The online Master of Business Administration program at the University of Mississippi has been objectively ranked a “Best Buy” by GetEducated.com’s national editorial review team.
The program, accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, was ranked 13th out of 133 competing online MBAs nationwide in the national survey. Mississippi State University was ranked 20th. The award designation indicates the university offers a high-quality distance MBA to a national audience at a cost well below the $32,926 national average.

“To be recognized nationally as a great value is an honor,” said Bethany Cooper, director of corporate relations and MBA services. “We hope this recognition attracts students from around the country who may not have thought of the University of Mississippi otherwise.”

The 36-semester-hour MBA program is entirely online and taught by top research faculty with the flexibility to meet working professionals’ needs. Students may enter in the spring, summer or fall. Mississippi residents pay just over $12,500 for the program, while nonresidents pay just under $23,500. Read the rest of this entry »

Business schools have long sold the promise that, like an F1 driver zipping into the pits for fresh tyres, it just takes a short hiatus on an MBA programme and you will come roaring back into the career race primed to win. After all, it signals to companies that you were good enough to be accepted by a decent business school (so must be good enough for them); it plugs you into a network of fellow MBAs; and, to a much lesser extent, there’s the actual classroom education. Why not just pay the bill, sign here and reap the rewards?

The problem is that these days it doesn’t work like that. Rather, more and more students are finding the promise of business schools to be hollow. The return on investment on an MBA has gone the way of Greek public debt. If you have a decent job in your mid- to late- 20s, unless you have the backing of a corporate sponsor, leaving it to get an MBA is a higher risk than ever. If you are getting good business experience already, the best strategy is to keep on getting it, thereby making yourself ever more useful rather than groping for the evanescent brass rings of business school.

Business schools argue that a recession is the best time to invest in oneself. What they won’t say is that they also need your money. There are business academics right now panting for your cheque. They need it to pad their sinecures and fund their threadbare research. There is surely no more oxymoronic profession than the tenured business-school professor, and yet these job-squatting apostles of the free market are rife and desperate.
Read the rest of this entry »

The programme fee alone at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania—one of the world’s highest-profile business schools—is currently $107,922 over two years. And there is more than just the fee to consider. If you decide on a full-time programme in Europe you will typically be out of the workplace for at least a year. Opt for a school in North America and this could stretch to two years. Students at Wharton forgo an average basic salary of $76,193 a year while attending lectures. Making the correct choice of school and programme is thus on a par with selecting the right house, perhaps even spouse.

Schools in The Economist’s ranking of MBA programmes insist that they can help boost students’ career opportunities and open new areas of expertise and mobility. Indeed, surely the degree is worth pursuing only if it brings with it a sufficient level of professional advancement and personal development. But can an MBA still be considered a gateway to the top table? Do programmes really produce confident, self-aware graduates who can build exciting careers? What is more, if, as is often claimed, what is taught varies little between schools—if an MBA has become nothing more than a commodity—does it matter where you end up?

The answer is yes: it still matters. The market is tougher, the degree is under scrutiny, but for many professions, getting an MBA from the right school is a way of landing a better job and of accelerating a career.  Getting a degree from the wrong school, however, is not. Finding the right school is not just about looking at rankings, or choosing one considered as “prestigious�. The key to making the right choice is understanding why you want to take an MBA, and what you expect it to do for you. So let’s look at some of the key reasons for going to business school and what direction each might point you in:
Read the rest of this entry »

The Economist challenges the conventional wisdom on the usefulness of an MBA education (from Philip Delves Broughton)

Business schools have long sold the promise that, like an F1 driver zipping into the pits for fresh tyres, it just takes a short hiatus on an MBA programme and you will come roaring back into the career race primed to win. After all, it signals to companies that you were good enough to be accepted by a decent business school (so must be good enough for them); it plugs you into a network of fellow MBAs; and, to a much lesser extent, there’s the actual classroom education. Why not just pay the bill, sign here and reap the rewards?

The problem is that these days it doesn’t work like that. Rather, more and more students are finding the promise of business schools to be hollow. The return on investment on an MBA has gone the way of Greek public debt. If you have a decent job in your mid- to late- 20s, unless you have the backing of a corporate sponsor, leaving it to get an MBA is a higher risk than ever. If you are getting good business experience already, the best strategy is to keep on getting it, thereby making yourself ever more useful rather than groping for the evanescent brass rings of business school.

Business schools argue that a recession is the best time to invest in oneself. What they won’t say is that they also need your money. There are business academics right now panting for your cheque. They need it to pad their sinecures and fund their threadbare research. There is surely no more oxymoronic profession than the tenured business-school professor, and yet these job-squatting apostles of the free market are rife and desperate. Potential students should take note: if taking a professional risk were as marvellous as they say, why do these role models so assiduously avoid it?

Harvard Business School recently chose a new dean, Nitin Nohria, an expert in ethics and leadership. He was asked by Bloomberg Businessweek if he had watched the Congressional hearings on Goldman Sachs. He replied: “The events in the financial sector are something that we have watched closely at Harvard Business School. We teach by the case method, and one of the things we’ll do through this experience is study these cases deeply as information is revealed over time so we can understand what happened at all these financial firms. I’m sure that at some point we’ll write cases about Goldman Sachs because that’s how we learn.� He could have stood up for Goldman or criticised it. Instead he punted on one of the singular business issues of our time. It is indicative of the cringing attitude of business schools before the business world they purport to study.

When you look at today’s most evolved business organisms, it is obvious that an MBA is not required for business success. Apple, which recently usurped Microsoft as the world’s largest technology firm (by market capitalisation), has hardly any MBAs among its top ranks. Most of the world’s top hedge funds prefer seasoned traders, engineers and mathematicians, people with insight and programming skills, to MBAs brandishing spreadsheets, the latest two-by-twos and the guilt induced by some watery ethics course.

