She's Doing An Elite MBA For Under $1,000

Nope. It's true that you can qualify for the CFA program with a bachelor's degree -- but you can also qualify with four years of professional work experience, or with any combination of college/work experience that totals four years.

 

this is being discussed on several boards. This is the kind of thing that really gets my juices flowing. I'm a total and complete school-loving nerd. MOOCs have changed education because for years, there was all this conflict between attending a college you could afford crossed against geography crossed against your interest and career goal. In addition, the question always remains "shouldn't education be about learning first?" to which there is always the converse position "it is to prepare you for a career!" and so the fight between credential and enlightenment exists anywhere people discuss education.
MOOCs are perfect for people who want to learn without the tuition cost, restriction of geography, influence of opportunity cost as a filter, and who don't need a credential.
As everyone knows, you can spin anything. If I put it on my resume, it would probably be a blundering failure; but in the right way used in the right circles and with a little luck and networking in her back pocket, I think she could get a little mileage out of it. But true, it's not a degree, and in the real world you sometimes need a degree. If she gets into a situation where she needs a degree, I'm sure she'll figure it out.

Also, just to throw this in, she isn't the first to do this and get some attention. Scott Young did it first, and his story is a bit more interesting. I think we've discussed him here before. http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/mit-challenge/

 

Certifications are not universally interchangeable with degrees -- but they are clearly interchangeable in some employment situations. Your first two sentences above explicitly acknowledge this point; they indicate (correctly) that people can qualify for certain jobs with certifications instead of degrees.

A CPA license, for example, is a more than adequate substitute for an accounting BS degree. And in the same way, I would have no problem with a rigorous certification exam on business concepts as a substitute for an MBA degree. Maybe free MOOCs would be adequate preparation for such an exam, or maybe not, but I would like to at least see the option available.

Optional prep courses are widely available for both the CPA and CFA exams. They are typically offered as non-credit courses by private providers, and they typically aren't free. However, there is no reason why such courses couldn't be offered in MOOC format, and it wouldn't be surprising if MOOC prep courses exist, or are in development. They probably wouldn't be free, but there is no rule that says that MOOCs have to be free.

 

Johann,
Maybe it will become an MBA Award?

It won't be a degree but it will be an equivalent to Top Tier MBA Degree - Award.
Obviously the awarding body has to be reputable.

Awarding Body

The MBA Award is awarded to John Doe by the authority of the
"Awarding Institution Council"

For successful completion of MBA classes via MOOC rout.

financial management, human resource management, marketing management, operations management - MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

entrepreneurship, finance (including corporate finance and investment management), international business, management information systems, management science, marketing, organizational design - Harvard University

financial management, human resource management, marketing management, operations management - University of Pennsylvania

Date awarded, signed Council.

A colleague of my was subject to scrutiny by external background check company for the new position he applied and had conditional job offer from leading Telecom company in the world..
He had to clear background check. One of items he had to satisfy is accredited maters Degree in Engineering.

His Award of MCGI from City and Guilds with NACES member agency report did the job.

The background check company validated and requested all the W2 forms going 7 years back.
All educational credentials etc.

 

I am wondering if there should be an legit academic institution should create a degree curriculum by collecting MOOC courses, then award a degree for a little cost.

I had a friend, his father immigrated from Morocco to the United States in the 1980's. He did not have money for college, so he kept attending classes at Columbia University without paying tuition. Whenever he had time, he attended the classes until the Professors kicked him out. He said that most of the time they don't care because so many students in one class. So I think this lady case is the same what my friend's father did; however, with the modern technology does not require her to be one campus.

 

Its possible that such education provider will require couple of capstone projects that
cover major topics in the classes taken , to demonstrate knowledge and ability etc.
These projects may cost significant $$$ or less depends on the education institution administering the Capstone.

Successful completion of MBA curriculum of MOOC's and the two capstone projects may result in MOOC based MBA degree.

