Inexpensive 100% ONLINE MBA option from Univ of North Alabama... About $15k TOTAL for entire program

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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Recently learned about this very low cost 100% ONLINE MBA option from Univ of North Alabama. Not only is the OOS rate the same as instate ONLINE, but they offer scholarships as well. Because the OOS rate is the same low instate cost, there are many, many, many OOS students registered.

(Please note that the OOS rate is higher for those who choose to attend on-campus courses. The ONLINE MBA courses are not charged OOS fees and the entire program is 100% online)

https://www.una.edu/mba/i-want-an-mba/mba-program-costs.html

The TOTAL cost for the entire program is about $15k…unbelievably low and many employers will cover these costs and books. (The program lasts about 2 years depending how a student paces himself. The school actually gives students several years to finish…I think 7 years is the limit. Students can skip sessions if desired. Summer sessions are also offered. )

The student that I know who is enrolled for fall, paid about $1800 for the first 8 weeks session for 2 courses (Aug - Oct). They will spend another $1800 for the Oct-Dec session) Student’s employer will reimburse $8k per CALENDAR year for tuition, fees, books so it was important to start this fall! Lol. With careful course choices/management for 2019, will hopefully come close to that $8k annual reimbursement, and then finish in 2020. Of course, a student choosing this strategy needs to carefully check to see which courses are offered each session.

The courses are 8 weeks long, so students generally take 1-2 courses (most are 2 credits each) per session (so about 6-9 credits per typical semester length of time). In other words, the school runs two consecutive 8 week sessions per semester.

Although the courses are online, there is a very active networking going on in their MBA students online forums. And, the first “assignment” is posting/sharing a pic and brief resume.

Students can enroll Fall, Spring or Summer. I don’t know if new students can enroll for the October session. The school only recently changed to 8 week sessions (changed from semesters), so I’m guessing that they might permit a student to first matriculate in October.

Anyways, thought I’d share this option for those who want a low cost 100% online MBA.

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So many employers have reduced or have severely limited the lifetime max they’ll pay for college tuition, so low cost options are important!

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Worth noting is that most elite full time MBA programs saw a decline in applications this cycle.

Four reasons:

  1. Strong US economy
  2. Sticker shock at the cost
  3. International students scared off by political climate & by difficulty of getting student visas issued
  4. Alternative low cost options such as on-line programs & one year specialty masters degrees.
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To put #2 (sticker shock) in perspective here is a list of the total cost & a break out of just tuition cost for the top 10 fulltime 2 year MBA programs:

  1. Stanford Total cost = $226,000 Just Tuition for 2 years = $137,800

  2. NYU $221,000 & $138,200

  3. Penn-Wharton $219,000 & $153,200

  4. Harvard $213,600 & $137,600

  5. Columbia $209,500 & $144,000

  6. Dartmouth-Tuck $208,300 & $138,000

  7. Chicago–Booth $207,600 & $138,400

  8. MIT $201,100 & $142,000

  9. Northwestern-Kellogg $200,500 & $138,000

  10. UCLA- Anderson $194,240 & $117,200

Additionally, as full time programs, one would sacrifice up to two years of salary.

Of course, students from these programs usually get signing bonuses of $25,000-$35,000 plus very lucrative 10 week summer internships (often at over $3,000 per week for IB & MC gigs) plus great job offers starting in the $175,000-$200,000 range for the first year including base salary, signing bonus & year end bonus. Some also receive tuition reimbursement for their second year tuition at these elite full time MBA schools.

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Right!!! Most people can’t take off a year or two of work to enroll full time in an on-campus MBA program. And many companies have reduced (or never greatly increased) the amount that they will reimburse for tuition.

When I was working on a masters degree (in Stone Age) and my private univ tuition was $6k per year, my company gladly paid it. But now that tuitions are $60k+ per year, the only time I’m seeing companies pay that much is when the company insists that their employee pursue a particular degree.

ALSO…a big drawback for pricy programs is that even if your employer will reimburse a higher amount, the student has to “pay up front,” and doesn’t get reimbursed until after grades are submitted…and usually the student has to already pay for the next semester as well (before being reimbursed). Few people can pay $15k-25k up front, but certainly many can pay a couple thousand up front

Even most of the instate public MBA programs are pricey…well at least more costly than what an employer would reimburse.

The ability to take one of two classes at a time, online, over an 8 week period can work with many full-time employee’s schedules.

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Another thing I learned about the above program is that if your GPA from undergrad is high enough, they’ll wave the GRE or GMAT. So that’s nice, too. However, I’m guessing that if you want any scholarship awards, you have to score well on the GRE or GMAT.

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I’ve often wondered how online classes handle exams to avoid cheating. From what I understand, there’s a 3rd party company that “proctors” exams thru the laptop camera. The student has to sit in a room by himself, turn his computer/camera around in a complete circle to show that no one else is in the room, show that there’s no cheating materials on one’s desk, etc. then the test is taken w/o any interuptions.