Online low- cost MBA...

Hi All,

I've been lurking and reading a lot of the threads on here. I've gained a lot of useful info. And am appreciative.

Here's what I need help with because I'm a little confused. I'm looking for:

1) an online only MBA, can be EMBA, because I've been in the working world for 10++ years. At this time I cannot go to school full time so it must be part time.

2) I'm a single parent and cannot afford a lot of the tuitions. I need something reasonable price that will still be a respected credential. (I doubt that my income would qualify me for needs based scholarships but I have two kids that are also very expensive!! )

3) I'm Canadian so the U.S. and U.K. prices can get pricey. I'm not sure which schools are not worth it as I don't fully understand how the different accreditations work and how they're regarding worldwide.

I am looking to take my career in a new direction.

Please help with how to narrow and find a decent accreditation!

 

I have a law degree and have all the requirements needed (from what I've seen) for schools. Haven't taken the GMAT but it seems that is often waived for those with work experience etc.

Mostly the desire comes from wanting to formalize things I've been doing at a volunteer level or for work. I started looking to make a change several months ago and I've realized that the only positions I'm getting asked to interview on is my current role which is no longer my passion. When covid caused a lot of shut downs March 2020... I found myself in a strong leadership role. I would like to pursue more of the policy/ strategic planning etc etc. Which is why I'm thinking that an MBA would be worthwhile.

I've searched a number of schools and have a nice chart. The main issue is that I'm not sure how "xyz small school" will look especially in the Canadian market. The Canadian MBA's I've looked at, that are online, are astronomical. Well out of anything i could afford.

I want to essentially get the most bang for my buck but not break the bank. As a single parent i don't have a lot left over to invest in myself.

I understand the basics of regionally accredited schools but, as a Canadian, I don't know if I fully understand the impact of what that means.

Finally, I don't want to just buy a piece of paper...I really want to solidify my skills and take them to a higher level.

 

What’s the budget? If, say, 13k USD over two years is doable, there are a decent number of options. If that’s way out of reach, options shrink rapidly.

 

I think that would absolutely be doable.

 

For a Canadian, it's pretty much the only school accreditation type that will be accepted without issue from the United States with the exception of schools that are accredited by state boards like the NYSBOR which should get the same treatment.

The work in each program is going to be very similar. Professor quality will vary. The most you can do is find the best school in your price range.

 

Then I'd start by looking at UL-Lafayette: https://degree.louisiana.edu/online-programs/business/mba/general/ AACSB and from an R2 university should travel well. There's cheaper AACSB schools out there, at least a few, but I don't know of any that are also Carnegie classified as R1 or R2, which MIGHT help the degree travel internationally beyond just being RA.

Whatever you do, don't plan on a nationally accredited degree exporting the way you want it to. RA is an absolute floor for you; AACSB is seen safer to take abroad.

 

There are a lot of choices, what is your max tuition affordable?
The University of Louisana is one of the decent rankings at the low-end tuition. Other options are Boston University, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and Macquarie University.
I am pretty much in the same boat with you as a full-time single parent with two kids, and working full-time. I have found Imperial College London is very positive, and I think it worth the money compared to other institutions ranking below its MBA.

 

Canadian here based in the GTA. I don't think an online MBA will help with your goals. The online MBA is primarily for people who are satisfied with their current role and want to use it to move up. Unfortunately, the only type of degree that will help with the type of transition you want is a full-time MBA from a good school (e.g. Rotman, Ivey, Queens, etc). Barring that, I would look into moving into something like compliance / risk / hr as those make use of your legal skills. Then once you are there you can transition to other business areas.

Really hard to transition mid-career. I am in the same boat. I want to transition as well to another field but it requires me to take a huge paycut/step down. My mortgage will not allow that LOL. It is what it is.

 

So -- I have looked into Macquarie -- it is AUD $40,000 -- that is out of my price range.

What are the general thoughts about:

1) AIB?
2) LSIB (London School of International Business)?
3) Stafford (UK)?
4) Georgia Southwestern?
5) Eastern University?

(I know WGU can be lower cost -- but I think I would need the 16 mths and that would make them pricier).

Thoughts on those schools?