In the BRIC economies, one sees fortunes being made in the robust manner of the 19th-century American robber barons, with scarcely a nod to the niceties of MBA programmes. The cute stratagems and frameworks taught at business schools become quickly redundant in the hurly-burly of economic change. I’ve often wondered what Li Ka-Shing of Hong Kong or Stanely Ho of Macao, or Rupert Murdoch, for that matter, would make of an MBA programme. They would probably see it for what it is: a business opportunity. And as such, they would focus on the value of investing in it.

They would look at the high cost, and note the tables which show that financial rewards are not evenly distributed among MBAs but tilt heavily to those from the very top programmes who tend to go into finance and consulting. Successful entrepreneurs are as rare among MBAs as they are in the general population. They would think to themselves that business is fundamentally about two things, innovating and selling, and that most MBA programmes teach neither. They might wonder about the realities of the MBA network. There is no point acquiring a global network of randomly assembled business students if you just want to work in your home town. Also, they will recall that the most effective way to build a network is not to go to school, but to be successful. That way you will have all the MBA friends you could ever want.

They might even meet a few business academics and wonder. Then they would take their application and do with it what most potential applicants should: toss it away.

Researching business schools is akin to trying to find oneself. Reflecting on what one wants to get out of a degree and the type of business school experience desired is key. Admissions directors say it’s not too different from gazing into a crystal ball.

“Think about how the degree will advance your career, the job you’d like to have, and your lifestyle. Then consider your preferences of location, personality of the school, the kind of alumni it produces.”

After some introspection, an applicant can start talking to others. Informational interviews with those who have the jobs you’re seeking is a great way to confirm choices and find out about schools that specialize in those areas, says Edwards.

“Really explore your career goals,” she says. “It will help you in the application process, but also down the road in the job search.”

Job Placement Info

One mistake many applicants make is failing to look at the list of recruiters and job placement statistics of particular schools before applying. Then, when they enroll in the business school, they are disappointed by the job opportunities presented to them, says Scott Shrum, director of MBA admissions research at Veritas Prep, a Malibu (Calif.)-based provider of GMAT test prep and admissions consulting services. This is particularly hard on international applicants, who attend U.S. business schools in the hopes that the MBA program will help them land a job stateside and are disappointed when they wind up back home.

To get a handle on recruiting and job placement, applicants can consult the detailed information on many schools available at sites like MBA.com or the schools’ profiles on Businessweek.com, where a comparator tool allows applicants to compare placement stats, and even top recruiters, at various schools.Many schools also post placement data online, including Harvard Business School, but not everyone is as forthcoming.

Questions for Alumni

Another great source of information about prospective MBA programs is the program’s alumni. Most schools will connect applicants with alumni in their chosen fields, but there are other sources, including LinkedIn and similar social networks, that allow for sophisticated searches by industry, company, even job title.

When talking with MBA alumni, applicants should ask them about the recruiters they met on campus and how the school helped with the job search. These initial encounters with respected professionals will help applicants develop a network and could lead them to potential recommenders, says Sara E. Neher, assistant dean for MBA admissions at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Once applicants have spoken with alumni and have a clearer sense of what they’d like their post-MBA life to look like, they should head to the Internet. Distinguishing between legitimate sources and garbage is more difficult than it seems, if for no other reason than the sheer amount of content.

Brand names are usually a safe bet. For example, organizations such as the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, the Graduate Management Admission Council, which administers the GMAT, internationally recognized publications, and the business schools themselves have built up their expertise and reputation.

Opinions on the Web

“Admissions officers are a great source of information for the admissions process, but not necessarily for the experience of the school,” says Shrum. “They’ll give you O.K. answers, but students and recent alumni are better for those questions.”

Still, students and alumni are sometimes trained by the school on what to say or write, says Neher. That is why, she says, it is best to ask sources if the business school is limiting what they share with prospective students in any way. It doesn’t hurt to ask pointed questions designed to elicit a negative answer—such as “What’s the biggest problem with the career services department?”—and to pursue alumni contacts who may be off the school’s radar and willing to offer another perspective, such as an unemployed graduate.

B-School Rankings

One of the biggest and most influential sources of business school information are the various business school rankings, such as those published by the Financial Times, The Economist, and Bloomberg Businessweek’s Best Business Schools. Although most admissions experts agree that the rankings are a good starting point, they want applicants to keep these lists in perspective.

Wise applicants, says DelMonico, use the rankings as one tool to get them started in making a broad list of attractive business schools and to determine what their chances are at each. As they continue their research, they should use the funnel approach to whittle down their list until they have the four to six programs to which they will apply. What applicants never want to do is limit their options or be close-minded to all the possibilities. Considering a wider set of schools, at least to start, is the best way to find the right business school.

Firsthand Experiences

Face-to-face meetings and school-sponsored events can help applicants better understand the nuances of each program. Most business schools host events in various regions and provide online videos and photos. These are suitable ways to bolster your business school research to make informed decisions about admissions, says Neher.

A campus visit allows for more opportunities to talk with students and administrators, to get a firsthand look at what everyday life would be, and to sit in on a class.Even though no school requires a visit, Shrum says admissions committees are impressed when applicants make the extra effort and incorporate in their application essays and interview answers specifics about the school’s culture or offerings that they gleaned from a visit.

Planning an MBA study abroad? 5 crucial factors beyond business school rankings that you must consider:

1. Connect your aspirations to the country’s offerings

   • Immigration rules of the country abroad

   An MBA degree from a Business school abroad will ensure you good job prospects and help you settle abroad. But a word of caution in this case – Immigration rules for foreign nationals vary from place to place. Only the United States, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia make it possible for foreign nationals to gradually settle down permanently.
   Economic and Political conditions of the country abroad
   A booming economy would always have jobs in abundance. Stable political conditions give a sense of security.

   • Occupation prospects in the country abroad

   Since every country abroad doesn’t have the same economic growth levels, the opportunities vary. The occupation you are interested in, necessarily wouldn’t be flourishing in the chosen country abroad. For example, construction engineers are for more in demand in Canada than in the US.

