my gut tells me that a regionally-accredited BA or BS program would likely accept the Ashworth BS in Business Management degree as requisite lower-level credit, but I'll bet a few additional courses of lower-level general education would need to be taken in order to satisfy the BA/BS-granting institution's requirements. Just a hunch. At the Masters level, I'm not sure that Ashworth needs to make as many apologies to the world as some who clearly look down their noses at it would have us believe. Ashworth's MBA curricula seems to be offering all the right things. Of course, one can make no determination from the web page which describes the program about its rigor. But, then again, that's partly what USDoE/CHEA-approved accreditation is all about, isn't it? DETC is saying it's good enough. The USDoE/CHEA says DETC is good enough. That should be good enough for most people. Obviously, if one is seeking an MBA that actually has some serious prestige (like one of the famous Ivy League schools, for example) or is assured of being both prestigious and impressive by virtue of additional accreditation (such as AACSB, for example... or even regional accreditation, for that matter), then Ashworth is clearly not the way to go. But if one's goal is to simple be able to say he/she has an accredited MBA; and he/she wants to be able to say so on his/her resume in states like, for example, Oregon without being cited and dragged into court over it, then Ashworth, it seems to me, could be just the ticket. It just depends on what one is looking for; whether, for example, one might ever want to teach at the college level (and maybe DETC accreditation, alone, just might not be enough for the institution in which one would like to teach -- though I hate to see that sort of thing since DETC is USDoe/CHEA-approved and that either means something or it doesn't... but I digress); and other considerations. I know that regional accreditation is not something that PCDI does not appear to value and perhaps even desire when it can possibly get it. Though it's only at the high-school level, PCDI's James Madison High School distance learning program is not only DETC-accredited, but is also regionally accredited by the USDoE/CHEA-approved Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) -- one of what most of us around here refer to as the "gold standard" regional accreditation bodies. It would be interesting to talk to someone from PCDI, I think (or, better yet, to have them register here and participate), so we could and ask them what, if any, RA plans they have. It would also be interesting to know why they offer no Bachelors degrees and/or if they have plans in that area. And it would be interesting to know if they plan to offer doctorate-level programs if DETC ever goes there.
You might want to look into Amberton University. It is regionally Accreditation, flexible payment plan, helpful staff, several DL majors, and really really affordable classes. 12 classes x $600 per class = $7,200: would earn an MBA. Check it out at: www.Amberton.edu
Re: Re: HERRIOT-WATT MBA without tuition? Amberton University is only for US National and their residence. The doors are closed for international student and non- United State residencies. Chek it alone: www.Aberton.edu
