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PRWeb - March 6, 2008 -- Essex Junction, VT
The average cost for a regionally accredited
online MBA: $20,528. "But,' warns educational analyst Vicky
Phillips, "consumers can pay as little as $7,000 or as much as
$45,000 in today's Internet environment. The best deals will go to
consumers who take the time to research online education providers
thoroughly."
Where can consumers turn to find their best
buys, and who offers some of the worst deals?
GetEducated.com surveyed 168 accredited
distance MBAs: 91 of these offered by graduate business schools
accredited by one of the regional accreditation boards.
GetEducated's survey of 91 regionally
accredited options revealed online learners in the United States
should be prepared to pay as little as $7,065 or as much as $45,000
for a regionally accredited distance grad degree in business
administration (MBA).
Premiering at the number one ranked "most
affordable" spot this year is Chadron State College (Nebraska), a
public institution with a modest cost of $7,065 for an online MBA
degree regardless of the learner's state of residency.
Athabasca University, a public institution
located in Canada, but approved to award degrees in the USA, topped
the price chart at an estimated cost of $45,000 for tuition and fees
for American learners.
Every school on GetEducated's Top 40 Ranked
Best Buys in Online MBAs - Regionally Accredited, costs less than
$20,000.
GetEducated.com's Top 40 Ranked Best Buys in
Online MBAs - Regionally Accredited is archived online at:
http://www.geteducated.com/rankings/best_mbareg.asp
Consumer Tips: Selecting Best Online MBA
"Consumers searching for their Best Buys in
online education should start by considering public universities in
their own back yards,' says Phillips
Brand name, brick and mortar, public
universities continue to dominate GetEducated.com's list of highly
ranked values in online learning. "Ten years ago most distance
degrees came from universities few had heard of. Today, the best
online degrees are being granted by universities that have been
helping people get educated for a hundred years or more," comments
Phillips.
GetEducated's top ranked values include names
that have earned the trust of consumers and employers alike. Most
are publicly-supported universities that have ported their degrees
nationwide using online delivery.
Many publicly-supported institutions offer
the same low tuition they offer state residents to learners
everywhere. A distance MBA from California State University
Dominguez Hills, for example, costs $12,000 for all learners,
regardless of their state of residency.
"$12,000 may sound like a lot of money," says
Phillips, "but in truth the average regionally accredited MBA costs
$20,500. CSU costs $8,500 less than the national average. Consumers
need to know that an online MBA need not cost them their life
savings."
GetEducated's top ranked values in regionally
accredited distance MBA business schools include, among others,
California State University, Western Governor's University, Fort
Hays State University, Baker College, Empire State College - State
University of New York, Upper Iowa University, Excelsior College,
Northcentral University, and Troy University.
"Fort Hays State," comments Phillips, "is an
excellent example of a public institution that has found its niche
online." The university appears on several of GetEducated's Best
Buy lists.
"Their brand motto is Affordable Success,"
comments Phillips, "and that is exactly what they deliver by
offering solid programs like their MBA at a cost of about $14,800.
$14,800 is $6,000 less than the national average for a distance
MBA. No one could argue that this institution does anything less
than meet the stated promise of its brand. As a result, learners
nationwide benefit."
Free Guidebook to Distance MBAs
Consumers can explore all their online
business school options by downloading a free copy of the
clearinghouse's 2008 guidebook to accredited online business
schools, 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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