Heriot-Watt Slashes MBA Tuition by $1,530

I'm not even vaguely interested in doing an MBA right now, but for those of you who are:

I got a letter from Heriot-Watt's U.S. agency today stating that ("due to a restructuring in the global pricing strategy") the MBA now runs $825/course instead of $995/course. This would seem to reduce overall tuition from $8,955 to $7,425, which puts it in the same general ballpark as many of the less expensive state-funded U.S. regionally accredited MBAs.

I've never understood why it should cost more than a couple hundred bucks to receive study materials and take an examination, but if I were to do an MBA, this would probably be the one I'd choose. Self-paced, exam-based master's programs of any kind are a rarity.


Peace,

Tom


[Note: This message has been edited by Tom Head]

 

Tuition at Northcentral University is about half of that...if you are considering doing an MBA.

I just don't understand why tuition cost at a state university which it has to account for (facility O&M cost) is about the same at distance learning accredited college and university where (facility operates and maintenance cost is so rather too small).

You guy wouldn't believe this. There are idiots would pay for non-accredited school more than the cost at a state university. For example, few months ago, I checked a web site of a non-accredited school Canyon College, Canyon College's tuition cost per course is $450 for any master program. http://www.canyoncollege.edu

I am not sure as I recall Dr. Bear or whomever thinks this school is legit. I It is illegal as far as Oregon State concerns. http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.html

 

Canyon College is *highly* questionable, to say the least. Steve Levicoff did a mini-investigation into them awhile back after an a.e.d. semi-regular was bamboozled into signing a faculty contract with them.

What Steve found was that the entire operation was run out of a single family residence, and their degree requirements were laughably sub-standard, among other things.

Bruce

 

The Chronicle of Higher Ed had an article in September -- http://chronicle.com/free/2000/09/2000092001u.htm

Excerpt:

Sigh. Where is the FBI when you need 'em?

------------------
Kristin Evenson Hirst
DistanceLearn.About.com
[email protected]

 

Thank you all for your information!

I just couldn't imagine what kind of an idiot lives in Oregon would spend a lot of money and time studying at Canyon College. I just don't understand what kind of education that a person achieves and uses can be charged with a misdemeanor? The answer is any non-accredited degree.

From the article http://chronicle.com/free/2000/09/2000092001u.htm, what "Catch-22" means? Anyone care to explain? Thanks.

Erma

 

I just find out from a friend that if a person obtained a non-accredited degree from a non-accredited school can file a law suit against that school for partial tuition reimburstment. One needs to have a lawyer to assist, though. It states under the consumer protection code, falsed advertisement or marketing, and non-usable product.
If you are living in Oregon, you should be able to get a some tuition refund. Contact Oregon Department of Consumer Affairs.

Erma Ash

 

"Catch-22" is a reference to the novel by Joseph Heller. Here's an excerpt that should explain:

And I noticed that somehow the URL I typed got the comma added to it -- the correct address for the Chronicle article about Canyon is http://chronicle.com/free/2000/09/2000092001u.htm

------------------
Kristin Evenson Hirst
DistanceLearn.About.com
[email protected]

 

Thank you Kristin,
I think I heard of that from watching a classic WWII movie. I didn't understand the analogy of the catch until now. Thanks for enlightment.

 

What about nationally accredited colleges/universities? Am I right about that their degrees are generally not accepted by regionally accredited universities? I have a close friend who went to school (non distant learning school) and got a bachelor's degree. About 10 years back, he was just overjoyed to be accepted to school and like most late teens/young adults and in fact most people, didn't know the the technicalities of accreditation. now he finds that his degree is accepted by most regionally accredited schools. What would you advise for him to do? Sue the school? There are many, many students before him and many still at the school.

 

Oops, made a little typo. Just re-read my posting and this is what I meant to say:

"now he finds that his degree is not accepted by most regionally accredited schools. What would you advise for him to do? Sue the school? There are many, many students before him and many still at the school."

 

snip

>he finds that his degree is not accepted by >most regionally accredited schools. What >would you advise for him to do? Sue the >school? There are many, many students before >him and many still at the school.

