I have 2 wks to decide on a Grad degree - DETC or Regional? What to do!

Okay, so I was 99% decided on the MS Human Relations and Business Degree at Amberton, it's only36 credits, no GMAT, GRE, it's a regionally credited school and it's only $8600 for the whole degree. Customer support has been great, application fee was free, enrollment was a snap, the courses seem challenging and the school has high reviews.

And then I talked to a friend at work who is getting her MBA at Columbia Southern University. No GMAT, GRE, no business prerequisites, pretty high student ratings, about 70 pos., 30. neg., students reported that doors had opened. And it's only 11k. You can start anytime and financial aid is available. The MBA I am most suited to is the MBA in Marketing.

I have about two weeks to decide and I have no clue what's best. As of now I have no intentions of getting a phd and I don't really think I want to teach, but you never know.

I work in marketing now and have been doing so for the past 7 years. I'm pretty good at it, and I'm passionate about driving sales, but it's also a high demand job and I don't want to get to the piont of burnout and be pigeonholed by an MBA in Marketing. the school has other concentration but they don't really appeal to me.

The problem with a marketing concentration is that I may want to venture away from marketing to HR or corporate training or some other business related field at some point. Will my degree hinder me? Will jobs opps turn me away because it's a DETC school - the larger question? What if I want to do PR or corporate com - is a marketing degree a good fit. They are close but not really the same. The Biz and Human Relations degree sounded generic enough to cover many areas in business and with 7 years of Marketing on my resume - I don't think I'd have a problem getting another marketing job with that degree. Also, I don't have any interest in Finance or Number crunching etc.


The other thing about Columbia is that if I decide later I want to transfer to Amberton none of the courses transfer over from Columbia because Amberton doesn't accept DETC courses. Also, the Amberton degree while it focuses on business also includes many communication and psychology related coursework which appeal to me.

What to do, what to do!

 

In marketing and in HR, I expect a DETC degree will get you where you want to go; I have not heard of discrimination in those fields. However, anytime you can go with a regionally accredited school over a DETC school, you will be better off. That's not to knock DETC schools, in fact, they offer just as high, and sometimes higher, quality education as many regionally accredited schools. The problem is that a majority of schools will not accept DETC units in transfer, but then transferring a lot of units can be a problem anyway. Also, as you mentioned, employers in some fields discriminate against DETC, but those same employers are likely to discriminate against online degrees in general.

As far as which degree to get, you probably don't need a MBA in marketing. You already have the experience to speak for your ability in marketing, so I would not bother with that. If you want to move into HR, then a degree in HR might help a little. Experience in the field is the critical factor, however. You will probably make better money in marketing.

Or, how about a general MBA?

 

After reading your post, I'm not sure what about the CSU MBA is enticing you towards it? It costs more, and is not regionally accredited. Maybe not being RA won't matter, maybe it will, but IMHO, it's better to be safe than sorry ...

If you prefer the MBA nomenclature ("I have my MBA" is quick and easy while "I have my MS Human Relations and Business" may require additional explanation) Amberton also offers four different 36 credit MBAs ...

Amberton is an explicitly Christian school so presumably (hopefully) the business courses you would take will incorporate biblical values, whereas CSU is not so it won't, if that makes any difference pro/con your decision.

 

RA>DETC=Always (99.9%)

KISS.

 

I can't think of a single reason to choose Columbia Southern over Amberton. IMHO, you will encounter more problems with the DETC vs RA issue of Columbia Southern than with the MS vs MBA issue of Amberton.

While it would be nice to believe that the greater job market understands DETC degrees and accepts them as being of the same stature as RA degrees, it is just not the case. There are still plenty of companies that explicitly look for RA degrees, and any other US non-RA degree is seen as substandard. Add to that the fact that the RA degree is in fact cheaper, and I really don't see what the debate is about.

 

That is pretty much it.

Think about it this way, have you EVER heard of a business saying that they accept DETC degrees but NOT RA degrees? Have you EVER heard of a university say that an RA bachelors not sufficient for admission into their graduate program, BUT a DETC bachelors was? Have you EVER heard of a university saying that they will not accept RA credits for transfer but they WILL accept DETC credits?

 

Putting the NA RA issue aside, why would you want to pay $11k rather than $8,600k? In this economy, you want to save as much as possible.

Abner

 

IMO, Amberton would be a better choice. B& M and online course options and being regionally accredited makes it more appealing. The school is actually a spin-off of Abilene Christian University. I used to go to Amberton before tranferring to AMU. I was interested in the Human Relations and Business Masters, but got persuaded by folks on this forum to do an MBA. In your case, you have marketing experience which carries a ton of weight! I believe the Human Resources Training and Development would be a great option for you. I don't think you need an MBA with your business background. I also suggest that you join the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD national or local chapter) to meet HR and Training practitioners. If you want just corporate training you can just bypass a master's and get an ASTD Trainers Certificate. They have a ton of resources and a forum just like this one where you can get a ton of help and information about the field. ASTD - ASTD . If you decide that you really love the Training and Development field, then there are affordable master's degrees in Workforce Development and Adult Learning, and Instructional Design.

Also with Amberton, they now have a financial aid program. Before, I was paying with a credit card :-(.

Good luck in your decision.

 

You might want to look at some other degree titles. The MS in Administrative Studies from Missouri State is very cost effective and provides an alternative to an MBA.

MS Administrative Studies

Both Chadron State College and Peru State College offer the MS in Organizational Management and are price competitive.

 

Another option could be an MSA from UWF - UWF - Online Campus - Graduate Programs

 

Thanks everyone for your very insightful replies. I really appreciate it! It's exactly what I needed to hear.

In answer to the question of why the temptation to Columbia Southern (beyond just the MBA label) was hearing from my coworker that the classes, though challenging, sounded less rigorous than Amberton. One poster on another site mentioned having to write an 85-page paper at Amberton, but I think it was for a course I wasn't planning to take anyway, but it did spook me a little, given my current work load.

I'm not looking for easy street just something manageable. I'll check out some of the other schools mentioned here as well. Thanks all!!