I am considering enrolling in a British MBA (via distance learning) program, and would love to hear of others' experiences, and perspectives, on the relative merits and strengths/weaknesses of these specific MBA options: 1. University of Warwick Business School 2. University of Strathclyde Graduate School of Business 3. University of Leicester Management Centre 4. Univesity of Bradford School of Management 5. Henley Management College 6. Open University Business School 7. Durham University Business School If ANYONE has any specific experience, I would greatly appreciate hearing about it. My requirements, generally: Program should be accredited by AMBA, at the very least. Program should have a strong to excellent reputation. Program should have good to very good reputation in the USA. I have the catalogs/information from all these schools, so what I really am looking for is any personal, "insider" or other specific experience or knowledge beyond the schools' marketing materials to assist in making a decision. Thank you!
First, the UK has a policy of "common-coin", which means they strive to provide a common academic experience regardless of the university you attend. This is achieved via a method of cross-validation... your Henley program could be "supervised" by Warwick or vice-versa. I am not suggesting that all these programs are equal but the difference between worst & first is not the same as the US. Second, AMBA does not have the value that business accreditation does in the US. It is more of a net-working mechanism than anything. Third, some of your options (Open, Durham?, ?) are not available in the US. I think Warwick would have the most prestige... perhaps Henley second, although none of these options are week by any means. There are two other which you have eliminated, presumably because they are not AMBA, but which I would recommend you consider. The University of London's external MBA focuses on international business... if that is your interest, this is a great alternative. Heriot-Watt has an excellent reputation and large presence in the US, I would suggest that an US based student looking at a British program should consider it along side these other, excellent, alternatives.
UK MBA programs Most UK universities that offer MBA programs are good. Ranking them is difficult and often comes down to the profile and the reputation of the University rather than the MBA program itself. The Quality assurance authority is the only government body in the UK which measures the quality of teaching given at the Universites and awards them marks based on their perfromance. Check out their site at www.qaa.ac.uk. eg My School (Oxford Brokes University) received a 24/24 for the quality of its business education, one of the only ones in the UK yet its MBA program is not AMBA accredited. AMBA accreditation is an interesting topic. Here in Europe and particularly in the UK there is a move afoot to classify MBA's as first tier and 2nd tier depending on whether the program is an AMBA accredited one or not, mind you this has no credability amongst national degree awarding standards and privately it is seen as a boys club and a way for the bigger universities to differentiate themselves from the myriads of universities now offering MBA's. However I have had confirmation from several large employers recently whose HR depts have being informed that non AMBA MBSA's are indeed second class, this was done by AMBA themselves. This one has a while to play out yet. I do know also that the European Union is looking at a European wide accreditation scheme for all business schools and this is set to be the definitive standard. However I hear AMBA are objecting to this also, not that they will have a choice in the end as the EU has seemingly never emptying pockets when it comes to funding universities. In the end its your choice and I can't adivse on what schools are well regarded in the US. Hope this info helps. One school you didnt consider was SEMS & University of Surrey.
UK MBA programs Most UK universities that offer MBA programs are good. Ranking them is difficult and often comes down to the profile and the reputation of the University rather than the MBA program itself. The Quality assurance authority is the only government body in the UK which measures the quality of teaching given at the Universites and awards them marks based on their perfromance. Check out their site at www.qaa.ac.uk. eg My School (Oxford Brokes University) received a 24/24 for the quality of its business education, one of the only ones in the UK yet its MBA program is not AMBA accredited. AMBA accreditation is an interesting topic. Here in Europe and particularly in the UK there is a move afoot to classify MBA's as first tier and 2nd tier depending on whether the program is an AMBA accredited one or not, mind you this has no credability amongst national degree awarding standards and privately it is seen as a boys club and a way for the bigger universities to differentiate themselves from the myriads of universities now offering MBA's. However I have had confirmation from several large employers recently whose HR depts have being informed that non AMBA MBSA's are indeed second class, this was done by AMBA themselves. This one has a while to play out yet. I do know also that the European Union is looking at a European wide accreditation scheme for all business schools and this is set to be the definitive standard. However I hear AMBA are objecting to this also, not that they will have a choice in the end as the EU has seemingly never emptying pockets when it comes to funding universities. In the end its your choice and I can't adivse on what schools are well regarded in the US. Hope this info helps. One school you didnt consider was SEMS & University of Surrey.
According to the folks at Heriot Watt (EBS), AMBA accreditation requires a mandatory on-campus component. (So EBS could pursue accreditation for their on-campus program, but not for the eMBA or the standard distance program. This they consider unacceptable since they have as a basic principle that the on-campus and distance programs are equivalent.)
Yes, the Edinburgh Business School was AMBA accredited (or I guess it was the graduate school of business of Heriot-Watt then) then they decided to fully integrate their distance and on-campus programs to facilitate students going forth-and-back (the single degree concept). Their decision to integrate "cost" them the AMBA accreditation... apparently they felt that the value of having the two programs equivalent was greater than the AMBA accreditation. From the US perspective, the question is whether AMBA accreditation (not exactly a known commodity) is worth more than the recognition of EBS in the US... EBS is "beginning" to definetly get "some" name recognition in the US.