   • Environment of the country abroad

   Choosing to do an MBA abroad gives you the chance to spend one to two years in a new country. Further, you can only settle, if you are able to adjust to the new atmosphere abroad. Geographic locations, Climatic conditions, ease of communication and social-cultural environment (a broad minded culture with a focus on diversity) influence the comfort while staying abroad

What do rankings of the Business schools abroad mean to you? A means of short listing a Business school abroad, right? Rankings primarily aid in selecting the top Business school. After the MBA programme abroad, you it is very likely that you might settle down in a particular country abroad and not in the Business school abroad. Therefore, it is a prudent act to choose a particular country abroad to settle down in and then use the rankings to choose the right Business school abroad. An MBA in a top Business school abroad should finally be the means to an end – a successful, rewarding career and stable settlement in the country where you have built your network! After the completion of your MBA abroad, the country should continue to appeal to you. Here is a quick checklist on evaluating the abroad country’s offerings

2. Type of M.B.A offered abroad

   Classes in MBA abroad tend to have a more diverse population in terms of nationalities, backgrounds (educational and professional), genders, etc, which enhances the quality of the environment and the learning. MBA courses in Business schools abroad tend to have a more global coverage of topics in their syllabus. Top MBA schools abroad also offer variety within their programs, giving experienced students the opportunity to enroll in an Executive MBA program, a fast-track MBA program, or special concentrations within a traditional MBA program. In a top MBA Business school abroad, the chance to specialize in a certain business area — like accounting, international business, or marketing — can help you find a specific job. General MBA programs in Business schools abroad may not be that helpful.

3. Financials to be invested in the Business School abroad

   You may start with the assumption that a scholarship might not be immediately possible. Then, look at the resources at your disposal. Procedures, availability, and types of funding for foreign students at Business schools abroad vary tremendously. Consider whether or not you would financially be able to support yourself abroad in that chosen country. While studying for an MBA in a foreign country; you also need to factor in insurance, transportation expenses and restricted employment options. The exchange rates play a crucial role in determining your financial conditions while pursuing your MBA in a business school abroad and your earnings after settling down.

4. Long term Perspective of the Business School abroad

   Many a times Business schools abroad have local or country-specific fame only. Hence, choose a Business school abroad with a possibility of settling out there.
   An experience abroad in a top Business school is one that will stay with you for life. Then why invest in a wrong place abroad? While an MBA abroad will open you to a new canvass of opportunities, make sure that these opportunities give you a new lease of professional and personal life too.

   Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/college-and-university-articles/planning-an-mba-study-abroad-5-crucial-factors-beyond-business-school-rankings-that-you-must-consider-1550218.html#ixzz18Ce2AHBH
   Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

MBA Programs and Executive MBA Programs sometimes have a similar curriculum, but the class format and admission requirements vary.

Different for different prospects: The EMBA course is aimed at experienced executives who prefer not to take a career break to take a full-time MBA and typically require significant business experience to gain admission. The regular MBA course is generally taken by candidates with relatively lesser work experience. On the other hand the EMBA course is generally taken up by experienced people who want to augment other skills/knowledge areas. Read the rest of this entry »

There are a variety of MBA course available in India and abroad and the students opting for MBA admission have a varied background. While some go for normal two-year MBA course, those who have little time or are engaged with businesses or jobs opt for Executive MBA course and part-time MBA course. An MBA education broadens and enhances knowledge and should be viewed in a sense of building up skills. It is utilized to find solutions to business issues.

An MBA course imbibe in the students the capability and skills to maximize individual and organizational productivity. An MBA course prepares the students to meet the demands of the marketplace. Dr. P Chandra, Director, IIM Bangalore, says, “Enrolling for an MBA course is the best way for the candidate to learn how to build and mould innovative organizations. An MBA degree teaches the learners how to go about analyzing management techniques and paves the way for building managerial perspectives. It also elucidates how the economy works within a society.

Also the case methodology that is practiced by almost all MBA colleges is a thing that leaves the students with a great understanding of practical management knowledge and solutions. The Case-Method creates a classroom in which students succeed not by simply absorbing facts and theories, but also by exercising the skills of leadership and teamwork in the face of real problems.

An MBA courses equip the candidates with adequate skills to face the challenges of a corporate career. IIM Ahmedabad graduate Santosh Desai, who’s now CEO, Future Brands, says, “The wonderful thing about the MBA course is that one will not just be the manager, but also a creator. I think the most important future challenge would be how you are going to transcend the act of managers. In MBA colleges, you are given the freedom to think and to face the challenges. It will be new because all the things are in you but nothing compels you to think independently as does the good MBA course.”

So, the MBA is not just a degree, much more in fact. It helps you find yourself and the capability within. Read the rest of this entry »

Amazon’s Kindle may not yet be a success story on business school campuses, but there appears to still be hope for the Apple iPad. Last year, I wrote a story how seven universities, including two business schools, attempted to use the Amazon Kindle DX in the classroom. The device proved problematic and after a few months, most students stopped using the e-reader, complaining that it wasn’t user-friendly and hard to navigate in the classroom.

Now, some B-schools are turning their sights to the iPad. Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business (Robinson Full-Time MBA Profile) is one of the first business schools aggressively pursuing using the iPad as a replacement for classroom textbooks. This fall, they rolled out a pilot where students in the college’s Executive MBA program were given iPads as a replacement for textbooks, the school said in a press release. The 1.5-pound iPad will replace the 20 pounds of textbooks that students typically are required to buy for class, the school said. By next fall, the school plans to distribute the devices to students in the school’s professional and global partner MBA programs, the one-year specialized master’s program, and the executive doctorate in business. Read the rest of this entry »

The Best International Business Schools 2010: A lot has changed since the last time Bloomberg Businessweek ranked international full-time MBA programs. In Europe and Canada, placement rates and starting salaries for newly minted MBAs took a major hit, then began the slow process of recovery. Disgruntled students sent satisfaction scores plunging at some schools, while fickle recruiters switched allegiances at others. The result: France’s INSEAD catapulted from No. 3 in 2008 to the No. 1 spot, overtaking Canada’s Queen’s School of Business and Spain’s IE Business School, which were Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in 2008.

