Off-site MBAs

Graduate School Business School - MBA
1

<p>I heard CMU offers MBAs at remote locations (from Pittsburgh) through videoconferencing. Wharton also has a campus in San Francisco.</p>

<p>Are there any significant disadvantages in attending away from the main campus? People I know who do that are all part-time students who wish to stay near those locations so they can work at the same time and get some company tuition assistance.</p>

2

<p>There are several glaring disadvantages that I see…some of which are shared with regular part time programs.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Recruiting - This is pretty obvious. When top employers are visiting CMU and Wharton, you would be in San Francisco. Recruiting is often a very social experience.</p></li>
<li><p>Time - Since you are working and going to school, you wouldn’t have time to participate in much of the recruiting anyways. Also, when would you interview?</p></li>
<li><p>Networking - It’s kind of hard to network with your fellow classmates when you don’t even meet with one another in real life.</p></li>
<li><p>Classroom experience - a lot of the MBA classes are all about the classroom discussions and the knowledge you receive from interacting with fellow students in these discussions. This would certainly not be very effective over videoconferencing.</p></li>
<li><p>Group Projects - MBA courses are generally all group assignments. It would be very difficult to work as a team over the web and would detract from much of the interaction IMO.</p></li>
</ol>

3

<p>I’m going to disagree a little with VW’s comments. I earned my MBA evenings at RPI’s satellite campus in Hartford and my MS from Virginia Tech’s Northern VA campus where many of the classes used a remote video feed from the main lecture in Blacksburg. </p>

<p>I agree with VW that you’re cut off from the on campus recruiting and other professional-related activities. This may cause you problems if you’re using grad school to make a major career change from what you are doing now. On the other hand, because your classmates and many professors are working in industry, they may be in as good or better position to help with job placement vs campus recruiters. Large satellite programs may have on-site recruitment, I’d check with the school and ask them about placement assistance. I’ll note that as far as RPI and VPI are concerned, I’m an alumi and they make no distinction about where I attended (especially when it’s time for the annual alumni fund telethons!). There’s nothing on either degree that says “part-time”, although it’s obvious from my resume. The major effect of the part-time program on recruitment is for your 1st post-degree job. After that, you have your degree AND work experience to market yourself. </p>

<p>I’ll partially agree with VW about the classroom experience. The problem with video courses is you are even more detached from the lecturer and some professors are better than others at working with a remote system. Ability to ask questions may depend on the return system (my classes were quite a while ago and we used a unreliable phone system to try to ask questions). However, at the risk of oversimplifying, the part-time program may attract instructors working in business/industry, who will discuss how the material is really being applied against current business needs vs a more academic treatment. Your classmates bring their own experiences to class and help ground discussions to their real-world applications. Many classmates will have experience with the industries and situations in your case studies. I think you have a broader variety of experiences in the part-time programs, from relatively young folks starting their careers to senior technical managers being groomed for advancement. Group project were with my local classmates, we just had to carefully schedule how we worked on them as we were holding down full-time jobs and many had families. But we all managed and I feel I got quite a bit out of the experiences. </p>

<p>Don’t underestimate the benefit of having someone pay for the degree. I and my classmates who were receiving tuition reimbursement worked hard to ensure we were getting our time and money’s worth. If the choice is between a part time or satellite program an none at all, go for the part time program. </p>

<p>A few other points:

  • My experience was with satellite programs using a mix of conventional and remote/video lectures. A program entirely online (University of Phoenix) is a different matter.
  • See what % of the classes rely on video instruction vs in-class instructor. Talk with current students about the program. If employed, talk with your employer or managers about which programs they prefer. Note that some industries and employers care more if you have an advanced degree than where you earned it.
  • Does the program have arrangements to take “regular” classes at nearby schools? I was able to take a number of classes this way.<br>
  • Don’t be afraid to change programs if it isn’t what you want. On my MBA. I started at another school and hated it (ironically, a good friend was there full-time when I was there part-time and loved it). I transferred to RPI’s program and thoroughly enjoyed it. There are enough part-time programs in a large city/metro area that you can find one right for your needs.</p>
4

<p>To have an MBA from Wharton or Kellogg and have an employer pay for it, I’d do it if it were in the Sudan. Now, if it was U-T Austin @ Dallas, I think I’d go to SMU, or at least think real heavy about it. There are people in my weekend MBA that commute to Gainesville for their MBA from Miami even though Florida offers an MBA right in Miami. I don’t blame them.</p>

5

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<p>The quality of the professors at UT-Austin @ Dallas is higher than those at SMU but I would still DEFINITELY choose SMU’s fulltime program over that UT part time program. I’m not sure what i would do when comparing the two part time programs. As if it wasn’t obvious, I’m not a big fan of part time MBAs.</p>

6

<p>The Wharton MBA in San Francisco is strictly an Executive MBA program for the experienced working professional . It is not through videoconferencing and all lessons are conducted in classroom settings.</p>

7

<p>VW- remember, I should disclose that I’m looking at the situation from the point of view of someone who doesn’t want to go in to i banking or consulting. So, based solely on brand equity, I guess I’re re-thinking my stance and go to UT-Austin @Dallas over SMU. Independent recruiters (agents) will put these schools at the top of their list making lateral and upward mobility within your industry or a related one much easier. I have to think that even an executive MBA from Wharton will send a “monster Board” resume to the top their list. I feel that the brand equity of top schools will help make the resume shine. Once you leave the top 20 MBA programs, I think the rest of the top 50 are about equal. Below top 50-55 or so, I think all that matters is AACSB accreditation. </p>

<p>As for the part time/ful time MBA, ya the full time programs have benefits. However, the classes are typically ~equal and a hiring manager can look at a part timer (especially from a rigorous school) and make a judgment that not only does this person know a little about accounting, finance, law, math, etc…but they are motivated and are good at time management and getting work done under tremendous stress. So, while full time programs are better, part time programs are far from a waste. Also, I think that an alumni from a particular school who is looking to hire or promote someone from their alma mater, wouldn’t differentiate whether the candidate’s MBA was part time or full time. The candidate will still be an MBA alumni from the same school.</p>