Can Life Experience Get You Into an MBA Program?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by sonny_jr, May 2, 2007.

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  1. pugbelly

    pugbelly New Member

    Aspen's policy changed May 1st. They now require an accredited BA for admission to the MBA program. Apparently, so they claim, the DETC recently changed its policies, which then required Aspen to change theirs.

    Pug
     
  2. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    Sorry to hear that Pug. I know you were considering this program. Perhaps you should consider the Heriott-Watt (Edinburgh Business school) MBA program. No Bachelor's degree is required, although the exams are notoriously difficult to pass.

    - Tom
     
  3. jmetro

    jmetro New Member

    Horrible...What is this world coming to?

    When an honest person can't get a Masters degree without a Bachelors?

    It's unethical. I think that if you can think on the level or a PhD and act on the level of a PhD and write on the level of a PhD, you should be able to take the curriculum of a PhD program whether you have a lower degree or not. I think this is another way to shove money into educator's pockets.

    What should happen is more dual degrees/degree combos. I think it makes more money sense to keep the student a little longer (maybe a year or two longer) and then grant both a Masters and a Bachelors (assuming that the student is capable to produce 180 credits of undergraduate work in less than two years or so). Doing this would just look better than a paper MBA with no undergrad.

    Jacob
     
  4. pugbelly

    pugbelly New Member

    I could not disagree with you more, but that's what makes this country great! We're free to have and voice our opinions.

    Pug
     
  5. pugbelly

    pugbelly New Member


    I'm a little bummed, but that's okay. The Aspen MBA would have been perfect for my needs. It would have allowed me to have the degree for the company brochure, then allowed me the time and freedom to go back and do a BA in a field on interest. Oh well...it's no huge deal really.

    Pug
     
  6. jmetro

    jmetro New Member

    A good option might be WGU

    If you've got the knowledge and experience and are willing to validate that knowledge through examination, thesis, and projects you might just consider taking a look at Western Governors University, my alma mater. WGU is regionally accredited and offer both bachelors and masters degrees in several fields of study. WGU is a competency-based virtual university meaning they do the TESC trick with CLEP and add to it all kinds of projects demonstrating excellence until they've got a program that can be completely finished locally with an excellent academic background. Importantly, WGU was founded by 19 governors in Western states to solve the problem of teacher drain. It's mandate was expanded several times and now has quite a good bit of corporate backing from the likes of Microsoft, Cisco, and Dell (to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars per seat). These companies are willing ti invest in WGU because the competency model simply validates existing knowledge, strengthens weaker competencies, and ensures the highest quality graduate possible.

    They won't let you skip the bachelors process and go straight into a MBA but, I finished my entire degree program (bachelors and masters) within two years at a cost of less than $19K. I was lucky in that I'm a strong writer and the extreme opinionation you see in the forum here, came in handy several times as I was asked to come up with alternate ways of looking at a given problem until I proved that I was a constant revisioner - always learning and improving. (One of my first writing courses).

    So if you're a reasonably strong writer, take tests well (you'll need a proctor in the local area), and enjoy moving at your own pace/keeping a brisk pace, I think WGU might be the way to go.

    Good luck with whatever you decide.

    And on to my harp again...

    I fully expect more dual degree programs to emerge over the next several years as the need for a masters/bachelors combination is quite high in industry right now. Of course, everyone moving to the competency model would solve the same problem by providing a relatively painless way to validate existing knowledge.

    Jacob
     
  7. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member


    Sorry about that Pug! Keep your chin up. I know you will go straight into a Bachelor's program though, then onto the Master's. You seem like a highly motivated guy.

    Abner
     
  8. pugbelly

    pugbelly New Member


    I'm a pretty stong writer, but sometimes a lazy one. It really depends on the subject, format, and length of the paper. I should give them a look.

    Pug
     
  9. pugbelly

    pugbelly New Member

    Highly motivated??? I can be, yes, but I'm also a little lazy at times! Maybe lazy isn't the right word...sometimes I get distracted with other things (work, family, band, etc.). I tend to be highly motivated in long bursts, then need a little down time.

    Pug
     

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