Wharton, Berkeley, NYU Offering Online MBAs For the First Time (wsj.com) 22
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Wall Street Journal: Starting next year, executive M.B.A. students at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania can earn the $223,500 degree from their living rooms. After years of resistance, some of the country's top business schools are starting virtual M.B.A. programs that require only a few days of in-person instruction. Wharton and Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business said they would include options for executive and part-time M.B.A. students to take most coursework online in 2023. This fall, part-time M.B.A. students at New York University's Stern School of Business and the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business were given an online option for most of their classes. All of the programs will charge online students the same tuition as those who attend in person, and those online students will get the same degree and credential as on-campus counterparts.
The move to give students flexible location options comes as demand for two-year, full-time traditional M.B.A. programs has been dropping amid a competitive job market and growing concern about the cost of college. Between 2009 and 2020 the number of online M.B.A.s at accredited business schools in the U.S.more than doubled, and schools added more fully online M.B.A. degrees over the past two years during the pandemic, according to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Recent announcements by Wharton and others mark a turning point for adoption of the degrees even at highly ranked campuses, school leaders say. For decades, part of the M.B.A.'s allure has been the face-to-face networking.But over the past two years, fully online M.B.A. programs in the U.S. enrolled more students than fully in-person programs, according to the association's survey of more than 150 business schools. A McDonough official said that part-time M.B.A. students tend to be less interested in the networking aspect of school.
The move to give students flexible location options comes as demand for two-year, full-time traditional M.B.A. programs has been dropping amid a competitive job market and growing concern about the cost of college. Between 2009 and 2020 the number of online M.B.A.s at accredited business schools in the U.S.more than doubled, and schools added more fully online M.B.A. degrees over the past two years during the pandemic, according to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Recent announcements by Wharton and others mark a turning point for adoption of the degrees even at highly ranked campuses, school leaders say. For decades, part of the M.B.A.'s allure has been the face-to-face networking.But over the past two years, fully online M.B.A. programs in the U.S. enrolled more students than fully in-person programs, according to the association's survey of more than 150 business schools. A McDonough official said that part-time M.B.A. students tend to be less interested in the networking aspect of school.
Baby steps (Score:1)
You don't need four years of hard drinking to build a network either. These degrees are entirely overpriced, the price serves as a gatekeeper. Doing them "online" already devalues that. Which is good, for middle management is entirely under-skilled and over-paid.
Re:Do people get MBAs for actual education? (Score:4, Informative)
It's usually a 2 year skate to the finish for an MBA. While I didn't get an MBA myself, I know enough people who did and interviewed enough who did to form an opinion about the value. Unless you go to a very well regarded school with a good alumni network, it's pretty much worthless in real life. If you attend an ivy or near-ivy then you're just paying to join the "network' and that might pay off later in life. Learning how to hobnob with wealthy people and get access to people with money to burn is a skill. If you don't make it in business, you'll be well equipped to be a grifter (but I repeat myself).
The people who make out like bandits are the hacks at companies that will reimburse them to attend. There's a well oiled machine of feeding middle management types from the Fortune 500 to various business schools. Those folks seem to do OK, but I personally don't go out of my way to hire them over anyone else.
Best,
Re: (Score:3)
With a "masters" the assumption is that you've done all the relevant undergrad coursework first, or if not you are doing rapid catchup with those classes. The MBA may be useful *IF* the student already has learned the basics of business. Ie, can they manage a supply chain, figure out how to price a product, and so forth. MBA should never be the first step to learn about the business side of things. And yet, it very often is the first step...
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But it is still selling a degree and I think u
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They are the very definition of "it's not what you know, it's who you know".
How difficult can it be? (Score:1)
At this point the basic process is: If people, fire. If need money, get taxpayers.
For all the talk about AI replacing people and saving money, getting rid of CEOs would seem to be a good starting point.
Re: (Score:2)
under that system it's not what you know, it's who you know.
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CEOs are fine if they're reasonably well connected to the bottom rung. It's when you get layers and layers and layers and layers and layers and (etc to near infinity) that CEOs seem useless money suckers. Middle management being gutted to the point where the CEO has to start making decisions in the day-to-day would be a place to start. If they feel they have a stake in operations, they start to actually care about the operators. Shocking revelation that would likely make an MBA lose their minds, but there y
Just what the world needs: more 'business' people (Score:2, Informative)
Networking (Score:3)
The whole point of going to a top school is the networking aspect. I will bet the curriculum for many courses at Stanford University and De Anza community college are the same. Heck they might even work from the same text books. Ok, I am exaggerating, but only slightly. My point is most syllabuses are similar, the biggest differentiator is who you meet.
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The real grift (Score:3)
I sometimes think about getting an MBA, but really what I want is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) so I can charge for teaching this bullshit. [businessinsider.com]
I think that the University of Phoenix costs less (Score:2)
I think that the University of Phoenix costs less and is / was the ONLINE school.
Who cares? (Score:2)
You know what, who cares? The vast majority of U.S. colleges and universities still don't offer online B.S. degrees, even schools that focus on technology degrees. They will fight tooth and nail, as long as they can, to ensure that the "physical campus" remains the hub by which they can mark up all of their correlated services, including classes and lectures.
If the U.S. were really as technically advanced as it claims to be, enrolling in a B.S. degree from an accredited college or university would be no m
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Try The Open University (https://www.open.ac.uk/). Online MBA, 3 years part time, shorter if you study full time. Does not break the bank. Covid notwithstanding, opportunities for meatspace meet and greet and work together.
Discaimer: Satisfied customer. Have network. Didn't put myself 1 penny in debt.
Re: Who cares? (Score:2)
That was a wise move.
I fell for the belief that people who went to a top 15 school average, in 2009, 130k+ USD in salary. My advice is to only go if your company pays--even for Wharton. They're all bullshit. Well there is some educational value, but not as much as they charge.
I can't vouch for your network, but I built my own and earned millions. But absolutely no Duke mba helped even one penny.
If you're considering an MBA, get a job requiring that degree along with a license. For ex. a medical degree. Tota
Re: Who cares? (Score:2)
And nothing of any value (Score:2)
Only worth it if funded by someone else (Score:1)
Re:Only worth it if funded by someone else (Score:4, Interesting)
For traditional MBAs, the normal cohort of people is mid 20s to very early 30s, and they're usually not management. For those folks, in-person network is what an MBA offers, so in my mind any online MBA would be a waste (and let's face it, even a traditional in-person MBA is a waste unless you're in a top school, and that's just because of the brand name / network).
Where are the cybercriminals to save us? (Score:2)
Given that an MBA is what's caused US business to be in its current state, I would cheer if all of them were shut down.
The MBA, at least as taught in the US, has two goals: a) ROI for upper management and the huge shareholders, and b) break or prevent unions from forming. Building the company? Making sure that it continues? Nahhhh....