In the slides that follow, we lay out the winners and the losers in the top 10. But it doesn’t end there. This year we nearly doubled the size of the list, ranking 18 international schools in all. Click here for the complete ranking. Read the rest of this entry »

Part-time MBA programs are a good option for people who don’t want to quit working to go back to school. Once thought of as a way to advance an existing career, part-time MBA programs have become a suitable option for career changers as well. If you’re interested in part-time MBA programs, here are the best of them by region, according to the 2009 BusinessWeekpart-time MBA rankings.

Note: On the slides that follow, average GMAT scores and completion rates are self-reported by schools. Grads reporting salary increase and average salary increase are based on respondents to the BusinessWeek survey; data may not be representative of the entire class. Ratings, based on survey results, are provided for “career advancers,” who are looking for a promotion with their current employer; “job changers,” who are looking to advance their careers with a new employer; and “career switchers,” who want to change industries, functional areas, or both.

The job market for 2010 MBA graduates made a slow but steady recovery this year, beginning to rebound from one of the worst MBA hiring seasons in recent history. All but three of Bloomberg Businessweek’s 30 top-ranked full-time MBA programs saw improvements in the percentage of students landing jobs within three months of graduation, according to the latest data reported to Bloomberg Businessweek.

The news was not all good, though, with the schools’ results showing an MBA job landscape that has significantly altered in the past two years. A surge in hiring later in the school year boosted many schools’ placement numbers, but few are back to their 2007 placement levels of 2007, a headier time before the financial crisis, when the vast majority of students landed multiple job offers and fat signing bonuses. This year’s results were still welcome news to career placement officers, such as Read McNamara, executive director of the career management center at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management (Owen Full-Time MBA Profile), which had 87 percent of students placed by the three-month mark, up six percentage points from the year before.

FEWER SIGNING BONUSES

This year, on average, about 12 percent of graduates at the top 30 schools, or one in eight, still hadn’t received even one job offer by the three-month mark. That’s an improvement from last year, when one in five students were jobless three months after graduation. Salaries are flat or down at 23 of the 30 schools, with starting pay averaging $97,049, inching up only $549 from 2009. Meanwhile, the much-coveted signing bonus has also seen a fall from favor, with 23 of the schools reporting that the percentage of students with jobs receiving signing bonuses is down, some by 20 percentage points or more from the year before.

DISAPPOINTING SALARY OFFERS

Even in a tight job market, some recent graduates are not willing to compromise when it comes to compensation. The turnaround in the employment picture means that students like Hussain can be a bit more selective when it comes to the type of jobs they are angling for. Many of the top-ranked schools hit hard by the financial crisis last year have started to bounce back, including Harvard Business School, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

FRUITLESS INTERNSHIPS

The hiring outlook did not look bright for the 2010 class last fall, when many students returned from summer internships without a job offer in hand. Recruiters were still showing up on campus but were hiring fewer students, leaving career services officers such as Wendy Tsung, associate dean and executive director of the MBA Career Services Office at Emory University’s Goizueta Busness School (Goizueta Full-Time MBA Profile), nervous about students’ prospects. “We went into the year very unsure about how it was going to play out,” she says.

She encouraged students to be more proactive about their job search, and her staff worked to develop recruiting relationships with companies the school had not worked with before. By the time the spring rolled around, a “second wave of recruiting” lifted the school’s placement numbers by 11 percentage points, to 93 percent.

SLUGGISH PLACEMENT RATES

Even with the start of a turnaround in the market, some schools have made little to no progress in improving their placement figures. At the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, the placement rate stayed flat at 22 percent, while the University of Maryland Smith School of Business and SMU’s Cox School actually lost ground. Smith’s three-month placement rate fell from 87 percent in 2009 to 81 percent in 2010, while a third of Cox graduates ended the summer unemployed, up from 27 percent in 2009, a deterioration in the placement rate the school blames on turnover in the career services office.

At the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, only 82 percent of the graduating class reported a job offer at the three-month mark, an improvement of just one percentage point over 2009.

To identify the top undergraduate business programs, Bloomberg BusinessWeek uses a methodology that includes nine measures of student satisfaction, postgraduation outcomes, and academic quality.

This year we started with 139 programs that were eligible for ranking, including virtually all of the schools from our 2009 ranking plus six new schools that met our eligibility requirements. In November, with the help of Cambria Consulting in Boston, we asked nearly 88,000 graduating seniors at those schools to complete a 50-question survey on everything from the quality of teaching to recreational facilities. Overall, 27,317 students responded to the survey, a response rate of 31%. Read the rest of this entry »

Getting an MBA is a good move for work-at-home moms who want to earn the necessary credentials in management as a preparation for further career advancement. Earning an MBA degree will make you more likely to be considered for a higher position and higher pay. In the past, the only way to get an MBA is through a traditional MBA program offered by a campus-based university. But the advent of the Internet has revolutionized access to education. MBA programs are now being offered online by many colleges and universities.

If you are planning to get an MBA degree and deciding whether to enroll in a traditional, campus-based or an online MBA program, it is important to know the similarities and differences, and more importantly, the advantages and disadvantages of both. Read the rest of this entry »

There are many distinct differences between online education and traditional learning. For certain students, distance learning is a fitting option; for others, a campus-based school program is much more beneficial. By comparing the advantages and disadvantages of online learning you can decide if an online or campus program would be more helpful in achieving your goals.

Online Education Advantages: Read the rest of this entry »

As we do every two years, BusinessWeek this year surveyed executive MBA graduates and program directors to uncover the best EMBA programs in the world. This year’s ranking has a few surprises: IE Business School, which catapulted to No. 2 in BusinessWeek’s 2008 ranking of top international full-time MBA programs, emerges as a Top 10 EMBA program as well. Wharton slips to No. 3, relinquishing the No. 2 spot to Chicago’s Booth School of Business. And one new school entered the ranking at No. 22: the University of Texas at Dallas. Read the rest of this entry »

For many MBA students, earning power is one reason, perhaps the main reason, for enrolling in B-school. So which programs really deliver the goods? Over the course of a career, what’s your MBA worth? The numbers will surprise you.

