LondonOBS MBA is it a degree or qualification?

12 months MBA programme.
On line, OfQual accredited.
But OfQual acreditors are accrediting Qalufications not degrees. They call it Post Graduate Qualification.
Master of Business Administration – 12 months
https://www.londonobs.com/master-of-business-administration-12-months/

Happy Holidays!

 

As far as I can see it's not a degree. Not from London OBS - they cannot award degrees. They have partnered with a University and it's the same award the F/T students get at the University. - Apparently Level 7. Equivalent to a Master's, but not a degree. LondonOBS teaches the coursework; the University gets the dissertation and they grade it and award the "MBA" Level 7 award if all requirements are met.

See pics of the awards here. Uni award says "award" not degree. https://www.londonobs.com/master-of-business-administration-12-months

However - they have engineered it so the award can lead right into a doctorate. At what University I have no idea. probably the same one that gave the award. If you are over 21, this "MBA" program is available to you even if you are without ANY degree, as long as you have five years' management experience.

I don't like it very much. An MBA that is not a degree. An award from who-knows-where.

 

I thought "award" might be a British thing - used on degrees. It's not. I just checked out @TEKMAN 's London MBA. It clearly says "degree." Nope - I'm pretty positive that this LondonOBS and unknown (to me) University "award" is a degree EQUIVALENT - not a degree.

The awarding school will let someone into a Doctoral program with no additional requirements - professional or PhD, says LondonOBS - but I don't know what mileage it would - or would not - get for a job requiring an MBA degree-and-no-substitute. Especially in North America. Would an evaluator make a distinction? I'd say - probably.

7, 500 GBP is reasonable for a degree. For an "equivalent" - I dunno. And they should be clear. They're NOT. My take: That's fatal. End of, right there.

 

Evaluator: "Nowhere on this diploma or the document is the word "degree."
Grad: "Yes, but it does say MBA..."

Who do you think will win THAT argument? ...

 

Yes, I think so, too. But it appears this isn't even a top-up degree. From what I read (and saw on the site) the "mystery" Uni (not named) only gives you a Level 7 AWARD - not a degree, but an equivalency. If that's so, then it's grossly overpriced - and grossly misrepresented. You don't call just any Level 7 award an MBA. That's a Master's DEGREE, which this doesn't appear to be.

 

If you have to ask...

 

My understanding is that in the European system (or UK at least), the "Level x" awards are given by orgs like OTHM. Some universities may themselves offer these levels, but most may offer top-up degrees based on these levels.

 

Thanks for the info, msganti. Your well-known expertise is always appreciated. I would have expected the "mystery" University (why it has to be unidentified is beyond me) to award an MBA degree - but it's not clear on the London OBS site that they actually do. The way it's worded - it sounds like a Level 7 award, which, as you say, most Universities are permitted to award. London OBS are calling this an MBA program - and if all one gets is a Level 7 award -- and not an unassailable MBA Degree that will stand up to a strong light from a reputable evaluator - the level 7 award shouldn't be conflated with a degree - unless there IS one in the mix. And what's said in the blurb does not convince me that there is.

My objection to this whole thing is based on the murkiness, "mystery school" and mixed-terms of the advertising, here. Nobody should bet 7500 GBP on a mystery horse - or a mystery credential.

 

This company brokers (best word for their service I can think of) a top-up MBA from Anglia Ruskin: https://www.londonobs.com/mba-top-up-from-anglia-ruskin-university/

 

Yes. This appears to be a separate London OBS ad from the one we're talking about -- no prior cert. from London OBS and total price of around $4700 US. I'm surprised at the brevity of the program - 4 months. Your tutors are from London OBS. Your degree is from Anglia Ruskin U. That MO is legit and quite frequent in UK, as long as the tutor school has the requisite Government permission to tutor for the degrees.

Incidentally, Anglia Ruskin has many programs through 3rd party schools. It's quite a thing for them. They also show up on a list of (many) British Universities at potential financial risk through Government cuts. Here, P.15. https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/4267/Universities-at-risk-the-impact-of-cuts-in-higher-education-spending-on-local-economies-Dec-10/pdf/ucu_universitiesatrisk_dec10.pdf

It would definitely appear (to me, anyway) that the program we started talking about, which begins with a certificate from London OBS and costing 7500 GBP is not the same as the Anglia Ruskin top-up MBA which is also advertised on London OBS site, at much lower cost.

 

Or maybe They ARE both degrees - from the same school. You get straight to the top-up, for $4500 if you have the qualifications -- or if you don't, you pay 7500 GBP for a Level 7 cert. from London OBS --- and the top-up degree. It's not clear. At all.

Don't like having to ascribe meanings (that may not belong there) to stuff, decode and decipher ads etc. That's OK - a nice brainwalk for people studying ancient inscriptions -- not those looking for a business degree. Murkiness gets to me. I'm out.

 

"For entry onto the online MBA Top-up from ARU qualification, learners must possess an UK level 7 Diploma with 120 Credits or an equivalent overseas qualification." Sounds pretty standard, from programs like this. In many cases, the top-up degree comes down to writing a "dissertation" on top of a diploma from somewhere else.

From my perspective - as offers go, an MBA from ARU does look more valuable than one from "a mystery school that is recognized, we promise!" I like borderline cases, but at that price point and with this level of uncertainty, LondonOBS just seems to be not worth it. Even a top-up degree, which is a fine offer, can be accessed for less from a more transparent source.

 

Excellent summary, Stanislav. However, I'm not quite "there" with borderline degree-granting. "Making it up as they go along" is fine for jazz -- but not so much in non-musical tertiary education. Okay, fiction writing, poetry and creative arts too .... but that's about it.

 

I noticed that, too. I mentally filed it away, with the NOBS brand Asian-made audio amplifiers, sold on Amazon.