A recent report in the Uk showed that when peoplke are recruiting, the place fromw hich they received their degree(s) came fourth or fifth in the list of things being considered! Personality, character, etc appeared before degree! But you've identified most of 'the best'. YOU have to decide which programme fits your life-style, ability to put time into the programme and so on! Each will exact its own demands! You have them roughly in order of how people look at each program. You can have as many Times, Financial Times (et al) ratings as you like....do what YOU want!
additional question Thanks for all your responses. Does anyone know how the various schools "stack up" when it comes to student/customer support for USA based MBA distance learning students? That issue (student support/customer support) seems to be critical in MBA student satisfaction, during their studies.... Some of the UK programs seem singularly disinterested in being aggressive in providing easy access for USA based students (I would guess because so few students take UK distance MBAs). What does anyone know about this issue, and how it has affected student learning and student satisfaction? Perhaps not so oddly, one of the less highly regarded programs (no slight intended, just my interpretaion of comments of others), Leicester, has some of the best support via a USA based company/agent. Any ideas or comments? Thanks so much Gary
In terms of "prestige", a degree from the University of Durham would be top-notch because of the long-established reputation of the university and not necessarily the actual business program itself. It depends on what it more important to you. The Durham Business School is decent, but not top-tier. Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and Bristol are typically the most "snobby" universities in the UK and well regarded because of this! I don't think that the Open University runs degree programs in North America (but I could be mistaken). Warwick, Strathclyde, Leicester, Bradford are all EXCELLENT schools and have excellent business school reputations. However, Warwick is a relatively new university but should be the preferred choice in business education. Henley is known throughout the world, but it not a comprehensive university. However, its MBA program is excellent and would be well-received. If I were doing it, I would rank them as follows based on a combined reputation of the university and business school: 1. University of Warwick 2. University of Durham 3. University of Leicester 3. University of Strathclyde 4. University of Bradford I would not really rank Henley in the above list because it is a management college and not a university, however, it's MBA program is probably more well-known than the above schools. In summary, any one of these fine schools would meet your needs. Picking the "cheapest" program and going with it would probably be your best bet. Good luck!
follow up to Scott's post Scott, Thank you for your thoughtful response. I have some additional questions. Since I've been pointed to Henley, as perhaps one of the best programs for me (I've 21 years management and business experience, so I'm really trying to approximate the EMBA experience, if possible), I'm wondering if you can comment more on Henley. Further, I've also heard good things about Warwick Business School, so if you know more about that program, it would be appreciated. I don't mind Warwick being a "younger" school...I'm not as concerned,ultimately, about prestige of the parent university as I am about the strategic and practical value of the content. Years ago, I received a sample CD-ROM from Henley, for their first course, and I wasn't, quite frankly, that impressed. I also reviewed carefully the Warwick curriculum and approach, and it seemed quite pedestrian and traditional...straight "courses' with very little or no emphasis on the cross-functional nature of business problems and issues, and very little emphasis on strategic or leadership. Then, I've reviewed Strathclyde, and frankly, like it's curriculum the best, both before and after they revised it. However, Strathclyde is the least "user friendly" in that they have NO support for USA based students, and require more trips back to Glasgow for intermittent sessions...it's not very well thought out for the long distance "distance learning" student from the USA. Any further comments or recommendations for me, in light of the above? And thanks again! Gary
Re: follow up to Scott's post Henley Management College is held in very high regard in Europe and arguably ranked in the Top 10 Business Schools in Europe and Top 30 worldwide for its MBA program. It is one of the longest-established business schools in Europe. There is no question regarding the legitimacy of a Henley MBA or its rigour. I have corresponded with Henley administrators before regarding their DBA and PhD programs, however, don't know much about the structure of the MBA program. Warwick Business School has an excellent reputation. Strathcylde is an excellent school overall. Again, you're comparing excellent schools and your decision will likely be based on a subject-by-subject basis and the overall cost of the program. Check out the syllabus of the respective MBA programs, find one that suits your need and hopefully the cost is reasonable. Hope this helps.
There are really on two schools that have intentionally targeted the US market. #1: Heriot-Watt The have/had the largest MBA program in the US, a office in New York and, from what I hear, a very impressive new on-line component (you get success and make a low of money to re-invest and become more successful). #2: Leceister They are new on the MBA scene (from a US perspective) but also have an American support office. The program looked good (when I looked into them) but they were not as flexible as I liked. For me... the paramount issues were rigor (i.e. I may not need a Harvard degree but I need to compete against those with Harvard degrees) and extreme flexibility to accomodate life, work, travel, etc. IMO... aside from "maybe" Warwick, the rest of these schools are not in the "10 best" category but are clearly excellent programs... pick the one that suits you the most.