 

Eastern's program is new so I expect lots of hiccups. They are regionally accredited. I'm attending their MS in Data Science and having a good experience but talking with students ahead of me, the first few terms were rough. Georgia Southwestern's program is AACSB (that's arguably the best business school accreditation) and very inexpensive even with the currency conversion so out of those, that would be my choice.

I have no data to back this up but I suspect an American MBA will be greeted with less side eye by Canadian employers than a British or Australian one. Plenty of cross-border travel. Fewer people crossing the ocean.

I can't speak to AIB, LSIB, or Stafford's programs.

 

Hello!

AIB is a quite well-reputed Australian business school. But as far as I know, expensive as heck. LSIB and Stafford (UK) are course providers. They sell courses which lead to legitimate degrees from (mostly UK) universities.
As usual, caveat emptor.

Best regards,
Mac Juli

 

Rather the degree you receive is respectable or not really depends on your employer. If you already have a good amount of experience, I would think the MBA as far as where you earn it wouldn't matter that much provided it is recognized as legitimate. I would start at your local state-university and see if they have an online MBA. This would likely be the least expensive route. If a nationally accredited school will work for you, you may want to try University of the People or Quantic University.

I don't want to recommend ENEB because that program has the stigma of being a Groupon school and even though they are certified by Universidad Isabel I, evaluators will often give it less than a regionally accredited MBA by discounting the degree or the accreditation. However, you might be able to use an ENEB program for transfer credit into a nationally or regionally accredited school that is more regarded and recognized which will save you money overall.

 

I'm a fan of NA schools for Americans but they are not evaluated as equivalent to Canadian degrees by WES, unfortunately.

 

It's just a school using Groupon for a promotion, but by saying "Groupon school" you feed the stigma, lol. It's not fair (and I know you weren't trying to be unfair in any way) because National Louis and ASA (both regionally accredited schools) have had Groupon promotions.

The evaluators don't care about the promotion, they only care about the status/legitimacy of the program in its home country. Being a propio is the only thing that causes evaluations that differ from what we would expect as Americans. However, of the three evaluation results that have been put out by students, 2 got regionally accredited equivalency status (one as a 30-credit grad diploma and one as a bachelor's degree), and one got U.S. non-accredited master's status. I've yet to hear of an outright rejection and that's a great indication.

Would a person be able to take one of the RA equivalent evaluations and utilize the degree in Canada? Would that even work? I don't know, but I have doubts given some things I've read about regarding the Canadian education system over the years. Besides, I'm sure a Canadian entity would require an evaluation done by a Canadian evaluator. Your idea of going to an RA school with the ENEB credits and working it out that way would be a better and cost-saving process.

 

There are tons of AACSB accredited MBA programs that can be completed in one year and are very affordable.

Here is a partial list and the approximate tuition costs:

1). West Chester University - $22k
2). University of Texas Permian Bain - $12k
3). William Paterson University - $14k
4). Southeastern Oklahoma State - $12k
5). University of South Carolina Aiken - $14k
6). Texas A&M Corpus Christi - $13k
7). University of Massachusetts Lowell - $19k
8). LSU Shreveport - $12k

All of these offer GMAT/GRE waivers too.

 

Hum, I didn't know other schools have used Groupon to promote their degrees. That's news to me, although I haven't been a higher education examiner and hobbyist all that long. Yeah associating ENEB with Groupon like it is a bad thing is feeding the stigma but I only said that because I would not recommend anyone to it who really needed an MBA that is considered top-notch, yet would recommend ENEB as a stepping stone or life-long learning project. One thing I have found odd about the Canadian higher education system and foreign evaluation is that one particular evaluator viewed the propio as recognized when coming from a public institution but no recognition when it comes from a private one. The US does not distinguish between public and private, just accreditation.

 

My local school is $100,000 -- which is why I am looking online and for flexibility. I am not sure what ENEB is.

I think a UK school or US school would be received okay in Canada.

 

Actually the lowest Canadian MBA that I have found that is online is $30K. So, it is significant when I am mostly looking to formalize what I have been doing for 15-20 years.

 

This is the ENEB school website:
https://eneb.com/

Basically the school is certified by Universidad Isabel I in Spain. It is a private online school with equivalency to regionally accreditation with ENEB degrees awarded as unofficial degrees with transferrable credit hours. However, since you are in Canada, it may not be recognized since it is a propio coming from a private school. Their programs are less than $300 when purchased through Groupon.