Three Things to Consider when Choosing an Online MBA Program

Every young up-and-coming business professional who is considering attending business school must answer a series of questions. The first question is: do I want to go to a brick-and-mortar (or traditional) school or do I want to enroll in an online MBA program? If you're viewing this article, then odds are you've already decided that online is the way to go. Good for you -- I think deciding where to go is harder than actually attending, and with your options narrowed down to just those schools offering an online program you are much closer to a final decision. Let me offer you some unsolicited assistance as you begin to cross programs off your list of potential schools. Every future student evaluates schools based on cost, and tries to evaluate schools based on the reputation of the school (which is very difficult to actually gauge), but many students overlook three very important factors that need to be considered when choosing an online MBA program: quality of professors, prerequisites, and corporate alliances and discounts.

Quality Professors=Quality Education
Every good student wants to learn under the tutelage of a highly qualified professor. However, short of gaining access to an online class and evaluating the professor's credentials, how should one go about determining whether or not the school hires quality professors? I would recommend looking at the job postings for prospective professors on the schools' websites. The two largest online MBA granting universities, Capella University and Phoenix University, have detailed descriptions of what they are looking for in candidates hoping to teach their online courses. You should also create your own list of qualifications that you want to see in your professors and compare that list to the descriptions on the schools' websites. If you think that a quality education is dependent on having professors with doctorates and many years of experience, then you should look for schools that require that out of their professors and odds are the quality of the education will meet your expectations.

Prerequisites
The MBA student body is comprised of a cornucopia of undergraduate majors. This means that odds are your major wasn't in business or finance, and maybe because of that you feel a bit "behind the 8-ball." If that's the situation your in then you should strongly consider attending a school (such as the University of Wisconsin Whitewater or the University of South Dakota) that gives you the ability to take undergraduate-equivalent business courses after gaining acceptance and prior to starting your graduate level courses. However, if you think that you're naturally gifted in the area of business and that you have the ability to quickly grasp complicated concepts then you may view the prerequisites as a useless hurdle that will slow you down in your quest to obtain the coveted MBA. Since prerequisites are a substantial addition to your program in both time and cost, they should definitely be factored into your decision.

Corporate Alliances & Discounts
Many online schools establish alliances with large corporations and offer substantial discounts to their employees. My current employer has an agreement with Capella that will save me $2,000 in discounted rates over the course of my program. In addition to the incentive of discounted rates corporate alliances show that corporations trust the university to provide an excellent education to their workforce. If you're planning on searching for a job after graduating it would be good to know if the school you attended had corporate alliances in place with the companies you are considering. If the prospective companies do have a corporate alliance in place it might give you a leg up on the competition.

These are just 3 of the many things you should consider when evaluating an online MBA program. For more helpful information about online MBA's checkout these articles:

-Insider's Guide to Finding the Best MBA Program for You
-Best Online MBA Programs