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GetEducated.com’s
Top 25 Ranked Best Buys in Online MBAs are archived at:
Regionally
Accredited
http://www.geteducated.com/rankings/best_mbareg.asp
Association to
Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
http://www.geteducated.com/rankings/best_mbaaacsb.asp
Costs Remain
Stable
The overall tuition and fees charged for distance
learning MBAs remained fairly stable from the period of Fall 2003 to
Fall 2005. Among the 130 accredited options surveyed by the online
degree clearinghouse the average cost for a regionally-accredited MBA is
$14,486 while AACSB-accredited programs command a higher mean price of
$27,644.
While costs
escalated an average of 4 percent at most programs, the fact that more
publicly-funded institutions entered the distance MBA market helped hold
overall costs stable, forcing the cost slightly lower in the case of
regionally-accredited options.
AACSB-Accredited
Online MBAs - South Provides the Most Best Buys
With 16 of the top
25 AACSB-accredited distance MBA programs originating from southern
universities the South is online education’s prime MBA provider.
“The south is poised
to become a dominant niche provider of online education to the national
market as growing numbers of mature learners (average age 36) clamor for
a more accessible and affordable higher education system,” comments
Vicky Phillips, GetEducated.com’s founder and chief analyst.
Leading the pack is
the State of Texas, with 4 options: Texas A & M Commerce, University
System of Texas, University of Houston Victoria, and the University of
North Texas. Florida ranks second with 3 options: Florida Atlantic,
Florida Gulf Coast, and Florida State University.
Regionally-Accredited Online MBAs - Every Region Provides Best Buys
Because consumers
and employers favor “backyard brands,” that is colleges whose names are
known to them and which tend to operate within their immediate
geographic region, an exceptionally strong regional market exists for
colleges who export their degrees online to local residents and
residents of neighboring states.
Western residents can rely on solid brands such
as California State University (California) while Midwesterners can turn
to schools such as Upper Iowa University (Iowa), Bellevue University
(Nebraska), Baker College (Michigan), and Fort Hays State (Kansas).
Those in the Northeast may favor Saint Joseph’s College (Maine), and
Marist College (New York). The South enjoys low-cost, quality providers
such as Troy University (Alabama) and Tarleton State University (Texas).
For-Profit Market Leaders Not Among Best Buys
While for-profit
players such as the Apollo Group (University of Phoenix) continue to
expand, the cost of attending for-profit colleges continues to exceed
the national average.
“While aggressive
marketing and easy open admission -- most for-profits do not require
feared standardized admission tests such as the GMAT -- will keep
for-profits expanding, they often are not the best buy for cash-strapped
students,” warns Phillips.
Phoenix, for
example, charges an average of $27,048 for their online MBA compared to
non-residency Best Buys such as California State University ($10,500),
Baker College ($14,250), Bellevue University ($11,700), the University
of Wisconsin Whitewater ($19,800) and the University of Nebraska Lincoln
($14,212).
With 130 options to
choose from for an accredited online MBA consumers have never enjoyed
greater opportunities to get educated at a reasonable price. “The first
lesson,” cautions Phillips, “should be learning how to shop
intelligently for an online degree. Consumers can choose to pay as
little as $5,598 for a solid name-brand MBA or as much as $115,000.
Students will want to carefully scrutinize what they are paying for
before opening wide their wallets.”
Free Guidebook Aids
Online Learners
Consumers can
explore all their options by downloading a free copy of the
clearinghouse’s 2006 guidebook to accredited online business and
management degrees, GetEducated.com’s Best Distance Learning
Graduate Schools, Business, Management and Online MBAs,
available at
http://www.geteducated.com/guidebooks/bdlgs_bm.asp
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