But how many people will go for it, will it hurt regular MBA programs? Why should one pay $$$$$ for Capella MBA or UoP MBA when they can get better name recognition etc.

 

There are such programs. Here's one we discussed a while ago:

http://www.degreeinfo.com/computer-related-degrees/45872-udacity-will-offer-masters-degrees-cs-georgia-tech.html

The courses are those mandated by the University and it's a properly-awarded legit Master's for around $7,500. That's a structured degree - not a collection of à la carte freebies tarted-up in degree-costume-and-makeup.

Johann

 

No one should be awarded a MBA for taking a few MOOCs. MOOC is overrated and this is just an attempt to make MOOC meaningfull. What if a person already had a MBA, should that person be awarded another master? Unless students are awarded graduate credits by the universities offering MOOC, then MOOC should be just that, free online courses which are of little value except for personal development.

 

I agree strongly with Johann. A certificate is a certificate and a degree is a degree. A degree implies endurance, blood, sweat and tears... as well as a time and financial commitment. A degree requires time away from family - something that is earned through a prescribed set of courses and a number of qualified gatekeepers (instructors) signing off on one's competence. Call me old-fashioned, but I for one believe in preserving the integrity of the traditional degree. If it so happens that the degree helps one in industry, that is a huge bonus, but the university does not exist in order to provide vocational training. In fact, and I'm going to get reamed for this one, but the MBA hardly qualifies as a degree in my opinion. Sure, it's challenging, but I have a difficult time considering something that can be earned in under a calendar year, a "master's degree." Nevertheless, universities have found a way to capitalize on professional training and have allowed for such credentials to be earned under their roofs. Students are still required to sit in challenging classes, pass examinations and devote their time (though it may be short) and money while demonstrating competence.

I just think that if a person has done what it takes to legitimately earn a real degree... they cannot, in my opinion, claim that taking a single test (albeit a challenging one) can possibly be equivalent to what I just described.

I'm new here and probably just got started off on the wrong foot, but as an ed psych MA holder (and therefore academically invested in higher education), I felt compelled to share my opinion.

 

That's totally ridiculous - but by no means unexpected. :sad:

Banana split = trivial thing. University education = not trivial. Should have a sticker: DO NOT DEVALUE.

Johann

 

That's not what Heriot-Watt did. Not at all. They made a full, reputable MBA program available online. Additionally, they opened it up to people without prior degrees, if the school felt they had a good chance of success. And they charge a fair buck for it. It's not a paste-up of some free MOOCs. You do all the modules - no corners to cut.

And yes - if a thing has value - it should cost. If it doesn't -everyone will have one, if there's no sacrifice (time plus effort plus money) involved. The significance of a university degree has eroded considerably since society decided just about everybody needs one - or three. If they're liquefied and diluted further with this kind of thing --- well, you know.

Many degrees shouldn't cost what they do. But it's perfectly OK for them to cost something significant - and I'm all for ways like the Big 3 and testing out to reduce the cost. Eliminating it? No - that's silly and devaluing. Good luck getting a refund, if the degree you earned suddenly goes on the market for free!

Johann

 

Subjective - definitely. But if you're arguing that a banana split isn't trivial - or a university education is - then you're wasting everyone's time, including your own.

Plus - Dairy Queen can't tell me what I made is not a banana split. It is, if I say so. The University can tell me what I pasted together from donated lectures and books is NOT a degree. And I have to accept that.

Johann

 

I do not think this is a fair comparison. Heriot-Watt is on the opposite end of the spectrum with MOOC. Other MBA processes are actually similar to a series of MOOC courses. This women is actually proving that point.

Heriot-Watt is about intimately know a subject matter body of knowledge and passing some of the most intimidating exams in academic. No bs marks, no freebies, no loafing in group work, you sink or float on one 4 hours exam

 

What Phdtobe said! For once, we are in total agreement! :smile:

Johann