I'm at a crossroads with my career. I've been in the IT field for many years in various technical and management positions. I have a BS in Management from an AACSB university. Not a top tier one. My gpa wasn't good overall but I did have a 3.0 average for all my business classes. I've been trying to advance my career for several years but for the Director\CIO positions and even linear jobs with other companies that I interview for I've noticed a trend that they all seem to ask for Masters\MBA degrees and I'm thinking that may be my stumbling block so I decided to go back for my MBA. It needs to be an online MBA since I work full-time and financially reasonable since my employer will not pay for education and I'm a realist that my gpa and not graduating from a top tier college and my age the chances of getting into a top notch school is nil and does it make sense to take out a $50-$100k loan at this point in my life? Correct me if my thinking is wrong here. I'm trying to keep it under $15k since I have to pay out of pocket. I'm looking at seven universities: West Texas A&M-AACSB Tennessee Tech University-AACSB University of North Dakota-AACSB North Alabama-ACBSP Eastern New Mexico University-ACBSP University of Louisiana-Monroe-AACSB Missouri State-AACSB 1. Does ACBSP or AACSB make a difference for somebody my age and experience? I don't see in the jobs that I'm applying for that there is a mention of it being one accreditation or another. I see it being important for new college grads where that could come up but I've researched the internet an can't find on corporate websites where HR verifies you have an AACSB or ACBSP. Usually I see them specifying that it has to be an accredited university MBA degree but nothing specific. 2. Any universities that I should add to this list and has anybody graduated from any of these programs mentioned above and could share their experience or opinion of the program with me? 3. All of them mentioned above require a GMAT which I'm studying for. Some say depending on my application, resume, transcripts may waive the GMAT and pre-requisite classes. Should the waiving of the pre-requisite classes or GMAT be a determining factor in the decision of which one to go to? Thanks
With the exception of a few companies (e.g. intel) not reimbursing employees for attending non-AACSB schools, I have not heard of any employer that makes the distinction between AACSB and ACBSP. Either you are going to a school with a lot of name recognition, or you aren't. Your idea of looking for programs under $15K is a good one. There is no reason to pay extra money for no additional benefit.
Most employers outside of academia do not care (or even understand) AACSB. By the way, add Jacksonville State to the list - AACSB and under $10K. Go for a school with a name. If you can find a local university that has an online program even better. Many MBA's can be seen as being more about the contacts you gain vs. the knowledge you learn. The GMAT should not be the ultimate decision maker for you.
I agree with Randell on all points. I'd only add that a specialization or concentration in your area of interest might be the deciding factor.
Here is an alternative to an MBA - it looks like a fun program and has more of a concentration then general business classes. The general business classes are 1.5 credit classes so more credits are earned in the topic(s) you are interested in. UWF - Online Campus - Graduate Programs The Master of Science in Administration (MSA) requires a core curriculum (12 hours) that provides a solid foundation in areas such as organizational behavior, marketing, finance, eBusiness and economics. This firm foundation is then extended into our specializations: •Acquisition & Contract Management (pdf) ◦More info contact: Dr. Bill Tankersley ([email protected]) or 850.474.2338 •Database Administration (pdf) ◦More info contact: Sarah Kuhl ([email protected]) or 850.857.6359 •Health Care Administration (pdf) ◦More info contact: Dr. Debra Vinci ([email protected]) or 850.474.2598 •Geographic Information Science ◦More info contact: Amber Bloechle ([email protected]) or 850.857.6121 •Human Performance Technology (pdf) ◦More info contact: Dr. Byron Havard ([email protected]) or 850.474.2952 •Leadership (pdf) ◦More info contact: Dr. Bill Tankersley ([email protected]) or 850.474.2338 •Public Administration (pdf) ◦More info contact: Dr. Bill Tankersley ([email protected]) or 850.474.2338 •Software Engineering Administration (pdf) ◦More info contact: Sarah Kuhl ([email protected]) or 850-857.6359
http://www.geteducated.com/profiles/search/online-MBA&SS=Search%20by%20Level%20%3E%20Online%20MBA Geteducated has an exhaustive list of online MBAs. You can filter by cost, or even by reputation.
If you're going to select for programmatic accreditation, then I would stick with AACSB and disregard ACBSP. I've never seen any employer, even in academia, who cared about ACBSP. With Jacksonville State or the University of Soth Dakota, you can do an AACSB MBA for fifteen grand or less. They may not have the name recognition that Harvard does, but if you need to check the MBA box, they'll do.
Several more best buy AACSB online MBA programs you may want to also consider. Online MBA - USD Mississippi State Online Distance MBA The University of Mississippi School of Business Administration: MBA Program Murray State University > Arthur J. Bauernfeind MBA Program Executive MBA Program | University of Wyoming MBA: Master of Business Administration - UMass Dartmouth Master's Degree in Business Administration - Online MBA Program MBA Home - Frostburg State University
Thank You for everybody's advice I appreciate everybody taking the time to respond. It certainly helps to give me a direction to go here. I will look at the additional universities and move ahead with applying to them and see where the process leads me to determine which college to attend. I'll start comparing programs\concentrations, cost, and search the forum here and google to see if anybody attended any of these programs to get their input on what they thought of them. That will probably be a strong determining factor for me. Regarding name recognition, they are probably all very close when it comes to name recognition for me. I don't live near any of them. I'll have to search to see if there is someplace to look for rankings, etc... Thanks Again
As you look at rankings, please be mindfull of the ratings criteria. If school X scores higher than school Z do you really care if it's because they have more books in their library? To my mind this is especially relevant if school X costs substantially more than school Z.
I disagree with SF...Not on the money, 15 grand for AACSB sounds like a good deal except the for being like you said, from schools that are not very famous. ...but the part about ACBSP, I have seen employers ask for ACBSP, in both accounting profession and academia. International Conference - Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs All the best, Biggest
You should check out Cameron University out of Lawton Oklahoma. I am currently in their online MBA program, great price and so far has been a great program! Cameron.edu
MBA in Technology Management | Online MBA | WGU College of Business Online WGU offers an MBA with an emphasis in information technology management. The price is reasonable, and if you can complete the degree in three terms the price is around $9,750.
A lot of interesting perspectives are given here, and as someone who is slightly younger but in the same boat, I am airing my potential route. My top 3 online choices are Univ. Nevada-Reno online EMBA for 24k.; Florida State Univ. online MBA for 24k; or possibly going a cheaper route with Univ. of N. Dakota for 13k. All 3 are AACSB. Other plans include going locally to UNLV for a traditional MBA, but the 35k+ price tag turns me off. I also have been looking in to gaining employment in the Boston area, and possibly attending Harvard HES for an ALM in management, as participation in the Harvard alumni association could possibly trump all accreditation, as well as many other attributes (although relocation may be a long shot at this point). After 2 conversations, one with the Director of HR at my current company and another with a head hunter, I started to focus on schools that have accreditation, solid rankings and/or great name recognition, or have a superior alumni association. The head hunter I spoke with even went as far as to say that certain MBA programs hurt the resume rather than help it, as some fortune 500 companies look upon certain institutions with a very skeptical eye. Our HR director told me that for mid career, 30+ professionals who go back for their graduate degree, she looks for a solid GPA and an expedient process as those who balance life, work and still manage to get their degree in an efficient time frame show great promise for upper level management positions.
