<p>Just curious, if someone doesn't want to land a job in I-banking or consulting, would it be detramental to get their MBA from a school that is not ACSB accreditated? Where I live there are tons of colleges offering MBA's (Tampa area) and many are not AACSB accredated. I busted my hump geting into U-Florida for their Professional MBA. UF is a solid top 50 MBA program and I feel lucky to be a student there, but I can't help but wonder if I will have an advantage in the long run over having gone to Florida Southern, Warner Southern or some other very local school. I don't intend to look for a Wall Street Job or go into consulting. Any thoughts? Don't get me wrong, I am extatic to go to UF and would do it again if I had to, but in the long run will it make a real difference? DO employers really care about accreditation, all else being equal?</p>
<p>Why would one want to spend time and money pursuing a degree that means nothing? Without accreditation means there are no standards for their curriculum, giving a degree that has no value.</p>
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Don't get me wrong, I am extatic to go to UF and would do it again if I had to, but in the long run will it make a real difference? DO employers really care about accreditation, all else being equal?
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<p>Yes, I would put my eggs in the AACSB basket, because employers (most especially those who hire for professional services) are well aware of the AACSB accreditation distinction. Think of it as a "gentelman's club" of business schools.</p>
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Yes, I would put my eggs in the AACSB basket, because employers (most especially those who hire for professional services) are well aware of the AACSB accreditation distinction. Think of it as a "gentelman's club" of business schools.
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<p>Well, actually, I'm not sure that I can agree with that. I have yet to hear of an employer to ever care about the AACSB accreditation specifically, because that's not what they are really looking for. For example, if Harvard Business School were to somehow lose its accreditation tomorrow, I doubt that any employer would know or care. Heck, right now, if you go to a current HBS recruiter, or any HBS students or alumni, and ask whether the school is accredited, I doubt they would know, or have even heard of the AACSB. They are there for the name 'Harvard', not for the accreditation. The same thing is true for Wharton, Stanford, or any of the other top-ranked B-schools.</p>
<p>Harvard vs. Florida? hmmm, I think that's a bad comparison. I will agree that if you go to a "name" school, it doesn't matter, but if you are deciding between Joe's college of martial arts, and a state school, I would lean towards the one that has AACSB accreditation, but that's just me.</p>
<p>I deliberately used a 'bad' comparison to prove my point - that employers don't really know about the AACSB and are care far more about the brand name. I would surmise that students at Havard Business School have ever heard of the AACSB, nor would they care. And, again, if HBS lost its accreditation, students and employers would still want to go there. </p>
<p>Hence, the bottom line is that when you're talking about B-schools, name matters far far more than accreditation.</p>
<p>I agree with what you're saying about name, but you can be sure that all big name b-schools are accredited by AACSB (if you can find me one that isn't, I'd be floored). </p>
<p>On the other hand, I think AACSB can be a deal breaker when you are talking about no-name schools, or those that are not as well known in the business community. If the school is accredited by AACSB, then it does have a string to play on, and this accreditation can be used to validate the education from a no-name b-school. I think professional services companies, Accounting/Consulting/Analysts, do have an awareness, at least somewhat, of the AACSB accreditation and its semi-prestige. Especially since AACSB has a separate accreditation for accounting schools alone.</p>
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I agree with what you're saying about name, but you can be sure that all big name b-schools are accredited by AACSB (if you can find me one that isn't, I'd be floored).
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<p>I'll offer you this corner case. Johns Hopkins offers an non-AACSB-accredited MBA program.</p>
<p><a href="http://business.jhu.edu/mbaprograms.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://business.jhu.edu/mbaprograms.cfm</a>
<a href="http://www.aacsb.edu/General/InstLists.asp?lid=3%5B/url%5D">http://www.aacsb.edu/General/InstLists.asp?lid=3</a></p>
<p>I think I know why too. It's because the JHU MBA is only available on a part-time basis. There is no full-time program. That's also why you never see JHU listed on any of the major B-school rankings, as those rankings are generally focused on full-time programs. </p>
<p>Now obviously JHU is not a big-name business school. But I doubt that it could be that bad. After all, if nothing else, at least it offers you the resouces and networking of the greater JHU community, and I think we can all agree that JHU is a highly regarded university with top facilities and top alumni with which to add to your network. In my opinion, the network and the brand name are the 2 main reasons to choose a B-school, and the JHU business school has both. In fact, I would certainly prefer to get my MBA from JHU, even though it is unaccredited, then to get it from an accredited no-name school like Florida Gulf Coast University or something like that. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.fgcu.edu/cob/mba/%5B/url%5D">http://www.fgcu.edu/cob/mba/</a></p>
<p>Ok sakky, I'm floored! However, JHU is more well known for its medical school than B-school, but it is a very well regarded U nonetheless. I guess I was more speaking to the OP's original question which had to do with smaller schools in Florida, which are not known. When you are trying to "eek" out some credibility between your no-name school as a good place for your b-degree (because it was all your stats or wallet would allow,etc.), then put your eggs in the AACSB basket.</p>
<p>Also, speaking on the OP's question. Comparing UF to other "no-name" florida schools, I think going to UF will be much better in the long run than going to a local, less known school. It could be the difference between getting a promotion, or interviewed for a better position elsewhere, etc. All else being equal, a potential employer will use the school (most likely it's notoriety/familiarity) as a final determinant for deciding on who to interview, and even who to choose for a job after interviews (considering both candidates gave a relatively similar impression/feeling to the interveiwer).</p>
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Ok sakky, I'm floored! However, JHU is more well known for its medical school than B-school, but it is a very well regarded U nonetheless.
