Eastern University MBA

Eastern University has an attractive online MBA program for a reasonable cost.
My employer would cover the cost if I could split it across two years - it appears to take about a year and a half so that would work.
Has anyone ever done an MBA with Eastern? Or any opinions of Eastern University as a school?

 

@Dustin is an alumnus of Eastern University's MS in Data Science program. Why did you choose Eastern University's MBA? There are many AACSB-accredited programs that are more cost-effective or comparable to Eastern's.
URL: https://www.geteducated.com/online-college-ratings-and-rankings/best-buy-lists/best-buy-online-masters-mba-aacsb/#/

 

Dustin contributed the greater part of a 7-page thread on Eastern, with full details of his experience throughout his earning the MS in Data Science at Eastern.
It's here: https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?threads/ms-in-data-science-self-paced-10-months-under-10k.57214/

 

For a student who values some or all of

• price is reasonable, maybe $$ on a scale of $ to $$$$$
• in Eastern's LifeFlex programs including the MBA (and MSDS), courses have 7-week terms but assignment deadlines are generally flexible within those terms
• ACBSP, student doesn't need AACSB
• brick-and-mortar school established 1926
• and well established in online education
  
• Christian identity of the school, distinctly Evangelical, with moderate to progressive elements within Evangelicism prominently part of the school, and without the Bible paper in every course in secular subjects type approach as at Liberty

Eastern can readily be a winning choice.

 

I am a little biased on WGU. I have seen a good number of WGU graduates have a hard time finding employment. Am I the only one?

 

Thanks for the replies. I'm digging into Dustin's thread. One of the things that appeals to me about Eastern is that it is only 30 credit hours, which is the "lightest" MBA program I think I've ever seen, as they usually range from 33-39. They mention that it's for people from any background that are looking to get an MBA, and the basic track is still called an "MBA in Organizational Management" They offer four specialization tracks that add another 12 credit hours to the base track of 30. Has anyone else ever found an MBA program with only 30 credits?

 

Walden's MBA programs are 30 credit hours and allow 15 credits to transfer in. They will accept graduate credits into the program from any CHEA recognized school, As long as they feel that the class aligns with their MBA classes. I did a number of transfer credits at UoPeople and also at ACE. UoPeople had one of my favourite professors but also one of my least favourite. I really enjoyed the experience of the ACE course though, and would recommend that first if a person has the money to do it.

Walden originally had a concentration I was interested in. They technically dropped it for the MBA which is strange because they kept it for some of their other masters programs. They also have a self-designed concentration though, so technically I think a person could still build out that same concentration. I've been in the tempo track but was planning to switch to the self-designed during my last term to be able to have a concentration.

 

I agree with this. I also went to add that I went through the job descriptions on numerous job search websites a few years ago when I was looking at MBA programs to see what was said about accreditation requirements. Hardly any of them mentioned the type of programmatic accreditation required. Out of everything that I saw, maybe one to three ads across numerous sites mentioned wanting AACSB accreditation to teach. Doing a quick search on Indeed.com right now, none of the jobs mentioned AACSB programmatic accreditation requirements... not even jobs with AACSB themselves! I decided I was not going to try to attend an AACSB program that either did not have the concentration I wanted or was expensive... not worth it. I stand by that decision I went with the school I felt better about in general for numerous reasons. Chances are that if I ever taught I would probably want to be at school that is more focused on giving underdog type students opportunities rather than some place like the ivies where most of the students are already coming from privileged backgrounds... and are probably the same ones that would require AACSB accreditation. So, I think it's all about what the person getting the MBA really wants and what they plan to do with it, but for probably about 98% of people it will not ever matter.

 

Thanks for the responses,

Yeah, I think I was one of the first folks here to discover the HAU program. The bottom line is that my employer has an "educational partnership" with UAGC, that was a "full tuition grant" so that's where I started - unfortunately after speaking with them I found out that although that grant previously covered books and technology fees - making it a truly "free" program for me - they will no longer be covering those expenses in the "full tuition grant" starting April 1 - technically it still covers "full tuition" but not the associated learning costs. That means each class would cost me roughly $300...or more. Not a bad price for an entire 3 credit hour class, but I am dead set on not spending any more money on my education (random application fees and transcript costs and the odd book here or there notwithstanding).