The slides that follow list the median cash compensation—base salary and bonus—for MBA graduates of each school who have less than two years’ experience, 10 years’ experience, and 20 years’ experience, as well as an estimate of total earnings over a career spanning two decades.

The upshot? According to data compiled for Bloomberg BusinessWeek by PayScale, a Wharton MBA has 90 percent of the value of a Harvard MBA. University of Chicago, 76 percent. University of Iowa? Forty-eight percent. Read the rest of this entry »

There are 62 MBA programs in California, according to Find MBA.com. Top MBA programs in California include

• University of Southern California (USC) – Marshall School of Business,
• University of San Diego (USD) School of Business Administration ,
• UCLA University of California, Los Angeles – Anderson School of Management,
• University of California, Berkeley – Haas School of Business and
• Stanford Graduate School of Business (Stanford GSB)

For the full list of the 62 MBA programs in California, please visit All MBA Programs in California.

Which Schools Offer Online MBA Degree Programs and Require No GMAT for Admission?

Many colleges and universities require students to take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) before accepting them into a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. There are some schools, however, that do not require the GMAT for admission. In some cases, MBA programs that do not require the GMAT, administer entrance exams of their own. Below are 5 schools that offer online programs. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the past three years, the number of graduates of part-time MBA programs has shot up 14.5% — to 22,210 in the 1999-2000 academic year. And half of Business Week’s top 30 full-time MBA programs now offer part-time degrees. That’s because a large segment of the pre-MBA universe — an older and increasingly diverse segment — wants the advantages an MBA confers in terms of prestige and money without having to go back to school and sacrifice two years of income — plus, possibly, their existing careers.

HARDER RECRUITMENT. Now, the leaders in part-time MBA education are trying to take their programs to the next level. They’re putting more emphasis on relevance and innovation in their course offerings, and they’re adding such enhancements as Web-enabled courses and more electives. Others are working to improve the image and success of part-timers. At New York University’s Stern School of Business, a new career-resources adviser works with part-timers to develop job opportunities. And the career-services office at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management now sends representatives to advise part-timers at their downtown Chicago campus during evening classes.

Still, for all of the growth of such programs, many B-schools are struggling to keep the good times rolling. When unemployment is low and the economy sizzles, most business schools find it harder to recruit students away from good careers. Kim Corfman, academic director of the part-time program at New York University’s Stern School, has noticed a drop in applications this year (the school accepted 60% of its applicants in 1999).

KEEPING ‘EM HAPPY. Another goal for the schools is to simply hold on to what they have, as jobs become more demanding — and mobile. Halfway through a part-time program, an employer can transfer a student across country and out of reach, for example. These dropouts take their toll. At Wayne State University in Detroit, for instance, 150 to 200 students drop out each year. That costs the school “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” and hampers it from adding new courses, says the school’s Dean, Harvey Kahalas.

This realization has schools such as Stern lavishing resources on their part-timers. Stern’s program now has its own administrative offices and a community-building orientation program for new students. “We wondered if they wanted a sense a sense of community, and they’re loving it,” says Corfman. The school is also incorporating distance learning.

Such schools are also reacting to complaints from part-time students. Indeed, a recent survey of 5,000 part-time MBAs by the AACSB and New Jersey-based Educational Benchmarking found that the students rated their overall satisfaction with the career services offices at their schools 3.79 on a scale of 7.0.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. In fact, recruiters are generally enthusiastic about part-time MBAs. Portia Smith, manager for the staff associates program for Sprint, says her company is starting to eyeball part-timers. “The biggest hurdle is getting past the schools, since the students’ employers are often paying the tuition and fees for the students,” she says. For now, she’s noticing more part-time MBA students at her on-campus briefings. “They say that they’re interested and ask how they can be interviewed.” Smith particularly likes the fact that part-timers tend to have more work experience, she says.

Best of all for recruiters, the conflict of interest that B-schools face when finding new jobs for part-timers whose education is financed by their current employer is that fewer and fewer of them are funded by their companies. “Companies see it as a cost savings, and employees are less loyal to companies now,” says Arthur Centonze, dean of the Lubin School af Pace University.

That news may prompt schools such as Michigan State to reconsider their policies on part-time MBA recruiting. Currently, Dean James Henry says, “after the [weekend MBA students] finish the program, if they’re leaving their company, we’ll support them. But in the weekend MBA program, it’s made clear from the beginning that [placement] service won’t be provided for them.”

FASTER TRACK. Schools have also gotten the message that part-time students don’t relish going to night school forever and that they want a wider variety of course work. Thus, Michigan State recently revamped its part-time program to shorten the curriculum to 18 months — vs. two years for the school’s full-time program. Baruch College, which is part of New York’s state university system, has also added an accelerated part-time MBA program that takes just 24 months, vs. the normal four years.

The ultimate draw for students may be that it’s much easier to land a spot as a part-time MBA-er than as a full-timer. Lyons says Kellogg selects 35% of applicants for admission to its part-time program, while the school’s full-time program sorts through more than 5,000 applications to choose a lucky 18%. The University of Michigan reports that 63% of its part-time students are accepted — vs. 21% for its full-time program.

Once they’re admitted, however, students say the workload is equal.

MORE BETTER WIDGETS. Part-timers do pay a price. At many schools, especially those with vibrant day programs, special guests such as CEOs, entrepreneurs, and dignitaries make their lecture rounds before part-time students come to class. “We’re on the mailing lists that announce when good speakers arrive on campus,” says Venugopala of Bentley, “but we can’t go. [Those events] are the biggest things that part-time students miss out on.” Lyons agrees: “Evening students don’t get the networking or extracurricular [activities] that the full-timers do.”

Ultimately, many employers see an MBA as an MBA, no matter how it’s earned. It shouldn’t take business schools long to do the calculation: If the product — the student with a part-time MBA — is both popular and highly profitable, then you want to turn out plenty of good ones.

