State Universities now for profit?????

Ok... I grew up a die hard fan of UNC-Chapel Hill... I know there has been a lot of discussion about the price of "for-profit" Master degrees vs. That of state funded, traditional B & M programs. With that, I was just looking at the online MBA offered by UNC-Chapel Hill and here is what I found...

Our students say UNC is as excellent as other top
b-schools, but it’s the clear winner when it comes
to overall value.
Evening MBA Weekend MBA OneMBA® MBA

Program Begins August 2011 January 2011 September 2011

Cost US $72,500*
in 6 installments during 24-month Program US $87,000
in 5 installments during 20-month Program (US $89,000* for the program beginning January 2012) US $97,500*
in 5 installments during
21-month Program

Cost Includes Tuition, texts, socials & immersion weekend accommodations Tuition, texts, socials, overnight accommodations and most meals Tuition, texts, socials, overnight accommodations and most meals for weekend sessions and global residencies

Yes, that's right... $97,500 for an online MBA!!!! I nearly stroked out!!!
:cussing:

Thoughts??? Who would actually pay that when you could go to Harvard for less???
GBS

 

Why do you think that you could get a Harvard MBA for less?

Harvard doesn't offer an online MBA. The estimated cost for one year of study towards the traditional B&M Harvard MBA is $79,400 , including tuition, health insurance, and room and board. Since the MBA takes two years, the total cost is about $160,000.

This assumes that you are single. If you have a family, then Harvard estimates that your costs will be more, up to about $225,000 for a married person with two kids.

And if you are currently working, you will have to quit your job to study for two years in residence at Harvard. So add two years of lost income. This could put the total cost of the Harvard MBA into the $300,000+ range.

****

In contrast, it sounds like you can get the online MBA@UNC without quitting your day job. Total costs < $100,000. So why is that a bad deal in comparison?

 

Georgetown offers an exec MBA that is partially distance learning. you have to attend 6 12 day modules that are spread all around the world over the course of 14 months, but the rest is DL. The total cost (NOT counting airfare and housing for the modules) is $135,000. I cannot grasp spending that much on an MBA, but many people do.

 

Most of the people in these programs have the majority, if not all, of their tuition covered by their employers. There are always a handful paying out of pocket, which is just stupid, but there are worse ways to spend $130k I suppose.

When you compare the handful of top-20 MBA programs that offer distance options, UNC's tuition is reasonable in comparison.

 

Well, Duke University is on the same boat. However, these are private Universities, and which is understandable. I saw UNC advertised on Facebook, and I was curious to click on it. I found the same information; which I would think it is ridiculous. There are many Universities start to charge more than their normal tuition, but lower the admission standards. For example, George Washington University offers Ph.D in Engineering Managing/System Engineering, and required GRE score. Now, they no longer require GRE score except a Master degree with 2 courses of Calculus.

 

Non-profit doesn't mean "offered at cost."

Non-profits are just as concerned about revenue generation as for-profits. They just do it for different reasons, and this can affect the methods they use.

 

Indeed, he he!

 

And of course many, if not most, states have financial problems and are cutting funding to state colleges and universities. I expect to see tuition at these schools increase at a rate greater than the cost of living index.

 

The extreme case is that the state cuts all funding, and leaves the school on its own to look after itself.

In this case, it's questionable whether the school still deserves to be called a "state university". A "state university" without any state support is basically no different from a private non-profit university, and has to charge similarly high tuition.

For example, this is currently happening at the Arizona State University law school. It looks like the ASU law school may lose all state support, and so they are planning to shift to a new financial model involving private funding (which will, of course, mean higher tuition).

This kind of shift is rare now, but it may become more common in the future.

 

They should use George Washington University's model. The school charges student $50.00 per course...for involuntary donation. I questioned them about that charge, and requested them to drop. They automatically added into the bill without students' consent.

 

Not to go off topic, but I thought you were at Georgetown. You're taking courses at George Washington now? While a fine institution, GW is hands down the most over priced university in the country.

 

AUTiger00,

Oh, I attended George Washington University for one semester in summer 2008; which after I left the Marine Corps OCS. Then I returned back to Southern Methodist University to complete my Master of Science in Telecommunications because they offered 50% tuition discount for Military students.

Well, George Washington University's Ph.D in Engineering Management/System Engineering program is not bad, only around $54K for tuition and fees. A Ph.D in Organizational Leadership at Regent University costs $54K for tuition excludes fees and travel expenses. I think most of people leave the institution with high student loans because they borrow not not only tuition and fees, but also for living expenses too. If you compare an MBA at GWU and HBS (Harvard Business School) price tags; I am sure the one at George Washington is less expensive than HBS's one.

 

What was the cost when you went through?

 

When you look at GW graduate programs you will notice that there are many programs with different pricing structures. The also have several satellite locations with different structures. For example, an Ed.D program at the Alexandria location is $826/cr. while an MBA at Foggy Bottom is $1250/cr. Tuition for undergraduate is $42,860/year which is astronomical.

 

At 1/3 the price of their other programs I could see doing a masters degree through them. I was speaking in general terms because I know their undergraduate tuition is the highest in the country.