Uni of Athabasca MBA

[Kartelli]

Anybody have any experience taking the program from U of Athabasca correspondence? Trying to get a general feel of the pro's/con's versus taking the MBA program at U of Alberta.

[cressida_pimpin]

I'm doing my MBA at U.Calgary right now and my last boss did her MBA through Athabasca. Some employers are okay with MBAs done through correspondence, while others are partial to those done in classrooms. A lot of the learning in an MBA program comes from classmates, so if that whole dimension of the program is removed the learning experience is greatly weakened.

Also, Athabasca U is not accredited by the AACSB. I would choose U.Alberta over Athasca hands down. Also, you don't even need an undergraduate degree to get an MBA there and no GMAT required. That is super sketchy.

[Kartelli]

PM'ed!!

[VaN_HaMMeRSTeiN]

Doing it right now through uni of Athabasca. Un less you are looking to complete a degree VERY quickly get your ass into a real class room. I would love to be at U of C or MRU right now.

More detail: A lot of the course material is un specific where the assignments tend to be very specific. Questions with the material take a while to process, and I find the tutors are very lazy in answering e-mail questions.

A tutor explained some questions I got wrong on a final, however he was a teacher at MRU and made it very clear he really didn't have the time to go through stuff to the depth that would get me to understand it.

[psycoticclown]

The school you go to is pretty damn important compared to the undergraduate level. An institution in which people can get a masters without an undergraduate = no credibility. One of the basis of graduate school is having graduated with an undergraduate degree. Prospective employers will look at 2 applicants, one from U of A and U of Athabasca and hands down will pick UofA. Or any school over Athabasca.

[D. Dub]

Originally posted by psycoticclown
The school you go to is pretty damn important compared to the undergraduate level. An institution in which people can get a masters without an undergraduate = no credibility. One of the basis of graduate school is having graduated with an undergraduate degree. Prospective employers will look at 2 applicants, one from U of A and U of Athabasca and hands down will pick UofA. Or any school over Athabasca.

Where do you get that BS from -- I have 2 friends with non-traditional MBA's -- both have excellent jobs with excellent prospects.

[VaN_HaMMeRSTeiN]

Originally posted by psycoticclown
The school you go to is pretty damn important compared to the undergraduate level. An institution in which people can get a masters without an undergraduate = no credibility. One of the basis of graduate school is having graduated with an undergraduate degree. Prospective employers will look at 2 applicants, one from U of A and U of Athabasca and hands down will pick UofA. Or any school over Athabasca.

I would like to say I am not working on an MBA, and at Atha U you can't hop into a masters w/o an undergrad.
Having said that, it's pretty riduclous to say that an employer will always choose a U of A degree over a U of Athat every single time. That's what job interviews are for.

[psycoticclown]

^^Yea, sorry, forgot to put as long as all things are equal.

[VaN_HaMMeRSTeiN]

Originally posted by psycoticclown
^^Yea, sorry, forgot to put as long as all things are equal.

That makes much more sense.

[Kartelli]

^ Thanks for the insights!

Its a big investment financially hence an important decision. 40k at U of Athab. versus 24k + books at U of A.

What is your background in if you don't mind me asking? Can you finish U of Athab MBA faster than the 2 year outline they give?

From my understanding of your post, your implying the course work is quite general, and the assignments quite specific requiring all sorts of "your own time" reseach to complete them?

[VaN_HaMMeRSTeiN]

if you read the whole thread I stated in a later post I am not in the MBA. I am just doing a regular degree.
The other stuff I said is correct though. I find it to be very time consuming, and I think that for myself it might be more profitable time-wise to go to a real building.