Part-Time Students Are Getting Full-Time Attention: Enrollment is at record highs. And since part-timers are so profitable, schools are going out of their way to attract and keep them –Written by Mica Schneider from BusinessWeek.

In her first week as an MBA student at the Spanish B-school ESADE, Elizabeth Caswell and her classmates were each asked to prepare a presentation on a company they felt would be a good place to work. Caswell selected KB Home, the $9.4 billion Los Angeles homebuilder. When it was her turn, the Massachusetts native got up and shared her findings, complete with company financials and stock prices. When she finished, her classmates politely applauded her efforts.

What Caswell found at ESADE is what many potential MBAs are looking for, a program that offers a strong dose of management theory–and a global perspective. Because few U.S. MBA programs can match the diversity and international flavor of a school like ESADE, where 74% of students are from outside of Spain, more and more students are heading to schools in Europe and Canada. According to the Graduate Management Admissions Council, the number of American students attending MBA programs in countries like Spain, France, and England has risen from about 2,100 in 2000 to 3,550 in 2005.

This is good news for the top 10 schools in BusinessWeek’s 2006 ranking of the best non-U.S. MBA programs. While the programs differ, each manages–through program design and classroom diversity–to expose students to a world of cultural differences. On average, 64% of the students hail from abroad, compared with 35% at the top 10 U.S. schools. With such breadth, students learn as much from their classmates as from their professors, not just about marketing and finance, but also about how management styles differ in various parts of the world. And this becomes more important as business becomes an increasingly global affair. “Students are beginning to understand that they have to learn to deal with specific problems they will face if they operate in Russia, or China, or Brazil,” says Jordi Canals, dean of the Barcelona-based IESE Business School.

For this year’s ranking of non-U.S. MBA programs, BusinessWeek surveyed more than 2,000 students from 25 of the world’s most competitive programs, as well as the recruiters who hire them, using the same methodology as the U.S. ranking. For the first time since the launch of the international ranking in 2000, three Canadian schools top the list, led again by Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. In a year marked by a battle for differentiation among top international schools, Queen’s took top honors with an unusual approach that treats students less like students and more like employees.

“TREAT IT LIKE A JOB”

How does Queen’s do it? For starters, it divides students into groups of five or six “participants,” with each group consisting of several different personality types and nationalities so that conflict is almost guaranteed. Unlike most B-schools, where new teams form for each class, Queen’s students belong to a single team for the whole program, much as they would on the job. Each team is assigned to a 15-by-20-foot “office” where each student has a cubicle and is expected to keep office-like hours. It’s here that students spend a majority of their non-class time, discussing projects and working on assignments. And it’s here where much of the magic happens. Students learn how to work as part of a team–resolving differences and solving problems–in a way that can’t be taught in the classroom. “Students are treated like professionals, and they’re expected to treat it like a job,” says Alan Ridgeway, a 2006 Queen’s grad.

This experiment in reality learning has students and recruiters singing the school’s praises. But administrators aren’t easing up. In late September, Dean David Saunders announced plans for a curriculum redesign that will allow students to customize their course loads based on their experience and career goals. For Saunders, the decision to make the change was simply a question of listening to the market. “We talked to employers and alumni and built off of their feedback,” Saunders says.

Indeed, if there’s one lesson that international B-school administrators have learned this year, it’s that the needs of recruiters matter just as much as those of prospective students. To deliver the kinds of grads who can hit the ground running, the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business last year cut the length of what had been a two-year program in half and revamped the curriculum. The school now requires students to examine case studies from numerous viewpoints, in essence grouping together various disciplines–finance, marketing, operations, and so on–that would ordinarily be chopped up into individual courses. “We’re thinking about it as learning from an issues perspective as opposed to a functions perspective,” says Ivey Dean Carol Stephenson. The changes seem to be working: Western Ontario rocketed up four spots, to No. 2, and was the top choice of recruiters, who say Ivey grads are quickly able to adapt to the workplace with little additional training.

SOLUTIONS TO THE HIRING PUZZLE

As impressive as that sounds, Ivey’s improvement in the ranking was modest compared with that of the University of Toronto’s Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, which leapt six spots, to No. 3, the biggest jump in the ranking. In 2004, Rotman grads said it was hard to find jobs even at the Canadian companies making an annual pilgrimage to campus. In response, the school designed new courses on everything from presentation skills to networking and brought corporate leaders and alumni into the classroom. Sean Bartman, a senior manager of recruiting at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, is one of a handful of recruiters who visit Rotman to hold mock interviews and training sessions. According to Bartman, who helped implement the sessions, these are important pieces of the hiring puzzle. “You can’t just go into an interview cold and expect to do well,” he says. Judging from the hiring numbers at Rotman, the work is paying off. For the class of 2006, 94% had a job offer within three months of graduating, the school’s best job placement performance in years. The only real complaint from students at Rotman is that they would like to see a few more companies from outside of Canada visiting campus.

With Canadian schools dominating the upper end of the list, several highly ranked European schools found themselves slipping to the middle of the pack this year. The International Institution for Management Development (IMD) fell to No. 4, from No. 2, despite receiving the highest possible ranking in the student survey. The Lausanne (Switzerland) B-school, where students average seven years of work experience–far more than any of the other schools in our ranking–is the destination of choice for those in search of highly experienced classmates, and who might otherwise choose an executive MBA program. That was the choice that confronted Laurent Collier before he chose IMD. “I was already a manager with a good salary,” Collier says. “I wanted to be working with people that had the same [level of] experience as me.” What Collier found in the 11-month IMDMBA was an intense, boot-camp-like experience that provided the career bump he was looking for. “Getting only five hours of sleep a night was worth it,” he says. But the experience comes at a price. Some recruiters skip IMD because its grads are looking for positions at a higher level than companies can offer.

For many European schools, the most troubling problem this year was a perennial one: attracting international recruiters. With so many foreign students looking to return home to work after earning their MBA, schools that fail to attract recruiters from those countries are at a big disadvantage. This is, no doubt, one reason why No. 6-ranked INSEAD hired J. Frank Brown, a retired executive at PricewaterhouseCoopers, as its new dean–to attract more international companies to the school’s Fontainebleau (France) and Singapore campuses.

