I've been looking at APUS/AMU for a while now. Their interface seems solid and it's a great way for me to finish my Bachelor's. I'm Active Duty military. I want a Business Administration degree with a specialization in Small Business and Entrepeneurship. Here's my question: I know AMU is not AACSB accredited, but is that only relevant for an MBA? I plan on doing the MBA on an AACSB accredited school after I'm done with my bachelor's. Is it that important that I go to a distance learning school that is within this accreditation? Would a business bachelor's degree in this school be a waste of time and/or money? Some insight would be great in this. Thanks in advance. I've been reading around these forums and I like how there's a lot of good quality content and very little post-stat-inflating matter. Danny
From the AACSB website: As a specialized agency, AACSB International grants accreditation for undergraduate and graduate business administration and accounting programs.
If the graduate school from which you want to earn your MBA accepts a non-AACSB undergraduate degree, you are good to go. AMU/APU is a very good school in terms of being military friendly and most of the instructors are top drawer. I suggest you contact the graduate schools and ask them directly about the AACSB versus non-AACSB undergraduate in business administration.
That makes good sense. I'll place a call to a couple of the graduate schools. What about the degree itself, is it worth taking if it's not AACSB accredited, regardless of its acceptance by MBA graduate programs? I know that's a sensitive question, but I guess I'm asking from a hiring viewpoint.
The undergrad degree does not have to be AACSB, but be aware that an AACSB grad school may require you to take prereqs unless you have graduated from an AACSB undergard school. Pug
I have some friends in Frederick, I go down there every two months or so. Thanks for the heads up. Seems pretty reasonable. The pre-reqs they ask for may not be that bad, and they may even be available online. What are some good AACSB business undergrad schools? All I can find are AACSB MBA distance learning ones.
Danny, you could start with the list of AACSB MBA programs (from the list you found) and call your top choices, ask them about undergrad preparation. If you're trying to get into a top-ranked MBA program (like Duke) then I think it might matter where you got your undergrad. Otherwise, it probably won't make a difference but that is just my off-the-cuff response. For AACSB undergrad business, the following have good online programs, but I don't know about costs: Washington State University http://online.wsu.edu/future_students/degrees_and_certificates.aspx WSU has an entreprenureship degree U of Wyoming http://business.uwyo.edu/ONLINE/bsad.asp I'm sure that there are many more. Fortunado (a poster here) went to Duke's fabulous program after getting an undergrad from UWyoming. I would suggest looking at the list, decide where you might live after you leave the service (or where you came from) and look for a university with a good B&M presence in that area of the country. Then get community college credits to cheaply complete the first two years of college, if you haven't already. Then transfer to the school of your choice to finish your BA in business. I don't think APU/AMU is a waste of money or a bad school but check your options first. I'm taking grad-level business admin classes at AMU and have no complaints.
Thank you fort that excellent information. WSU is almost $500 per credit to non-residents!! Sounds like AMU is a great idea if I'm not going for a top-shelf degree. I'm just trying to get a good bachelor's so I can rise above my peers and make me more competitive, and a graduate school doesn't even necessarily have to be an MBA. With a record of working in nuclear power in the Navy and a good online degree I don't think it'll be a problem to get into at least a couple of different grad programs.
Chadron State College in Nebraska is ACBSP for their undergrad and grad degrees. Not the same as AACSB, but it might be another good option.