I am the administrator for an evening masters degree program in computer science at an RA university. I see MANY students with degrees from 'technical colleges' (I won't name names) who thought their degrees were accredited, but I can only admit them if their degrees were regionally accredited or the international equivalent. I often see ads/flyers/brochures for these 'technical colleges' locally. As far as I can tell, the fact that they are not regionally accredited is never mentioned in any of their literature. I wish these students could sue these 'technical colleges'.

HWORTH

 

Speedoflight, sir,
I think you missed my point. When one sues another person, there two things must be existed. First, there must be a violation of the laws such as illegally operates (e.g don't pay taxes), false advertisement or marketing (mis-inform the fact), and for the least- fraud, scam, mill, etc... Second, there must be damage or injury to an individual or his goods and products. If one or both occurs, any individual or group can sue.

For your friend case, his/her degree is acceptable to another nationally-accredit college or university. Furthermore, his/her degree is accepted by most employers. Last, it is not illegal to obtain one while residing in Oregon or any states. However, if any nationally-accredit school falsely advertises itself with promises that your friend's degree will be acceptable at any regionally-accredit school, he/she can sue for mis-inform or false advertisement.

I heard a lot of non-accredited schools saying "we are in a process of becoming fully accredit." That is false advertisement. That is marketing strategy and scam. It usually works with foreign students. Now, I understand why degree mill never goes out of business. Simply, there are victims, and they don't pay taxes, and if they do pay they probably pay very little.

Erma Ash

 

I personally have no problem with these types of institution. What I would like to see would be a prohibition against using the term "college" or "university" when, in fact, you are a trade school.


Tom Nixon

 

Hi Kruemeli.

I also had a deeper look at Heriot Watts, and I must admit that it at least looks interesting. Since you are German, you should find out if HW is fully accredited in means of Great Britain university authorities, otherwise you are not allowed to lead that degree in Germany (generelly, you are allowed to lead every degree from a state university from any EU country, but when it comes to private universities, you should really better check out your local Kultus- or Wissenschaftsministerium in your Bundesland). If you find out more about HW´s degrees being accepted to German authorities, please tell me, okay? (thanks!).

If it is not, I would prefer the "Open University" MBA program, which is definetely accredited.

Greetings to all of you,

Triggersoft

 

I am a graduate of the Edinburgh Business School distance learning MBA. May I invite you over to the student website for the program. You can find it at: http://www.delphi.com/hwmba/start/

I recall that there are at least a few other students there from Germany. You will probably be able to get most of your questions answered by the hundreds of people who participate in the website.

Regards,

Michael Lloyd

 

Triggersoft,

thanks for mentioning the accreditation in Germany, I just attended an information seminar of the OUBS in Munich yesterday and I have been told that for my state (Bundesland, in this case Bavaria), you have to apply individually with your degree, even an OUBS degree (which is formally accepted in Hessen and Baden Wuerttemberg).
Well, I still have mixed feelings with regards to the OUBS, looked to me they wanted to sell their certificate to keep people with them for a bit longer than necessary, but that is just my personal impression. The material seems to be fine and manageable, but still 10750 GBP for an MBA is a bit much but they have the most impressive accreditations.

 

Thanks for the invitation, I am definitely going to have a look at it.

Regards,

Michaela

 

@ Kruemeli: that´s the point, 10 k GBP is really a lot of money for the OUBS program (by the way, I received their info materials yesterday by regular mail, and I reckon they´ll not waive "Stage 1" for a German University Diploma, so that you may be right, and the whole thing could last to long).

If your interested in talking to me in German about thae whole MBA situation, feel free to contact me: [email protected]

Maybe we find some other possibilities (being able to be German state nostrified...).

Best Regards,

Triggersoft


P.S.: To the rest of you: I had a look at the HW Discussion Board yesterday, and I must admit that it seems to be a real good (and tough) education... (maybe I´m searching for something "easier").

 

Hmm, I had the opposite reaction--My sister in law is at Wharton, and she seems to be working very hard, 2 years full time. I found the HW MBA looked a bit on the easy side (although I do have a friend who did a regionally accredited MBA on weekends in one year). Also, to be frank, it is a bit too popular--There is a perception out there since many people have attended the program or have seen the ads (whether the perception is accurate is another thing).

Warwick, which takes about 4 years part time, seems to look more inline with the top MBA in terms of difficulty and time (plus it has AMBA and AACSB). Has anyone done Warwick or London's programs?

-me