Online Accredited MBA from UW-W, UM-L or UNL ?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by PhD-Bus|Eng, Mar 27, 2013.

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  1. PhD-Bus|Eng

    PhD-Bus|Eng New Member

    Hello All, I am a computer engineer by profession in the U.S. for a fortune 100 company, and I would like to pursue a MBA (part-time, online) with concentrations such as Management, Finance, International Business. I need your expert opinion on two separate topics.

    A. What concentration should I be selecting if I plan to migrate back to my home country (in developing world), that, when coupled with my U.S. training, education and experience, build a profile good and capable enough that will eventually lead to a senior management position in any domestic organization (read National Telecommunications Authority or National Oil & Gas Exploration or National Transportation etc.) or something similar in the private sector such as the country director for the P&G or Unilever or Shell/Exxon etc.

    B. Here are the schools that I have shortlisted and would like to know your expert opinion on which one to go for, if I get an acceptance from all three (please feel free to recommend the concentrations):

    1. University of Nebraska - Lincoln (International Business/Finance)
    UNL | MBA | Distance | Prospective Students | Specializations

    2. University of Wisconsin - Whitewater (Finance/Management or International Business)
    MBA Degree Requirements - College of Business and Economics -University of Wisconsin - Whitewater | Online MBA - Graduate Programs - Business School - Wisconsin, USA | University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

    3. University of Massachusetts - Lowell (Finance)
    Master's Degree in Business Administration - Online MBA Program


    All three schools are in the same tuition range, with almost similar course work and load. I also wanted to include Georgia WebMBA but I am not really sure about that consortium and if I would like a MBA without any specific concentration. So, what are your thoughts?


    Thanks.
     
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    There are so many DL MBA programs I can not imagine how you narrowed it dow to these three. Here's the whole list:

    https://sites.google.com/site/aggietechie/home/dlmba

    First you need to decide if you want a concentration or not. No one else can answer that question but you. You are backing off from your DBA/PhD plan. It seems you're not really sure what you want for yourself. Introspection time.

    Oh, and if you have a few minutes you might want to visit our forum on business and mba degrees. There's a HUGE thread on the best MBA degrees and it's hard to imagine that you wouldn't learn some thing useful there.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 27, 2013
  3. PhD-Bus|Eng

    PhD-Bus|Eng New Member

    Hey ! Thanks for the reply. Actually I still have plans for the Ph.D/DBA program but I think I can manage a course or two for distant MBA every semester. I need to keep myself busy and I think this is manageable, but if it's not, then I can always scale back on the credit hours/semester.

    The criteria I used to narrow down your list of 181 schools is AACSB accredited (list shortens to 87 schools) , then the ones which are under $30,000 (list further shorten to 10) and then finally the ones which are accepting my standardized test scores, GPA and work experience are roughly about 4 which I mentioned in my original post. So, what your opinion about those four schools and then the major as suited for my goals. Coming from an engineering background, yes this is all confusing, but I've already wasted 5 years in thinking/planning/reading/researching/contemplating, however its not taking me anywhere and now I just want to step in the water and get it done. Hope it makes sense. Thanks.
     
  4. PhD-Bus|Eng

    PhD-Bus|Eng New Member

    Guys, can I please have some input from the experienced professionals on this forum? I really need to make a decision by the end of this week (Mar 29th, 2013). Any help would be appreciated !
     
  5. bpreachers

    bpreachers New Member

    Are any of these schools local to you and/or more local to you than others?

    Just a shot in the dark but I think U Mass might have slightly better name recognition. Though I could be wrong as I am not one of the more broadly informed on the forum.
     
  6. PhD-Bus|Eng

    PhD-Bus|Eng New Member

    Thanks for the reply. No, all of these schools are far away from my place. I also think of U Mass as a recognized name but UNL has a better ranking / rating.
     
  7. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    With respect to the present case, I disagree. Big thing here: UMass Lowell isn't "UMass" institutionally in the way most people use the word. UMass generically usually refers to UMass Amherst, the flagship state university. UMass Lowell is a sister but separate institution, along with MA's three other state universities.

    I avoid reputational rankings. I have favorable impressions of all three of these schools.

    But since you're asking, here's one sense of the different scales on which these universities operate. At recent counts:

    • University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has an endowment fund of about 14 million USD.
    • UMass Lowell has an endowment fund of about 49.5 million USD.
    • University of Nebraska–Lincoln has an endowment fund of about 1.24 billion USD. Billion.
     
  8. PhD-Bus|Eng

    PhD-Bus|Eng New Member

    You are correct in a way, but I figured that UMass (online) system is a common platform shared by all of the UMass institutions. Faculty looks pretty decent at UMass-Lowell and more importantly, the fees is $6K cheap and the MBA comes with a (Finance) concentration versus the Amherst option.