The HAU program intrigues me still, but I think I'd need something just a little more flexible - I thought I had read that there were parts that were not asynchronous, and it most certainly would require an 18 month commitment. WGU doesn't interest me for some reason. I looked at ACE as well, but it was Eastern's 30 CU completion that intrigued me. It seemed like it could be done in maybe 14 months and I'm fine with ACBSP.

 

Georgia Southwestern State University
Master of Business Administration AACSB
Tuition only $9,210* at $257/credit hour!
You can check if you can completed within one year.

The University of Texas Permian Basin
Master of Business Administration AACSB
$10,679.70

 

This has been true at since I got into this field in the late 1970s. But....

Almost all of the best B-schools have AACSB accreditation. So, which employers aren't looking for that particular label, to the extent they're seeking grads from high-quality schools, they (in a sense) are looking for it. They just don't know it.

In my experience, the more experienced you are in your career, the less the reputation of the school matters. There are a few schools with a national reputation that will always matter. There are also schools within regions that have a local rep. Beyond that, it really doesn't matter much. You're enhancing a career, not starting one, and (for the most part) no one really cares where you went to school. (Sadly, this is also the phenomenon that enables the diploma mill industry, as well as people who flat-out lie about their credentials.)

For mid-career professionals, better to focus on content, fit, delivery, cost, etc.

 

You only see whether AACSB accredited degree requirement is in academia; generally, outside of academia...employers only require an MBA and work experience. Sometimes, prestigious schools play a better role in hiring AACSB accreditation.

 

I did find another similar program with similar costs that I had never heard of before, if anyone is interested.
Clarks Summit
$9495
https://www.clarkssummitu.edu/academics/graduate-academics/master-of-business-administration/

It's another "Christian school" which might put some folks off, depending on how much they inject that into their curriculum. I know some colleges are all about putting that world view into their programs and requiring papers and such that reflect that, but my MS was from Anderson University in South Carolina and they are a Christian University, but none of that had any effect on the program other than the communications from the college, but I would think it would be the same as going to a Catholic university like Notre Dame.

 

This is tricky, and it's something people should be aware of - there are a couple of schools I've looked at like GSWU that make the claim that their MBA is less than $10K - and technically, that is true - BUT there are several undergrad course requirements for entry into the MBA program - a basic management class, two basic accounting classes, etc. - if you do NOT have an undergrad degree in business, you would also be on the hook for taking those classes - that takes the price up, and it means something like an additional 4+ classes to the MBA program classes. Maybe that's the kind of "rigor" it takes to achieve AACSB accreditation - One of the advantages of something like the EASTERN program, is that it's for students from any academic background - it may not be as rigorous on the accounting or finance side. Just something to keep in mind when evaluating programs - some have pre-requisites that aren't accounted for in the advertised price of the MBA.

 

Back in the day it was not uncommon to see a year's worth of prerequisites at AACSB schools. And if your undergraduate degree in business was from a non-AACSB school, they would not accept it at face value, opting instead to do a course-by-course review.

When I applied to San Diego State's MBA program, I had a B.S. in Business from what is now Excelsior University. Of the 10 pre-requisite courses, they waived exactly one. And it wasn't even a course I'd taken!

Ironically, it was my very non-AACSB MBA that got me assistant professor rank for the four years I taught AFROTC there. (Army and Navy officers typically didn't have master's degrees, so they were appointed as lecturers.)

Weird.

 

I agree, it can help if you want to teach business. MBA programs normally can be good investment if you go to a top business program that has on campus recruitment, many recruiters do hire people from top business schools. However, if you are doing an online MBA just to improve your prospects, the experience, achievements and skills will have more weight than the accreditation of the degree.
I don't know Eastern University but it seems to be the average no name school. If you like the program and feel that can enhance your skills, I would go for it.