Any idea where to find listing of MBA graduates number by year in the US? Searched all over the net with no luck. Thanks, Eli
I've seen the same article (reprinted on various web sites) which stated that 3200 MBAs were awarded in 1956 in the U.S. and that, in 2002, the number had grown more than 35-fold........i.e. well over 100,000. FWIW
Re: Re: No. of MBA grad. in US/year Thanks for the tip. I found the article, still searching for a listing (year by year kind of thing). Eli
Here it is: Earned degrees in business conferred by degree-granting institutions, by level of degree and sex of student: 1955-56 to 1999-2000.
30 to 35 years ago an MBA was an academic degree with strict entry requirements, a full 2 year program with a thesis that many failed to have accepted. I think the one I am somewhat familiar with may have had a language requirement. Today - easy entry, 10 courses, no thesis. My old Bachelor of Commerce took 20 courses, after a BA, including 5 math, stats and applied math courses. The whole nature of the degree has changed from a stepping stone to a PhD to a survey program in business. This is a Canadian perspective. An American one may differ.
The 2001 Dept of Ed report notes that only 24.4% of students were still in 2-year full-time programs. I think Dennis is right. The bar has been progressively lowered. I am struck by the claim that one can get an AIU MBA in 8 months, putting in 20 hours a week. So that's equivalent to about 4 months full-time, compared to the traditional 2 years of (very) full-time effort. I wonder whether the increasing interest in DBA programs is related to disappointment in the depth of current MBA programs?
If the posts in this thread are correct, then the MBA has been severely "dumbed down." Could the same be said of doctoral programs, in general?
I suspect - yes. I have known people teaching at universities many years ago who wouldn't dream of taking a doctorate because of the years invested and the high attrition rate. Teaching with a masters degree was okay but bombing out of a PhD program would not have been good. Also they didn't like the thought of the abuse that PhD students seem to have been required to take.
What standards? The main factor dumbing down degrees is the softening of the exam regimes, to the point that some MBAs, and other programmes, do not require exams at all. They 'examine' them by course work, essays and projects, all written off campus and out of sight of proper invigilation. Nobody can be sure that the person being assessed is the person to whom the piece of work for assessment is to be credited is the person who wrote it. The governing regimes that permit this leave themselves open to serious fraud. Many of the Schools following these non-exam regimes also claim superiority over others solely by their inputs that are 'accredited' by various bodies (AMBA, AACSB, etc.,) which are in fact unofficial self-managed marketing agencies. Some Schools' faculty state that if you can get onto their programmes you will not fail, which is a hostage to fortune. Zero failure rates are corrupting standards. Would you be happy that the pilot of your plane graduated from a flying school where nobody fails? What is the difference between a degree mill that awards a 'degree' with no serious assessment and a prestigious top school that awards its degrees without a serious test of the candidate's fitness, except the one he or she brought to the school before they started? If you want to observe a corruption of standards, try a sweep through MBA Schools in India, though they are no wrose than grade inflated degree programmes in the US and UK.
Well, there are MBAs and "MBAs". I mean, wasn't this degree, initially, designed to be pretty dang general in nature? Today we have MBAs in Financial Planning, MBAs in Accounting, MBAs in Computer Science, et al, which, given the heavy concentration in one specific subject area, probably shouldn't even be considered "MBAs". Apparently, quite a few people believe the letters, themselves, confer additional value, though. In any event, I'd bet that 30-35 years ago an "MBA in Criminal Justice" was a rare bird (if it even existed at the time).
In Canada, at least at the top universities, most of the MBAs are still a two year full time program. I finished a two year program and I still feel that I have very basic knowledge. The new american 8 month part time MBA at AIU is a sample of the present value of the degree, 10 cents a dozen. It is sad to see how easy a degree can loose value over the years. In the present market, either you have an MBA from a top school or you shouldn't bother. The worst is that we have tons of people defending such degrees as excellent and worth persuing.
Today we have MBAs in Financial Planning, MBAs in Accounting, MBAs in Computer Science, et al, which, given the heavy concentration in one specific subject area, probably shouldn't even be considered "MBAs". Apparently, quite a few people believe the letters, themselves, confer additional value, though. This is a very valid point. The MBA I completed via Regis University was general in nature. There was not a concentration in anything (other than business, that is). I believe that many of the MBA's that are graduating now should be awarded M Acc, MF, or some other type of graduate degree. The MBA for some reason has evolved into an all-inclusive degree for anything business related. This creates a problem for those of us who intended to use our degrees to advance our positions in management, as opposed to those who were looking to advance in finance, accounting, computers, etc. The MBA pool has become too watered-down. I found the Regis University MBA to be VERY demanding and rigorous. The ONLY way I could imagine anyone completing this program in less than a year would be if that person quit their job, never went outdoors and worked on this program full-time. Even though this program "only" requires 30 hours to complete, I found that I was putting in anywhere from 20-30 hours per week, sometimes more. Keep in mind that I work full-time as well. It took me two years to graduate. Cy
MBA's do provide value, provided they are conferred not only by AACSB accredited schools, but by AACSB accredited schools with strong alumni networks. Examples of highly ranked MBA programs which can be done DL: Duke (Fuqua) Indiana (Kelley) Florida (Warrington) All Us News top 50 Graduate Business programs. MBA's generally involve: 30 credit hours of basic managerial training (gen biz) 30 credit hours to specialise IIS Actg etc) and are 2 years FT. Averge salaries for top 25 MBA's are over twice that of non top 50 MBA's...something to consider.
