July 20, 2011
MBA programs: Is online as good as on-site?
Q: I am a single mother and have been accepted to the Carnegie Mellon MBA program in Pittsburgh. My family isn’t thrilled about me taking my son to Pennsylvania and is trying to argue that an online MBA is just as good. I will be returning to the Puget Sound after I finish the program. How do recruiters view online MBA programs?
-- S.T., Tacoma
Kristen says: Congratulations! Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business MBA program has been consistently rated among the top 20 MBA programs nationally by publications such as Business Week and U.S. News and World Report. Carnegie Mellon also is widely considered a top U.S. school for computer science. Since Seattle is one of the largest technology hubs in the country, having a degree from CMU carries with it a positive connotation to the recruiters in the Puget Sound area; a high percentage of them have spent time recruiting in the tech sector.
Regarding “brick-and-mortar” versus online degree programs, it depends on the school. Generally, an online MBA program that is an extension of a traditional university is viewed fairly equally when it comes to reputation.
There is quite a bit of controversy around for-profit institutions offering online MBAs, however. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, an organization that benchmarks business-school quality, does not accredit for-profit MBA programs. A new series of laws is a direct result of an investigation by the federal Government Accountability Office into misleading advertising by admissions offices of for-profit schools.
When considering an online MBA program, you should apply the same criteria you would to any other graduate program. What is the graduation rate? Which companies hire MBA grads from the school? Who are the instructors, and what is the class model? Try to ensure that you would be getting the same quality of education as you would in an on-site MBA program, including projects and instructor accessibility and credentials. Finally, be sure to check out online consumer-reporting agencies and comments/reviews by graduates of the program.
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Kristen Fife is a recruiter, resume consultant, and employment expert based in the greater Seattle area.
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Online IT Degrees on October 28, 2011 1:27 PM | Reply
I find this topic to be quite interesting. I can certainly see both sides of this issue. Many view the distance learning courses that are given by alot of schools to be less credible. Still others see them as equal depending on the school inwhich it was earned. In particular online it degrees are starting to gain speeed in the era of high technology. I guess it's important to get a degree from a well accredited and established college, that is probably the most important issue.