    I am also looking at UMass-Lowell as per its name recognition. Engineering/Business Universities in states as Nebraska, Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Iowa, Kentucky, etc. are more or less falls under the same category when comes to their 'market value'. Considering if I ever have to move on the east coast, or north east, the universities of Massachusetts generally carry a feel-good name and reputation in the region.

    If we consider the # of accredited Ph.D programs available in a university, the UMass Lowell and UNL has almost equal number of Ph.D program (UNL have a law school and UMass-Lowell don't) - and another plus point that goes in favor of UNL is that it ranks better in the US News List. So these are the two points for which I am kind of torn between UNL and UMass-Lowell.

    Lastly, the UW-Whitewater looks like a great great option, with plenty of concentrations (but a weak faculty, very limited academic options in BM school, zero Ph.D programs and No Rating in US News is a huge bummer!)
     
  9. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    Nebraska-Lincoln is the main campus in the University of Nebraska system. It has a national reputation (even if this is largely due to its football program).

    Wisconsin-Whitewater and UMass-Lowell are secondary campuses within their state systems (the main campuses are Wisconsin-Madison and UMass-Amherst). They are not well known outside of their home states.

    As might be expected, Nebraska is the most selective of the three. For example, if you look up average GMATs and GPAs at this site, Nebraska easily has the highest numbers:

    GMATs:
    632 UNL
    550 UML
    490 UWW

    GPAs:
    3.5 UNL
    3.26 UML
    3.12 UWW

    Nebraska recommends that applicants to the distance MBA program have a GMAT score of 600 or higher. The average MBA student at UML or UWW scores below this level on the GMAT, and so would probably not be a competitive candidate for admission at UNL.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 29, 2013
  10. PhD-Bus|Eng

    PhD-Bus|Eng New Member

    Guys, I got accepted into UMass Amherst and Univ of Nebraska, Lincoln. Having a tough time to decide between the two - can someone be of help here to advice as to which school to select for online-MBA program ?
     
  11. PhD-Bus|Eng

    PhD-Bus|Eng New Member

    Guys, I got accepted into UMass Amherst and Univ of Nebraska, Lincoln . Having a tough time to decide between the two - can someone be of help here to advice as to which school to select for online-MBA
     
  12. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member

    I would go with U - Nebraska Lincoln. An MBA from a Big 10 school is a very strong credential.

    Good luck.

    Shawn
     
  13. major56

    major56 Active Member

    Purely for brand identification; I would choose the University of Nebraska over UMass. As regards program quality judgments … likely both are comparable.
     
  14. PhD-Bus|Eng

    PhD-Bus|Eng New Member

    Man ! This is getting so confusing. I have never heard of "BIG 10" and only found out about it after reading your message. Earlier people / experts on this forum were telling me to go with U Mass Amherst (since its the flagship school in MA) and now you're recommending U Nebraska Lincoln. These two schools are identical when it comes to fees, GMAT scores, prestige, quality of program - the only difference is name recognition (UMass Amherst has an edge maybe ?) and endowment fund (Nebraska-Lincoln outclasses all) !
     
  15. nmesproject

    nmesproject New Member

    Here is the details:

    UNL Online MBA Program Ranked Second in U.S. News and World Report | CBA News | Communications and Marketing Office | About | CBA | UNL
     
  16. major56

    major56 Active Member

    Both are state supported universities; neither (by most all ranking sources) are top 100 category b-schools. Be decisive … make a selection based on your individual preference.
     
  17. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    They are both "flagship" public schools in their respective states. However, UMass is overshadowed by the many highly ranked private schools in Massachusetts (like Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Boston College, Brandeis, etc). In contrast, there are no highly ranked private schools in Nebraska, so the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has no significant in-state competition.

    Nationally, Nebraska is probably better known, but this would be primarily because of its football team, rather than for its academics.

    Nebraska is famous throughout the US for its strong tradition of college football. If you have a degree from Nebraska, then people will automatically assume that you must be an enthusiastic football fan, and they will try to make conversation with you about the 'Huskers and the Big Ten. You will have to spend the rest of your life explaining to people that you have no interest in such matters (I assume that you don't, since you didn't know about the Big Ten).

    UMass, on the other hand, isn't known for college sports, so no one will expect you to know anything about it. Maybe this a reason to go to UMass.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 15, 2013
  18. PhD-Bus|Eng

    PhD-Bus|Eng New Member



    Yeah ! True That ! However since admissions, I do got a couple of remarks about Patriots ...
     
  19. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    One important difference to keep in mind is that Herbie Husker has a red and white hat with two sides

    [​IMG]

    while Sam the Minuteman has a red and white had with three sides

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 15, 2013
  20. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    There must be a case for Creighton, US News #1 within the category Regional Universities–Midwest. UNL is #101 within National Universities. Of course these are primarily intended to rank their undergraduate schools.
     

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