After working for 5-6 years, most professionals start thinking about the next step in their careers or think of advancing by doing an MBA programme. With a full-fledged career, many don’t want to pause their lives to study, hence the online option is most suited for professionals who want to juggle.
It may be online, but one thing is clear, it is a BIG commitment and before you take this big step, make sure you consider these before choosing the best online MBA.
There are a lot of Universities out there offering online MBAs but finding the right fit is a challenge. As a part of your research consider these points to make the best choice for yourself.
Accreditation
All university degrees are accredited but online degrees are also accredited by external organisations. Some of these bodies are
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)- Specialized accreditation for business and accounting programs at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral level.
AMBA accreditation: AMBA’s commitment to maintaining standards and fostering innovation in global postgraduate management education.
EQUIS accreditation ensures rigorous quality control, benchmarking your school against international standards in terms of governance, programmes, students, faculty, research, internationalisation, ethics, responsibility and sustainability, as well as engagement with the world of practice.
EFMD programme accreditation is a complimentary evaluation tool available to the EQUIS accredited schools, which aim at further differentiating some of their programmes. It focuses on the strategic relevance and development of the programme.
The University of Liverpool’s Management School which offers the MBA is one of an elite group of institutions worldwide to hold a gold standard triple accreditation from AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS.
Teaching faculty and course content
When you want to study MBA, it has to be taught by a faculty who has had experience in the corporate world and who can bring in their own experience in the course. Make sure that the teaching team has corporate experience. The more years the better it is to share that with the class.
Bayes Business school Global MBA prides itself on faculty who are thought leaders and innovators, they are highly sought-after by companies, governments and international bodies for their specialist business knowledge. Their work continues to shape policy, debate and business practice at the highest levels.
The Course Director for the Bayes Business School Global MBA Dr Aneesh Banerjee, says "The Global MBA prepares you for the next level in management and leadership. It's uniquely designed for you to learn and develop new skills without taking time off your busy schedule."
Group/class interaction
When we think of an online classroom, we think of no interaction, studying alone and many such things. But online education has evolved and online classrooms are much more interactive than you would imagine. With projects that require you to work in groups and in-class discussions, you certainly are not studying alone. Also, most classes are put together based on student profiles to maximise the experience and diversity. The EMBA from Business School Lausanne, though not online is a part-time MBA that allows you to juggle work, life and study. The classroom is made of students with an average professional experience of 12.5 years and is very diverse. The small class size ensures a bespoke teaching approach. The Online MBA from the University of Essex has a 95% for overall student satisfaction: top for overall student satisfaction An online MBA student Peter Van Den Plas from the Netherlands, said - the best experience while studying at the University of Liverpool online was studying with people all over the world.
Learning platform
Most universities work on different learning platforms to deliver the programme online. These platforms are very user friendly and allow you to not only follow the programme but also use the same platform to interact with your classmates, and your professors/lecturers.
Eligibility
As most people want to study an MBA to advance their careers, the eligibility for applying for an MBA is not strictly academic. The work experience route is becoming more and more common. With the right experience and or with your academic background combined with work experience you can apply to study for an MBA.
Cost
This is the most important decision to make, it is an investment in your future, so it has to be carefully planned. Also, it is a great idea to inform your work or manager about your decision to study online. There are loan options, and also in many cases, employers want to support and fund their employee development. Based on the country of the university the costs will vary. For example, an MBA from a UK university can start from about GBP 8000 to about GBP 30,000.
Alumni/network
This perhaps is the reason most people want to do an MBA, to be part of the right network. While Universities may encourage alumni gatherings and meetings, some cohorts of students actively create these groups and manage them too. This certainly is a big point to consider if advancing your career is one of the main reasons to study for an MBA. The network can be a great place for creating new and nurturing relations which can be of great help in the corporate world.
The University of Liverpool has a vast network of more than 250,000 students across the world and the network comes together to volunteer, for events, participate in university’s webinars and many more things.
We hope that this list helps you navigate through the maze of programmes and universities and you can make the right choice for yourself.