It doesn’t help that many smaller, regional recruiters aren’t able to pay the high salaries that are a top priority for most students. Patricia Ferrando, a recruiter at Barcelona-based EuroPraxis Consulting, which hires at INSEAD, ESADE, and IESE, says it’s becoming more difficult to get MBAs from those schools in the door. “It’s hard to compete for top talent,” she says.

European and other international schools sometimes complain that poor name recognition puts them at a disadvantage when competing against Harvard, Wharton, and other top U.S. schools. But if they continue to succeed in producing graduates who can thrive in the global marketplace, that may change.

The Best Global MBA Programs：International B-Schools add an automatic credit in worldliness to the curriculum from BusinessWeek

.

A number of organizations rank colleges, universities and business-schools in order to help students and applications make good education decisions. Do you know how to find the best rankings? More importantly, do you know how to interpret the MBA program rankings you do find? Every list puts someone different in the top ten, so it can be confusing to know what to believe. Here’s how to find the best lists and understand why certain rank higher than others.

Start by doing searches for top-ranked lists. Remember, not every list is created equally. Is the source reliable? A nationally acclaimed source or a large organization can give you a more reliable look than a smaller website with no real authority. Do your research, and find out if the organization really has the authority to rank MBA programs and business-schools.

Even among organizations qualified to rank educational programs, you’ll find differences between lists. Why? Everyone has a different system used to rank these programs. Once may not be more valid than another, but it is important for you to know the differences. Here are some of the main characteristics used for ranking:

* Average test scores of students
* Percentage of students working within six months of graduation
* Class size
* Study abroad opportunities
* Scheduling flexibility
* Academic standards
* Student resources
* Cost
* Percentage of students admitted
* Scholarships given out
* Alumni opportunities
* Green initiatives and sustainability

All of these characteristics used to rank a college may also be weighted differently. For example, List A and List B might both look at cost and student resources, but List A regards cost as more important, while List B is more interested in student resources. So, make sure you understand the weight given to these lists. However, this is not by far an extensive list. When you read any ranking list, make sure you understand all the characteristics used to complete the ranking. Keep in mind that organizations doing the ranking might change their qualifications from year to year.

How can you tell? Most college ranking lists don’t come complete with a breakdown of how they went about ranking each school. Start by reading what they do provide, however. In many cases, the list will come up with a paragraph about the top schools and why they were chosen.

You can always contact the organization that created the list as well. If you’re wondering why certain colleges rank higher than others, just talk to those who created it. Not everyone will reply, but those who do will likely be more than willing to help you. Remember, at the end of the day, you need to choose a school that is right for you. Just because one school is ranked higher than another on a list doesn’t mean that it is the better school for you.

Source: Financial Times
Note: This is calculated using the salary earned by alumni today, course length, fees and other costs, including the opportunity cost of not working for the duration of the course.

According to ETS, the following business schools in United States and Canada accept GRE General Test scores for admission to their MBA programs:

• Adams State College
• Adelphi University
• Alaska Pacific University
• Alliant International University
• Alvernia University
• American Jewish University
• Antioch University New England
• Arcadia University
• Augsburg College
• Azusa Pacific University

• Bainbridge Graduate Institute
• Baldwin Wallace College
• Barry University
• Bay Path College
• Belhaven College
• Bob Jones University
• Brandeis University
• Brandman University
• Brenau University
• Brescia University

• California Baptist University
• California State University – Bakersfield
• California State University – Chico
• California State University – Stanislaus
• Campbellsville University
• Capital University
• Capitol College
• Christian Brothers University
• City University of Seattle
• Claremont Graduate University
• Clark University
• Clarkson University
• Clemson University
• Cleveland State University
• College of Mount Saint Vincent
• College of St. Scholastica
• Colorado Christian University
• Colorado State University – Ft Collins
• Columbia University (EMBA Program)
• Concordia University – Portland
• Cumberland University

• Dartmouth University
• Delaware Valley College
• DeVry University, Arizona
• DeVry University, California
• DeVry University, Colorado
• DeVry University, Florida
• DeVry University, Georgia
• DeVry University, Illinois
• DeVry University, Indiana
• DeVry University, Maryland
• DeVry University, Minnesota
• DeVry University, Missouri
• DeVry University, Nevada
• DeVry University, New York
• DeVry University, North Carolina
• DeVry University, Oakbrook Terrace
• DeVry University, Ohio
• DeVry University, Oklahoma
• DeVry University, Oregon
• DeVry University, Pennsylvania
• DeVry University, Texas
• DeVry University, Virginia
• DeVry University, Washington
• DeVry University, Wisconsin
• Dominican University of California
• Drury University

• Everglades University

• Fairmont State University
• Ferris State University
• Fitchburg State College
• Florida Atlantic University
• Florida Institute of Technology
• Florida International University
• Florida Southern College
• Fort Hays State University
• Fresno Pacific University
• Frostburg State University

• Gardener-Webb University
• Geneva College
• Georgetown University (EMBA program)
• Georgia College and State University
• Georgia Southern University
• Georgia Southwestern State University
• Goldey Beacom College

• Harvard Business School
• Hofstra University
• Humboldt State University

• Illinois State University
• Indiana Institute of Technology
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania

• Jacksonville University
• John Brown University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Johnson & Wales University

• Kansas Wesleyan University
• Keiser University
• Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

• Laboratory Institute of Merchandising
• La Sierra University
• Lincoln University Oakland
• Loma Linda University
• Louisiana State University Shreveport

• Maharishi University of Management
• Malone College
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Medaille College
• Mercyhurst College
• Mesa State College
• Misericordia University
• Missouri Southern State University
• Missouri State University
• Missouri University of Science and Technology
• Monmouth University
• Morehead State University
• Morgan State University
• Mount Mary College
• Mount St. Mary’s College
• Murray State University

• National University – California
• Naval Postgraduate School
• New York University
• Northern Kentucky University
• North Park University
• Northwest Christian College
• Northwest Missouri State University
• Northwood University
• Nova Southeastern University