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<p>Well, yeah, but many business schools, especially in the beginning years, use the prestige of the greater university as a crutch until they are able to establish themselves as an independent power in their own right. For example, it's quite clear that the Yale School of Management is attempting to leverage the strength of the rest of Yale University in order to attract faculty and students, including the leveraging of the strong Yale brand name. The recently established Said Business School at Oxford is doing the same thing. Back in the early days of its existence, Harvard Business School was considered to be basically the 'runt' of Harvard University filled with profs who weren't considered to be serious professors and thus weren't good enough to become faculty at the "real" Harvard. Back in those early days, I am sure that a lof of students went to HBS just to be able to say that they "went" to Harvard. So I see nothing unusual about JHU's MBA program leveraging the greater JHU name to raise itself until it can become an established power in its own right. This is what many MBA programs have done throughout history.</p>
<p>Although, JHU has been teaching business coursework for a very long time, it's not a new program. </p>
<p><a href="http://business.jhu.edu/what/legacy.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://business.jhu.edu/what/legacy.cfm</a></p>
<p>After 126 years, it may be safe to say that either JHU is fighting the "system" of b-school organization, or it just hasn't really focused on the B-school, or made it a priority--may still not be a priority.</p>
<p>Uh, no, your link in fact verifies my side of the story. </p>
<p>"The major change for the 1990s occurred in 1999 with the offering of a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree."</p>
<p><a href="http://business.jhu.edu/what/legacy.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://business.jhu.edu/what/legacy.cfm</a></p>
<p>So JHU has been offering the MBA for only 7 years now. There's a big difference between offering business coursework and actually offering the specific ** MBA degree **.</p>
<p>311 Griff,</p>
<p>I understand what you're saying and see your point, but I'm not sure if you know that UF, although isn't a top 20 B-school, it is number 41- tied with Penn State, Boston College and UC-Irvine, and has an average GMAT of almost 680 ( higher than ALL of the schools clustered around it) for the full time program. It is by a large margin the best program in Florida and in the top 5 in the South East. So, My point was that I went to the best school in the state, one of the best in the region and the nation. However, assuming that I want to move around a bit more in my career, would it make a difference going to UF over, say Florida Southern or FMU? Mind you, even if it wouldn't make a difference, I'd go to UF anyway because it is a great school and I feel that within 5-10 years, the university and B-school will be mentioned in the same breath as UCLA, Berkeley, UM, UVA as a 10p 10 public and top 25 overall. The current president is addressing this now. The only major obsticle to this is the student to faculty ratio being 20:1. Once this is addressed, UF has all the criteria to move into the next and final strata.</p>
<p>I disagree with the hypothesis that if Harvard were to lose accreditation tomorrow the companies don't care. I bet they WOULD care. I bet the business school's applications would plummet dramatically. One can only cruise on your reputation so long, and if the standards are such that they lose accreditation, students(especially smart students) wise up quickly and the beneficiaries would be Stanford, Wharton, Sloan. The school can only be as good as the students and faculty it attracts. I am sure no one especially with the caliber and prestige of their faculty and students, wants to to be associated with an inferior product.
Consumers are smart, if a namebrand quality goes down, there will be other replacements.</p>
<p>Look at our auto industry. The big 3 auto manufacturers used to be dominant about 30 years ago but consumers have perceived (and rightfully) that their products are not what they used to be and they have lost market shares. Owning a Cadillac used to be a prized status possession, but now no one I know owns one.</p>
<p>I don't know JHU well enough to comment of its reputation as a whole, but I know the medical school is excellent. But I am informed enough to know that those are separate entities, meaning even though the medical school is top notch, I can't deduce that the undergrad is also good.</p>
<p>Tom, </p>
<p>I'm not sure I understand your question. You talk highly of UF, which is justfied IMO, and then in the same breath ask whether going to a lesser known school would make a difference. I think you answered your own question.</p>
<p>That is my question- even though Florida is a great school, does going to a great school (but still not a top 25) make a difference outside the walls of academia?</p>
<p>It depends where you were at in your career before B school and what you want to do after B school.
What was your undergrad school and major? What job did you have?
UF, according to you has a good reputation in Florida, but would you want to be employed out of state? ( not as a transfer from a Florida company)</p>
<p>Not just my opinion:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cba.ufl.edu/rankings.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.cba.ufl.edu/rankings.asp</a></p>
<p>Yes, I may move out of state and change companies. Honestly, I doubt the name brand of my MBA will mean a ton at this point of my career (8 years as a flavors chemist with my BA in biochem, MA in chemistry). However, I could be wrong, I'm just looking for other opinions.</p>
<p>My opinion is that UF will be your best bet if you are considering, as alternatives, smaller schools within Florida. It possibly could make a difference, most especially if you want to leave the state. The reason? Florida is obviously a much more recognizable name outside of florida, if for nothing else Urban Meyer and gang, than the other schools. I think you'd be best to just do an MBA at Florida. That's my opinion.</p>
<p>I'm already 1 semester into the program. It is extremely intense, too. Since you brought up Football, I am going to tallahassee this weekend for thegame- GO GATORS!</p>