Arizona State online MBA (AACSB)

ASU offers online MBA program

 

I compared this program to Colorado State and University of Colorado - Colorado Springs and found it to be excellent. I talked with them today and am submitting my application.

 

When I attended Arizona State (1991-93) and worked at Intel Corp., they were doing DL degree programs in engineering using live videoconferencing between the Tempe campus and Intel. The program was well done and extremely successful. There are some very bright folks there, so i expect that the MBA program will be excellent.

Tony Piña
Faculty, Cal State U. San Bernardino

 

ASU Online MBA

It costs $34,000. They are banking on their "name" to sell this. Well, I could spend $34k some other way, but that is ok. Now, I must admit I am an Arizona grad... BEAR DOWN ARIZONA... but I wouldn't spend $34k on an Arizona MBA, either.

 

Cogent, I understand what you are saying and it has merit, however, my company is paying 100% of the costs and that is not a factor to me. Here is the reasons I liked the program:

1.) Not only is the business school AACSB accredited, but the school itself has been rated highly by Financial Times, U.S. News and World Report, etc.

2.) It is a cohort type program which enables me to build more relationships than in the typical "on your own" program.

3.) The class schedule consists of one class for 6 weeks, a one week break, and then the start of another class. I like the one-class-at-a-time process.

4.) The costs are all-inclusive. They cover tuition, books, orientations, supplemental materials.

5.) They returned phone calls promptly and seemed genuinely interested in me.

I may not get accepted, but I was impressed enough to apply. I do feel that I will get a significant ROI for this MBA.

 

Besides, if you wish to travel to campus, for some reason, a 300 mile drive from Redlands to Tempe is quite a bit shorter than to Colorado.

Tony
(I'm an hour closer to Tempe than you. It's not an exciting drive, but it is a pretty straight shot on the I10 freeway)

 

I agree Tony. I do have to magically appear in January for their week-long MBA orientation, but all that is paid for by ASU.

Flights to Phoenix from Ontario are cheap as dirt right now...a opposed to flights to Colorado Springs.

 

This is a great program, and very highly regarded with those I have spoken with in academia - Good Luck.

 

Thanks, Kristie!

Now I just have to get accepted...which I'm really sweating right now.

 

I have been waiting almost 3 months......... tick tock tick tock......

 

I spoke with someone today myself. I like the fact that the classes are offered one at a time. I do have concerns how my company will pay since they still go by per credit cost.

My only other concern was the GMAT. According to the person I spoke with today, they have not decided on the score that one need to obtain. She said currently there is no minmium but they might set it at 600 like the full time program.

Very nice person and spoke with me in great detail about the program. I was impressed. I however am not crazy about the cost.

 

I agree that the cost seems like the biggest downside of this program. ASU has a solid reputation, though its name doesn't carry the weight of a top-20 MBA program (whatever that's worth these days). The other drawback I noticed is that they specifically exclude graduates of the online program from placement and referral services. I'm not sure how they justify that, given the cost of the program.

That said, the structure of this program (especially the schedule used for courses) *really* appeals to me, as it seems to suit my learning style/needs perfectly. The approach they are taking, combined with the fact that ASU is a solid AACSB school with a recognizable name, will put this program at the top of my list if I decide to pursue an MBA and provided that can get most of the cost reimbursed.

Has anyone here asked specifically about business course prerequisites? I couldn't find mention of it on the website, so I'm hoping that maybe there aren't any. I haven't had time to thoroughly look through the site though, so maybe it's there somewhere.

 

9Chris:

I, too, liked the idea of classes taken one at a time. I share your concerns about how to make the cost structure palatable for our company's reimbursement program. When I spoke to the ASU representative, they said they would be willing to assist me in this endeavor. Perhaps they can bill me for a portion after each class.

As for the GMAT, with all the resources online and through Kaplan, I don't think we will have any problems meeting a 600 score requirement.

Gary:

I have investigated a lot of schools and found that most exclude part-time and online MBA students from placement and referral services. The rationale that has been given to me is that part-time and online students are typically non-traditional and their tuition is paid by employers. Most companies would take a dim view of paying a school to educate their employees AND help them get a better job once graduated. I see their point, actually.

 

This is understandable when a company has fully sponsored a student, but I still don't think that it's a fair policy for students who pay for it out of their own pockets. Maybe they'd be willing to make an exception for such a case though.

Regardless, this is a very attractive program, and there's a good chance that I'll apply in a couple of months. I had planned to apply to the weekend or evening MBA program at UT Austin, but the format of the ASU program is really much more attractive to me, as well as being much more convenient and significantly less expensive. First though I need to get through the end of my MSCS program (which will hopefully help my future applications), and then I can think about what to do next.

 

Hopefully, you will apply and we can meet at the January 12, 2004 orientation.

 

That would be great! Once I'm done with this program at the end of August I'll take a couple of weeks to think about what I should do next. I'll have to decide between starting a second master's (which would probably be an MBA), starting work on a PhD (if I could find a program that would work for me), or just taking some time away from pursuing any more academic credentials. It will mostly depend upon what sort of tuition reimbursement I can get approved. I had to take out student loans to pay for my MS, so I don't want to start anything else that would put me further into debt until that is paid off. The ASU MBA program sounds as though it would be perfect for me as long as I could get the tuition covered.

 

Gary:

Should I assume your company reimburses you for each class once a grade report is submitted for that class, like my company operates?

If so, I will let you know what comes out of my ongoing payment discussions with ASU. If they work with me, I'm sure they will work with you.

 

Please let me know also. My company does the same think but does not pay for books or fees. This could be a problem if ASU can not break down the $17,000 a year tuition. Did the person you spoke to mention anything about student loans for this program.

I am a few days away from submitting my application for Empire State College MBA. ASU seems a better fit, not to mention the fact that I only have to go to Arizona once. I would have to go upstate NY 5 times.

 

I'll let you know when I find out. I should know more by mid-week.

 

why not UMass or Indiana or Penn State

For $34k one can get a top20 Online MBA ay Indiana University.

Or a UMass - Amherst MBA for only $22k.

My question is this:
- how do we know ASU MBA will be good if this is their 1st year doing it? Do you want to be a "beta" user and pay $34k?

- is ASU really worth that much - what will it do for you if its not a top10 MBA?

- all I am saying is why not look at http://www.umass.edu/mba and pay less - i dont think majority of people would value ASU more than UMass or Indiana????

What do you guys think?
I do however like the one-class at a time format.

Ciao