• Oakland City University
• Oklahoma Christian University
• Oklahoma City University
• Oral Roberts University
• Oregon State University
• Our Lady of the Lake University – San Antonio

• Pacific Lutheran University
• Pacific States University
• Park University
• Pepperdine University
• Pfeiffer University
• Piedmont College – Demorest
• Point Park University
• Purdue University – Main Campus (Part-time MBA)

• Regent University
• Reinhardt College
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Rice University (EMBA Program)
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• Rollins College
• Rowan University – Glassboro
• Rutgers University – New Brunswick (EMBA Program)

• Salve Regina University
• Savannah State University
• Shenandoah University
• Sonoma State University (EMBA Program)
• Southern Illinois University Carbondale
• Southern Utah University
• Southern Wesleyan University
• Southwest Minnesota State University
• Southwestern Adventist University
• St. Ambrose University
• St. Bonaventure University
• St. Edwards University
• St. Peters College
• St. Thomas University
• Stanford University
• Stevens Institute of Technology
• Strayer Education, Inc.
• Sul Ross State University
• SUNY at Stony Brook
• SUNY Institute of Technology
• SUNY New Paltz

• Tarleton State University – Stephenville
• Texas A&M College Station
• Texas A&M International University
• Texas A&M University – Commerce
• Troy University – Atlanta
• Troy University – Troy
• Troy University – Atlantic Region
• Troy University – Dothan
• Troy University – Montgomery
• Troy University – Phenix City

• University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
• University of Alabama at Birmingham
• University of Alaska at Fairbanks
• University of Arkansas – Fayetteville
• University of California Riverside
• University of Central Florida
• University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
• University of Colorado at Denver
• University of Dallas
• University of Denver
• University of Evansville (EMBA Program)
• University of Findlay
• University of Houston – Victoria
• University of Louisiana – Monroe
• University of Louisville
• University of Massachusetts Amherst (Part-Time MBA)
• University of Memphis
• University of New Mexico
• University of North Alabama
• University of North Carolina – Greensboro
• University of North Carolina Wilmington
• University of North Dakota
• University of North Texas
• University of Oregon (EMBA Program)
• University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School (for applications beginning in fall 2010)
• University of Redlands – Burbank
• University of Redlands – Orange County
• University of Redlands – Rancho Cucamonga
• University of Redlands – Redlands
• University of Redlands – Riverside
• University of Redlands – San Diego
• University of Redlands – Temecula
• University of Redlands – Torrance
• University of Rhode Island
• University of South Carolina
• University of South Florida – Sarasota
• University of Southern Maine
• University of Tampa
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Texas at Brownsville
• University of Texas at Dallas (Part-time MBA)
• University of Texas at San Antonio
• University of the Incarnate Word
• University of Utah (Professional MBA and EMBA Programs)
• University of Vermont
• University of Virginia
• University of Washington – Bothell
• University of Washington Tacoma
• University of West Florida
• University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire
• University of Wisconsin – La Crosse
• University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh
• University of Wyoming
• Upper Iowa University
• Utah State University
• Utah Valley University

• Valdosta State University

• Wake Forest University
• Washington University in St. Louis
• Wayland Baptist University
• Webster University
• Wesleyan College – Georgia
• West Texas A&M University
• Western New England College
• Whitworth University
• Widener University
• Willamette University
• Wingate University

• Yale University
• York College of Pennsylvania

• Concordia University
• Lakehead University
• Queen’s School of Business
• St. Mary’s University
• University of Calgary
• Univ of New Brunswick – Saint John
• University of Toronto (EMBA Program starting Fall 2010)

In May 2009, Harvard Business School announced that it will no longer require MBA applicants to submit GMAT scores. Starting with the applications for admission to the Class of 2012, HBS will allow applicants to submit either GMAT scores or GRE scores.

The news makes Harvard the latest in a series of top tier business schools to make the change. In 2006, both Stanford and MIT’s Sloan School of Management permitted the GRE for applicants to their MBA programs. The policy, while common among Executive MBA programs, is still the exception at top-ranked full-time MBA programs, although it’s unclear just how much longer that will be case now that Harvard has made the change.

Harvard’s acceptance of the GRE is a big win for the Educational Testing Service, which administers that test. About 18 months ago, ETS took aim at the lucrative business school market dominated by the GMAT, launching a marketing campaign suggesting that switching to the GRE would result in more applications. The GMAT, which generates about $80 million a year for the Graduate Management Admission Council, is used by more than 4,000 graduate management programs worldwide.

Deirdre Leopold, managing director of admissions and financial aid at HBS, said the GRE was allowed to make the application process easier for applicants considering graduate programs other than the MBA.

Since many HBS applicants are also considering graduate programs besides the MBA, there is now no need for them to take the GMAT if they have already taken the GRE. We believe that both the GMAT and the GRE meet our expectations of what a standardized test can tell us about a candidate’s ability to thrive in our MBA program.

From the test-takers perspective, one big advantage the GRE has over the GMAT is price: the GRE costs just $150, versus $250 for the GMAT. But applicants haven’t exactly been clamoring for a lower-cost alternative to the GMAT. From the schools perspective, the GMAT has a lot of research backing up its claim that it’s a good predictor of success in a graduate management program, whereas the GRE is in uncharted territory.

So will more schools opt for a GMAT-optional approach? ETS is predicting the floodgates will open now that Harvard has taken the plunge. David Payne, an ETS vice president, says the Harvard news, along with a new “noncognitive evaluation” section of the GRE that will be available in July (it measures teamwork, ethics, persistence, and creativity) will convince many other business schools to accept the GRE.

Payne notes that over 220 business schools accept the GRE for MBA applications already, including 5 of the 10 top internationally ranked programs. About 25 new programs signed on in the last month alone, he said. Here’s his take on the impact of the Harvard news:

I think that number [220] will go through the roof over the summer and into the fall. Harvard is going to help us reach that tipping point. Other schools will say, ‘If it’s good enough for Harvard then it’s good enough for our institution.