Question:
I travel for a living. I’d like to earn my MBA online because it’s virtually
impossible for me to be in town attending class every week for 16 consecutive
weeks. But I’m afraid employers won’t accept a distance degree. I work as an
executive in a competitive career field, healthcare. I’ll be working in a major
metropolitan area (NYC) for the rest of my career and eventually want to open my
own business. Can you recommend even one top tier B-school that offers a
distance MBA degree?
Joan Lundlin
Rochester, New York
Answer:
The Ivy League has gone Cyber League. More than one top flight B-school offers a
distance MBA option.
Babson College’s F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business, in
Massachusetts, is ranked among the world’s top B-schools for entrepreneurs by US
News & World Report, the Wall Street Journal, and London’s Financial Times.
Babson’s applicants come from mid-to-senior level management ranks. In January
2003, Babson launched a Fast Track MBA, a part-time program combining
traditional classroom instruction with Web-based learning. The Fast Track MBA
can be earned part-time in just 24 months with just two days on campus every 6
weeks. Babson’s Fast Track is a great choice if you’re on the East Coast,
balancing career goals and other demands. In 2007, Babson also opened a West
Coast satellite option in Portland, Oregon.
Residents of the Midwest seeking a top-flight MBA may want to
consider Indiana University’s Kelley Direct distance MBA. IU supports a
nationally ranked B-school according to surveys by Business Week and U.S. News &
World Report. Think distance degrees aren’t selective in their admissions? Think
again. 60% of those who apply to the Kelley program receive a rejection letter.
The IU distance option requires a 1-week residency in February or August to
begin the program then a 1-week residency each year thereafter.
The truth is many old-school icons now offer e-degrees or
hybrid “blended” degrees that combine short campus residencies with team based
learning online. Duke University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
are two excellent schools that now offer distance B-degrees. Degrees from these
grad schools carry weight in the corporate world no matter that you earned your
degree on campus or by pounding the PC keyboard.
Insider Tips:
Look for business schools accredited by the Association to
Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) …
Many HR departments see the AACSB mark as the gold standard. Some large
companies, like Intel, won’t reimburse tuition for B-degrees unless the degree
comes from an AACSB accredited program.
Be prepared to spend brief interludes on campus …
Most top-tier B-schools that offer distance degrees require short campus
residencies. At Babson, for example, students must attend class on-campus for
intensive, 2-day sessions every six weeks. They then work on courses in virtual
teams. Students can also opt to attend “on campus” residencies in Portland,
Oregon.
Check with your human resources department …
Special corporate partnership programs may exist between a local top tier
B-school and your company. The University of Notre Dame in Indiana, for example,
offers their Executive MBA (EMBA) in blended format via once-a-month classes at
sites around the Chicago and Cincinnati metro area. The program recruits heavily
from corporations that operate in these metro areas.
Attending a name brand business school may be a smart career
move. National surveys by GetEducated.com show that if you attend a name brand
university with a long established brick and mortar legacy, any stigma
associated with a “distance degree” is effectively erased from the minds of
employers.
Related Resources:
GetEducated’s Top 30 Best Buys: Online MBAs - AACSB
Accredited
http://www.geteducated.com/rankings/best_mbaaacsb.asp
GetEducated’s FREE Guidebook to 168 Distance MBAs
http://www.geteducated.com/guidebooks/bdlgs_bm.asp.
GetEducated’s Surveys: Distance Degrees - Employer
Acceptance
http://www.geteducated.com/surveys/publicacct.asp | 
