Top 30 Ranked Best Buys - Online MBAs - AACSB Accredited
In 1989, when I live befallgan surveying online MBA status divisions, there were only 5 endorsed choices in the USA.
Today, as of February 2008, according to data collected next to my distance ed research firm, there are 168 distance MBA options: 62 of these offered by graduate activity schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate colleges of Business (AACSB).
The pleasant news: if you seek a quality business degree online you need not frequent a no-name school. About 30% of online graduate business school programs I surveyed in 2008 hold AACSB accreditation. This ratio is about the equivalent for brick and mortar B-Schools.
AACSB accreditation is considered by many the gold standard of business school accreditation. The circumstance that escalating numbers of universities are delivering by virtue of distance methods helps confirm elearning as a respectable choice for learners across America.
Elite B-Schools on my personal heel of distance MBAs include Babson College’s F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business, Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and Thunderbird Graduate School’s Garvin School of Intergovernmental Management.
If you’re looking to earn your MBA online, you’ll save thousands, perhaps tens of thousands by doing a thorough cost comparison.
My 2008 survey of 62 AACSB options revealed online learners should be prepared to pay as little as $7,848 or as much as $106,400 for an AACSB accredited distance grad degree in business administration (MBA).
In 2008 the number one “most affordable” option is East Carolina University (North Carolina), a public institution with a modest cost of $7,848 for an online MBA degree for commonwealth residents. (Non-Residents will pay significantly more ($26,064) for this same degree.)
Duke University, a private Ivy League institution, also in North Carolina, is the most expensive option at an estimated $106,000+ for their Global MBA option.
According to my national data, the average cost you could expect to pay for an AACSB accredited distance MBA is $32,200.
Any best buy option for a distance MBA that is AACSB accredited should cost ad barely than the national average ($25,000 or less).
If the AACSB-accredited distance MBA program you are considering costs more than this you should continue shopping online.
Be careful of schools that seem to pop up everywhere in sponsored searches. Private for-profits (which advertise heavily online) will cost two to three times more on average than your local state university (and more than 80% of state colleges now offer their degrees online!)
Look for your best buys to come from colleges you already know and trust — backyard brands from publicly supported universities such as the University of Wisconsin, Colorado State University, and the University of Massachusetts.
Vicky Phillips designed and directed the first online counseling center for elearners on AOL in 1989. Today, she is chief education analyst at GetEducated.com, http://www.geteducated.com, America’s first online degree clearinghouse. She oversees GetEducated’s national surveys, designed to help consumers rate, rank, compare, and analyze the thousands of edegrees available to them today.