Saturday, December 16, 2006

The Growth Of Online MBA Degrees

Are online MBA degrees less valuable than the MBA degrees that are earned in a classroom environment? It is a million dollar question that is asked by everyone today. MBA degrees online are very expensive and it involves putting huge amounts of money at risk.

Let us take a look at the MBA degrees that are available online. The number of MBA programs online is increasing by the day with the increase in the number of students enrolling for them. Employers today are forced to reconsider their attitude of distance learning. They have to understand that the programs available online are competent enough to produce graduates of the same caliber as in conventional learning environments. Not all the degree-granting MBA courses available online are equal regarding syllabus, instruction and official recognition.

Employers know that not all MBA courses available online are worth the paper that they are printed on. These degrees are issued by ‘diploma mills’, which are institutions that charge large sums of money and give worthless education. If you want to do an online MBA degree you must be very clear about the institution you choose. Pursue an MBA degree from a well-known institution that is recognized by the specific regional accrediting authority.

An MBA degree pursued online from a reputed institution will be similar in composition to that which the students pursue by attending classes on campus. Online students make their own schedules, depending on what is more convenient to them, but they will have to pay attention to lectures, read appropriate chapters from other textbooks and also take part in classroom discussions. They will have to spend quite a lot of their time online. Students will be exposed to videoconferences, podcasts and lectures on videotape. Most of these MBA programs online need residency hours - they also need the students to be physically present at important workshops and coursework. The students are required to undergo various tests and pass them while a local proctor is present.

Online MBA degrees are very convenient. Though the coursework and the syllabus will not differ too much, what will be different is that the online students have a lot of flexibility in their schedule. With accelerated online MBA courses, students today are able to finish the course requirements faster than those who sit in conventional classroom environments. These are the most important reasons why students opt for online MBA courses.

Online MBA courses are very often as expensive as the courses that are offered by institutions in conventional classroom environments. As with other degrees too, the costs vary significantly among institutions. The more well known and reputed the institution, the more will be the cost of the degree. The students should be mainly doubtful of an online MBA program if it is priced considerably less than the competitor. This does not mean that the program is a scam or a fraud, but those students who want to pursue an online degree must carefully go through the history of the institution, its credibility and also get information from previous students before enrolling.

To sum up, if your online MBA degree has to be taken seriously by your employer, you have to make sure that you make the right choice and select the right program.

For more information about distance learning accreditation and online college visit http://www.distance-learning-info-guide.com/

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