umass mba

Anyone want to comment on their studies at this program or another program similar to UMASS.
I like the following about UMASS:

1. AACSB (I may want to keep the adjunct door open in the future).
2. I want to transfer in some other mba classes (aacsb) if I can...umass will allow 6 + 12 waivers, which will allow more flexiblility in choosing which classes I want to take. This is nice.
3. No trips to campus like ASU or Indiana.
4. With transfers = about $18k = much less than ASU, Indiana, Florida, etc.

Thanks.

 

I'm not currently enrolled in an MBA program, but I've looked at several in the Mass area, and UMass Amherst was one of them. I looked up information on their web page, on BusinessWeek's web page, and other sources. I was turned off by UMass Amherst's program, because their acceptance rate for applications is 100%, their average GMAT score is 500, and the program is 37 SH, which seems quite short compared to other programs I looked at, especially considering that that includes a core course in things like Statistics, which is a prerequisite for the other MBA programs I looked at.

 

I'm currently enrolled in the UMass MBA program and I love it. The program is challenging and I am pleased with the content. Not sure where the previous poster got his info, but Statistics is not one of the courses in the online MBA program. He may have been referring to Business Data Analysis which was more than just a Statistics course. The 100% acceptance rate is definitely not true. I personally know two people who did not get into the program. According to BusinessWeek, the average GMAT score for the UMass AMherst PT MBA program is 553. High acceptance rates and sub-600 GMAT averages are common for all except a select few part-time or executive MBA programs.

One of the things that makes the classes challenging is that there are a lot of physicians in the classes. The American College of Physician Executives has an agreement with UMass-Amherst to award CE credit to physicians taking courses and pursuing an MBA. In addition to a lot of really smart doctors there are a lot of engineers too. The bar is raised quite high due to the quality of students in my opinion.

I don't think you will find a better online MBA program for the price.

 

I apologize for my mistake - you're absolutely right. It turns out I was thinking of Boston College's MBA program, which has Statistics as a core course. Imagine that from a 2nd tier MBA school, too.

I hope I wasn't too messed up, and that the other figures, like the 37 credits, is correct.

 

I'm in the UMass program myself, just starting on my third class (includes a non-credit "Foundations of Business" course). I like it, but it's challenging. I just took a couple Accounting quizzes and wow--kicked my posterior! This from a guy who passed the Bar first time, and here I am getting smacked around by their beginning Accounting course!

The 37 credit hours is a bit misleading--it's only 37 if you have a number of undergraduate Business courses. If you don't, you have to take the aforementioned "Foundations" course, which is noncredit, but brings the de facto total up to more like 40 credit hours, which is still light, but more than most non-MBA Masters' programs.

You take virtually all of the same core courses as the regular MBA students, the only place you miss out is in the specialization that you might obtain through the electives. That's one thing you should consider if you wish to teach, most colleges and universities require at least 18 credit hours in a discipline to teach it, so you might need to pick up a couple of other classes in your chosen field: accounting, Marketing, Management, etc. to ensure that you can teach it at the college level.

Gildeer's right about the Doctors, you can't swing a cat without hitting two or three Doctors taking an MBA online at UMass! There are also a fair share of others who possess Doctorates and Masters--I've takebn a class with a fellow who had a PhD from any Ivy League school and I'm currently taking a course with a number of Doctors and a fellow who has two other Masters plus he's working on his PhD dissertation in addition to taking the UMass MBA--there aren't many mental midgets in this program; I can assure you, nobody's impressed by my JD!

 

Thanks for the clarification TESC.

MRW, I am impressed that someone with a JD would go get an MBA. Hope to have a class with you sometime. I've only got three left after this semester. Send me an e-mail if you need advice on good profs to take (Nakosteen is the best!).

Best of luck.

 

Thanks for being impressed! The primary reason I'm taking the MBA is because I want to transition out of law and into full-time teaching at the college or university level in somebody's business department. I'm currently an adjunct at a CC and at a small, 3,000 student university, but it's been communicated to me by those doing the hiring that if I want to move up to FT or tenure-eligible, I need at least 2 out of 3 of the following: MBA, LLM, publishing. UMass would seem to fulfill that first requirement, and since it's a nationally-known university, my thinking was that it wouldn't close too many doors like a lesser-known or for-profit school's MBA would.

My contact with Dr. Nakosteen has been very brief--he taught one of the sections in Foundations; I'll try to arrange some courses with him. I have two questions for you:

1). How do you master basic accounting? Repetition? The principles seem fairly basic conceptually, but I find myself freezing under exam conditions when I'm called upon to produce a balance sheet, income statement, etc. Any tricks or tip you'd care to divulge?

2). How will you refer to your degree? Since it's AACSB-accredited as an MBA, I'm wondering if my CV can say: "MBA, University of Massachusetts, Isenberg SOM, Professional Program" as opposed to "PMBA, Isenberg SOM, University of Massachusetts"-I fear the latter description of my degree would back me into continual explanations of what a PMBA was. I'd worry that it might be confused with some of the executive education, 4 week intensive seminars--and it's most certainly not that!

