Looking For Advice On Undergraduate Business Degree

HR PRO,

What would your opinion be of a plan like this....

Getting a general bachelor's degree in liberal arts from TESC or Regents/Excelsior? I figure I may be able to apply work experience (3 years as a Vice President for an Internet software company) as wel as co-authoring a couple of computer books.

How well regarded would a degree from TESC or Regents/Excelsior be? At least with TESC, the price is right.

The other option I was looking at was an undergraduate degree from University of Maryland University College, although that would be fairly pricey, and would probably take me a while to complete ($43 grand).

I still am very interested in the MBA from HW, as it seems that the school is well regarded, although after completing a bachelor's degree, perhaps I would then be able to apply for the online MBA from the University of Texas or Virginia Tech or something.

The option that is most intriguing to me is trying for just the HW MBA, but I understand what you mean about red flags from not having an undergraduate degree. If I explained what went into getting the HW MBA, and also explained why I chose to spend 4 or 5 years working in the Internet business rather than get an undergraduate degree, do you think that would be enough? If I put the time into getting an undergraduate degree from TESC or Excelsior (I would try and fast track these with previous experience, etc.), would that be respected?

-Tom

 

Thanks DaveHayden, I'm strongly leaning towards that possibility.

My big concern I guess is being worried that prospective employers will not have heard of them, or at least won't respect them. It's partly because I haven't heard of them before I started investigating distance learning. Being regionally accredited certainly helps though, and I figure if I combined that with getting an HW MBA down the road, it would be a good combination, and concerns about the undergraduate degree may not be as relevant).

Would it be the case that if I did fasttrack an undergraduate degree from one of these big three (COSC, TESC, Regents) it would be just as wortwhile and legitimate as if, for example, I spent a lot more time and more money on the University of Maryland-University College?

-Tom

 

Rut roh.

I hope I haven't misled you, Tom. The version of "Which MBA?" that I own is a few years old (ca. 1999) and was put together by the Economist Intelligence Unit. So I hope that the one I referenced at Amazon.com has the same content!

As far as the list you cited is concerned, I'm not sure what "Edinburgh U Business School" means. Two different institutions in Edinburgh offer MBAs: the "University of Edinburgh Management School" and "Edinburgh Business School." Rankings that focus on fulltime traditional on-campus schools would be likely to omit the EBS MBA.

 

Ahh, I see Gert. I made an assumption it was related.

I guess what's important to me is if it is well respected or not.

-Tom

 

UMUC is not significantly more respected than TESC, COSC, Excelsior. (This is my impression of the general view -- not my own view.)

I think your path forward should depend on your career goals. If you want to work for BigAmericanCompany, Inc. then your best bet would be to get a regionally accredited bachelor's as quickly and inexpensively as possible (even if from TESC et al.), and then try to do the best distance MBA program that you can afford (and can get into). Even if you study at a distance, the MBA should be AACSB-accredited and from a traditional U.S. regionally-accredited bricks & mortar school.

On the other hand, if you want to keep moving in the high-paced world of small start-ups and the like, then the EBS MBA is perhaps the quickest way to your goal. Some people have completed the entire program in one year (admittedly with heroic effort and no doubt prodigious talent).

 

Thanks Gert.

I don't have a specific goal to work for Big American Company, but I also would like to broaden my options. I've been fortunate enough to be able to work with some great small businesses, including helping to co-found one, but I want to think about where I'll be 5 or 10 years down the line, and I want to have the options to apply for any job I may want, including jobs which require a BA or BS and those that require an MBA.

I am going to do some more investigating about TESC, COSC, Excelsior, etc. Excelsior interests me because they list George Mason as one of the schools which apparently recognizes the credits from passing their exams, so I figure it could make it easier to apply credits to a GMU bachelor's degree and finish it up there on campus.

Do you think that a degree and a good transcript from one of these schools would be enough to quality for the online MBA programs of schools like the University of Texas or Virginia Tech?

-Tom

 

Here is a nice article about EBS MBA: http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=664

 

Thanks. I just e-mailed the people from Virginia Tech Online and the Virginia Tech MBA program to see what their requirements would be.

They only list a prerequisite of a BA or BS from an accredited college or university, with a B average or better in previous coursework. But I want to make sure that if I got a bachelor's degree from TESC or COSC or Excelsior that they would honor it. If they do, it seems like the perfect solution.

The Virginia Tech MBA isn't completely online, it seems to require going to one of the in-state centers for videoconferencing, but it really isn't that bad. As it turns out, I live about five minutes away from the Northern Virginia Center, which is one of the designated videoconferencing sites for the MBA.

It seems like it could be a great solution for me. They are accredited by the AACSB, the Pamplin School seems to do fairly well in these national and international rankings, and I would have the benefit of in-state tuition.

Now it's just a matter of seeing how I will handle the bachelor's degree and what they might accept.

-Tom

 

If the entrance requirement is an accredited Bachelor's degree, then a degree from TESC, COSC, or Excelsior would be fine. All three are regionally accredited, and will serve any purpose where a legitimately accredited degree is called for.

Since your eventual goal seems to be the MBA, I wouldn't get too hung-up on the supposed prestige of your undergraduate school.


Bruce

 

It is Edinburgh University Management School (not Heriot-Watt University Business School or EBS). The FT international ranking of Edinburgh University Management School's MBA is 77 (2002), 50 (2001) and 37 (2000). The 2002 FT international ranking of MBAs can be accessed at http://specials.ft.com/spdocs/FT31UUB8MWC.pdf

 

Well, I heard back from Virginia Tech's MBA program, and they basically told me that they will not consider a bachelor's degree from a distance learning school. I've asked them to clarify, since they mentioned Strayer, which I can understand, but it sounds like they won't even consider a bachelor's degree from Thomas Edison, Excelsior, Charter Oak, etc. even though they are regionally accredited.

-Tom

 

Strayer is regionally accredited, and is more traditional than TESC, COSC, Excelsior -- e.g. Strayer offers degrees through course work assessed by proctored exams, and Strayer has on-campus programs, etc. So it's disappointing that Virginia Tech will not consider Strayer degrees.

 

Yes, I was disappointed by that too. Considering that Virginia Tech is heavily advertising their distance learning options (at http://vto.vt.edu) I'm surprised they are so unwilling to consider a bachelor's degree from one.

I haven't heard back from them yet if they would consider a degree from University of Maryland-University College.

I may just have to break down and work out a schedule to start taking classes at George Mason or something.

-Tom