Received a call from UMASS yesterday informing me that I was accepted into their online MBA program. I am currently taking 6 hours from Morehead, another AACSB school but I believe I will transfer to UMASS this fall. While I have enjoyed MSU's classes, I do worry about name recognition and utility of a degree as I will be retiring from the military and moving into the civilian sector in roughly four years. Any thoughts on whether utility should be the driving factor (ROI)? Your thoughts are appreciated. SFC William Parker
Morehead State Hi William, I am a graduate of Morehead's MBA program and have nothing but great things to say about it. They're AACSB accredited, which you mentioned. I have had no problem with other schools recognizing my degree and they are gaining momentum, at least here in the region. I'd stay with MSU--you will have lots of interaction with the professors and other students and will learn a great deal. Let me know if you have any other questions about MSU. I'd be glad to help any way I can. Tim
Congratulations on your admission. Not knowing enough about MBA programs in general I feel unable to say if one of these programs is better than the other. Does one offer an area of specialization that interests you? Perhaps it comes down to geography. Where do you plan to live/work. If it's the New England area than the UMass degree may be marginally more useful simply due to better name recognition, potential alumni connections, better potential familiarity with the program. Otherwise I'm not sure there's any difference in utility. Jack
When I retire from military service in four years, I will likely relocate in South Carolina or Florida. I have the required hours to sit for the CPA exam and will be doing so soon (have to study while taking classes and being a scout platoon sergeant, lol, fun). I have said that education is a personal endeavor, and I actually like Moreheads program better since I can earn 18 SH in management and have had nothing but good experiences with them so far, but as I will be changing careers in four years I also need to choose the path that gives me the most utility. I suppose if I give it thought, passing the CPA exam is probably the most career impacting thing I can do. Thanks for the feedback. William
UMASS Online MBA William, I'm interested in your thoughts on the difference between the UMASS full time MBA and the UMASS Online MBA. On their site, they refer to the online degree as a PMBA (Professional MBA). Did you come across this in your application process? Do you see a difference? Does anyoe have thoughts on the recognition of a PMBA in the business world? Thanks, Patrick
I'm doing UMass now, about 1/3 of the way through the program, very challenging, lots of doctors in it and those with grad degrees (some multiple) already, very bright and accomplished classmates, great give-and-take in the forum discussions. Good faculty, they really treat the classes like a class that they're teaching, not some little sidelight to give only perfunctory attention to. Only issue I'm having is it's hard to get an "A"; I keep getting the minuses! Either they set the bar high or I'm just not bright enough or a combination thereof. I recommend UMass highly. The primary difference between the professional and regular programs are the electives. The regular MBA program requires several more. The core courses are almost identical, though (save for one class that's required in one, not the other). The professional program is 37 cr. hr. plus a roughly 3 hour workload intro class that's non-credit. This is on the low end of the MBA spectrum, where it seems that the avg cr hr requirement to obtain the degree is high 40s or low 50s cr hrs. But it's still a fully AACSB-accredited MBA, and if you look into it, you'll find that MBAs are absolutely all over the board in terms of cr hr requirements. The AACSB seems to accredit anything from 30 to 60 cr hr, each of the programs going by the identical same label--quite odd. As for utility of the degree in industry or academia, I haven't a clue, no opportunity to test it yet, won't finish til next year. If you're going to be living down South, though, I'd look into some of the programs down there before I looked into a Yankee degree. Florida and Florida State both have good online programs, Florida's actually more along the lines of great. The Gerogia Web MBA and the MIssissippi State MBA are also respectable and AACSB. You could also look into Texas A & M-Commerce, which I believe is AACSB, and the Texas University System MBA. Emory has a modular MBA that can be taken partially online that's among the top in the country. Best to you in your search!
Morehead State Geez, I have an MSU MBA, too.... unless you have a problem with Morehead State, why not stick with it? Not sure what you'd gain with a transfer to MASS, but that is your choice. Once I got in and got the system down, no way I was going to transfer.
Hi Parker, The CPA credential is the most important credential in your case. I have known instructors teaching with MBAs from Columbia University, who are are passed over (tenure) for an instructor with a CPA and a degree from Uof P. Best of luck! **********
No kidding? They would pass over a Columbia U grad for a UOP grad just because of the CPA cert? That's incredible!
No kidding? They would pass over a Columbia U grad for a UOP grad just because of the CPA cert? That's incredible!
No affront towards MSU, I was just looking to maximize my utility of this degree. I am more or less in the same position a person making a career change is in, so I was looking for maximum ROI, to include name recognition, nothing more. I have said and will say again that to date I have enjoyed Morehead's program and have learned quite a bit in these courses compared to their undergrad counterparts. Thanks for all of your replies. William