Thanks for the info, perhaps we'll run into each other.

 

Hi MRW,

You didn't ask me, so I hope you will pardon the intrusion, but my 2 cents:

1) Basic accounting: Do lots of problems. Another suggestion, if you still encounter some problems, is to look for a very basic textbook 2nd hand. Maybe a change of text would help.

2) I've looked at the UMass MBA, I'd call it an MBA on my resume.

UMass looks like a great program. All the best and good luck, further updates would be interesting.

I am also impressed by your JD. I have a business degree undergraduate) and just finished first year University of London LLB. The LLB was harder.

 

I'm assuming you're doing the UoL DL. If so, it's going to be a tougher road; it's harder when you can't hear the stuff being lectured upon. One thing that may give you hope: if UK law degrees are anything like U.S., the toughest year by far is the first--after that, it starts to click a bit more. What classes do you have under your belt? If property and contracts, I promise that succeeding classes will ease up a bit if the UK system is anything like the U.S.

Thanks for the advice on accounting--I appreciate your two cents. I suspected that, there's no easy way around it, just repetition, getting comfortable with it until it's second nature.

Thanks again!

 

MRW,

please excuse my intrusion also. I have found that with any course, including accounting that it is beneficial to do a memory dump on provided scratch paper. I am assuming these are closed book proctored exams.

For instance take a balance sheet with the required information and memorize the required entries. Dump this format prior to taking the exam. Since I am an old fart and rely too heavily on references I also take formats and replicate these using a dark pencil or marker so that it helps me visualize in my mind the required fields when staring at a blank piece of paper.

Some of my classmates use various outline forms, squiggles, etc..., around various portions to help in remembering, and I also use mnemonics that use the first letter of the entries.

Enjoy your program.

 

MRW,

I plan to list my degree just as you have in the first of your two options. I don't see any need to list it as a PMBA.

Lots of repetition was the key in accounting for me. I took Trafford for Accounting for Decision Making and her tests are tough. There are always a couple of problems that look a little different than what was on the homework assignments. That was the toughest course I have had in the whole program, and that was more due to the prof than the material in my opinion. She is very good, but tough.

 

Thanks for the good word. I'm taking the accounting course from Trafford, and I must say those quizzes really put a different spin on the material than that which was covered in the homework--I honestly wondered if I'd inadvertently taken the wrong quiz! Three little quizzes put me in my place. To think I've been smugly talking about my own students in the way that I have: "Where did they get this idea from?...Look at this test answer?...Don't they even listen in class?" etc etc etc A much-needed comeuppance--I'm really going to have to work for this one; thanks for letting me know it's not all like this--I was thinking that there's no way I could make it through. Foundations seemed easy, Business and Its Environment a fair bit of reading, but the tests were reasonable, but then Accounting!

Thanks again.

 

Indeed, I am in the UoL external programme (or was, I am planning on doing something different this year).

I have Contract, Criminal and English Legal System (now renamed Common Law Reasoning) under my belt. I did well enough, but not as well as I would have liked. This will all be the subject of another post, but I loved the program, just found that it took all my free time.

Again, best of luck with the MBA. My perpetually changing Potential Future MBA School list features UMass!

 

Accounting can be painful, lol. While you probably would not need it after the class, but who knows, it could come in handy in the future, purchase Wiley's 2004 or 2005 GAAP manual, it is realatively inexpensive and covers all the concepts covered in financial accounting (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). I used it extensively during intermediate accounting I and II. Hope this helps.

William Parker

 

Thanks to everybody for the suggestions. I'll check out that Wiley's accounting book. One thing: after a couple weeks of accounting, at least I now know what GAAP means--hard to believe I got through law school, the Bar and 10 years of practice without ever running across that. Then again, I probably did, it just never stuck--when you learn just a bit about something, you have a "hook" in your mind upon which additional data can be placed. If you know nothing about a field, the bit of info goes in one ear and quickly exits the other.

I implore my students to try to learn the basics of whatever course I happen to be teaching early on, as it will make subsequent info so much more relevant and more likely to "adhere" to the material between their ears--otherwise, I may as well be lecturing gibberish (which I've been accused of anyway). This, of course, also applies after they've gotten their piece of paper and exited the ivory towers for the last time.

 

Then, I must like pain!

 

By liking it, by practicing it, by being good at it, and by getting an MBA about it. But, seriously, any cheap guide can help you. When I started accounting, I came from education background, so I did not know anything about accounting. I went to the bookstore and bought two guides from Baron’s Educational series; 1) Accounting the easy way and 2) Bookkeeping the easy way. I cannot believe how far this book has taken me!

 

Lol, me too Vinipink.

W Parker

 

BTW mrw142 I still plan on attending either UMASS or Morehead beginning this January, so I may "see" you in class this spring...

Bill

 

So, if I wanted to teach finance, I would need 18+ semester credit hours of finance specific graduate classes...not counting an undergrad in accounting or any graduate accounting, econ, operations mgmt, etc. Is that what your saying?

I have 8 graduate quarter credits in finance already. How many could I expect to gain at Umass? Do you forsee any opportunity to take any outside of the standard program?