I'm looking to get my MBA with a possible concentration in Finance. Which one has the better program and reputation? I'm looking to get a quality education and I want the name to look good on my resume. I was also looking at these two because they are regionally accredited and professionally accredited (IACBE). Any thoughts or experiences? Thanks.
I have a colleague completing his bachelor's at Bellevue. He's really enjoyed the experience, and thinks the support students receive is great. Neither school has a national reputation; either would likely have the same impact on your career. I'd chose the one whose tuition, curricula, delivery format, etc. met your needs the best. Rich Douglas
Crystal: I think both colleges have a fine reputation "on the street" as to quality and respect. The choice would be difficult, so I might look at both for costs and the number of credits to complete. Another school I might look at, which may carry a little more weight (IMHO) on a resume, might be U of Mass-Amherst. They too, offer their degree completely online, 37 credits for degree completion and graduate courses are attractive at $200-$600/course. AACSB accredited. http://www.umass.edu/continued Two links for your consideration: BusinessWeek has a great article on distant MBA programs http://www.businessweek.com:/2000/00_40/b3701022.htm and a ranking of part-time MBA programs at http://www.businessweek.com:/bschools/00pt/index.html
This looks fantastic, but are you sure about the price? I couldn't find a page that refers specifically to the online MBA tuition, but the other listings for graduate tuition and fees seem to put the degree cost at about $16,000, or somewhere around $450 per unit. I hope I'm wrong, so if you can point me in the right direction, it would be appreciated. Dan
The correct link to the University of Massachusetts’s MBA Professional Program Web site is http://www.umamherstonline.org/index.learn?action=Programs#mba . The actual tuition costs are $600.00 per credit, therefore the total tuition costs for the program (37 credits) are $22,200.00.
SJEditor and Gus: I can only report what I read. According to their literature, graduate courses (online) are offered at $200-600 per credit. Here is a downloadable page showing such information "in print". U of Mass - Amherst (this a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat is required). Or call them: Office Hours (Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Academic Programs & Instructional Services....413-545-0530
The literature you linked to is from the Division of Continuing Education, and the tuition information you quoted is for all graduate continuing education courses, whether they are part of a degree program or not. The correct link to the University of Massachusetts’s Division of Continuing Education Web site is http://www.umass.edu/contined/ , and information on the MBA Professional Program can be accessed at http://www.umass.edu/contined/degree.html#mba . You will notice that the Division of Continuing Education offers the program at the Baystate Medical Center in Springfield and the Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield at a cost of $440 per credit. (The Division of Continuing Education also offers the Professional MBA Program, but it is a different program offered at another location.) The page provides a link for those interested in more information concerning online delivery of the program. And it is here, at the University of Massachusetts’s Web site for all their online degree programs, located at http://www.umamherstonline.org/index.learn?action=Programs#mba that they specifically state that tuition for the MBA Professional Program is $600.00 per credit. Moreover, if you scroll down the page, you will notice that the tuition for the MPH In Public Health Practice program is $400 per credit hour and the tuition for the Master of Science (Nursing) program is $300 per credit. So although it appears that in the same school, there is a certain amount of variability in the tuition costs between one graduate program and another (in spite of the fact that they use the same mode of delivery), the tuition for all courses within a program remains constant. The fact, however, that MBA programs (due to either higher teacher salaries, or simply a matter of perceived ROI) are frequently more expensive than other graduate offerings, is not that unusual. And the fact that the method of delivery of the MBA Professional Program is through eCollege, probably does nothing to keep costs down.
Gus: Thanks for the update! I should not have relied solely on Peterson's and delved a wee bit further into it. At $600.00 per credit that's a vast difference in cost ($22,200) vs. the other alternatives the original poster posed.
Hello crystal222, My favorite MBA program is California State University at Dominguez Hills (AACSB Candidate, $9000 (nationwide) and no residence). You can complete this program in 15 months. If you want to attend a university that is already AACSB accredited, University of South Alabama (AACSB, $5,510 (nationwide)) is a good school. However, according to its website, "all MBA Online students must complete MGT 515 (Business Policy and Strategy) in residence. This capstone course is offered in a series of summer Saturday sessions to accommodate the schedules of Online students." Biloxi, Miss., Las Vegas of the South, is an hour away to the West, and beaches of Pensacola, Florida is half an hour away to the East of Mobile, Alabama where University of South Alabama is located. You can spend your money away or lay on the beach while completing your MBA. What is a deal?