Distance learning bias

I have a question for anyone who is working at a private company (not government job) who has either completed or is near completion of their on-line MBA degrees.

Have you experienced school bias because of where you attended college, and if so, how have you gotten past this? (And obtained the position that you wanted).

My particular situation is I am a Senior Engineer with about 15 years of EE, and 3 years of Project Management experience. I am working towards my MBA at CSU-DH in order to work my way into a marketing or sales management job which will allow me to use my engineering and technical skills to build business opportunities (increase revenue, etc.). I had an informal lunch interview with the Director of Sales. We have worked before at another company when he was just a low level manager of engineering. When I told him the school I was attending, he smiled and inquired why I was not attending a real program (in the Silicon Valley, that usually means Haas, SCU, USF, or the big one: Stanford). Of course the real reason is money, GMAT scores (very high in verbal, not so high in math). and the big one - family.

Any feedback from anyone with technical experience who has moved into a business management role utilizing his or her distance MBA degree would be certainly appreciated.

 

I have BS in Engineering with over 10 yrs of experience in system engineering. My manager does not have a degree (he is a GED) and my director has a BS in accounting. We all work for a fortune 500 company. Looks like here degrees mean nothing.
I had an informal meeting with my director about my growth in the company with my DL-MBA and according to him .. until my manager quits or get fired i have no chance of any growth. I have no manegerial contacts in sales/marketing groups..

 

I don't believe that is a distance learning bias. I believe that is a prestige bias. While they do sometimes overlap, I don't think that is the case here. Rember that you're comparing Cal State Dominguez Hills to what are considered quite good programs. Most people wouldn't put CSUDH in that group. A solid program, to be sure, but a step below the ones you mentioned.



Tom Nixon

 

I think the Director's smile masked the pain of insecurity and hence his question which I believe was designed to deflate you and your efforts. I don't believe you are seeing a bias towards the method in which degrees are earned, you are seeing a personal problem.

 

A survey by Vault.com in 2000 demonstrated a clear bias against degrees earned via distance learning when the respondent knew that the degree was earned by distance learning. Of course, the trick is that most people won't know, even if you earn a degree from a DL-only school.

The fact that respondents couldn't articulate their objects in a very convincing manner doesn't change the fact that they're biased against DL. It's called prejudice based in ignorance. But it is real.

 

Of course, a comprehensive university, such as Cal State Dominguez Hills, will not be a prestigious as the research universities that you mentioned (Stanford, U.C. Berkeley, etc.). The comment from the Sales Manager was rude and uncalled for --not to mention unprofessional (which I just mentioned ).

Tony Piña
Northeastern Illinois University

 

There's all sorts of narrow-minded bias out there, but I believe it can be gotten around with a fair share of intestinal fortitude--I intend to prove it by moving into FT academia within the next two years.

My father-in-law is a professor of Finance, he's an ABD and got two Masters, his MBA from USC's Marshall school, a fairly heavy-hitting program. When I told him I was going to UMass via DL for an MBA, he said: "That's OK if you're just looking for a piece of papar."-- it was all because I was doing it the new way, not the path he took--or was able to take 30 years ago when he received his MBA.
When I tell younger professors at my school what I'm doing they say "UMass--you mean Amherst?" When I say 'yes", they say something like "Great, for it." CSDH is not Haas, but hey, that's a solid school you're attending, a DL MBA from there shouldn't raise eyebrows in any but those who would seek to demean you in any event. If you told that Director that you were attending Stanford, he probably would've muttered about how low the standards have dropped there for them to accept you--take that guy with a grain of salt.

The bias is there, but I believe it will start to lift as the old guard currently in positions of power who equate DL with "diploma mill" move on to retirement.

 

I know the case of a mexican engineer that landed a position in Canada as a Quality Manager with an MBA from California State. I don't think that nobody cares if it was distance or on-ground (he did it distance).

 

Thanks everyone for their comments

I know the OP wanted the opinion of those who completed DL programs and are now successful, However, I couldn't help but feel the pain.

I'm in a DL medical program and I encounter bias on most of the medical student websites I go to. I don't vist those seeks to bring other people down, I simply go there to mingle with other medical students. The problem is, that once they find out your in a DL medical program, the bias attitudes of people start flying. Some are true while other are just plain false.

I'll have to deal with this just as you all will have to deal with this until the times change when DL will not be associated with dipolma mills.

In the meantime, I've been asking around to learn how to deal with this bias because until the times do change, there will plenty others who will be biased towards my education. People have simply told me to just stay away from such people. You can't change their minds so why argue with them. The only way to deal with such people is to prove them wrong by your accomplishments.

So, I takes the words of many of you as encouragement to hang in there.

-Dr.2B