Master of Business Administration
Level: Masters
Language: English
Category:
Business Administration and MBA
Description
The Master of Business Administration prepares you for mid-level to upper-level management positions in business, industry, and non-profit organizations. A 2008 USDLA (United States Distance Learning Association) Best Practices award recipient, WGU offers its students an affordable, accredited online education. This program is ideal for the self-motivated learner who already possesses significant "real world" experience, seeks in-depth knowledge in management and strategy, and can devote 15 to 20 hours per week to their studies.
The program educates you in a number of critical areas, including distribution, financial reporting, analysis, communication, ethics, strategy, and leadership. A perfect program for the experienced business professional who seeks a credible degree program and upward mobility.
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Recent Reviews
Incredibly Positive Experience with WGU
October 2, 2009
If you're looking for a quick, easy degree you don't have to work for, you'll be disappointed in WGU. If you're looking for a degree you work hard to earn and you can be proud of, and if you are capable of thinking and performing at a graduate level, WGU ...
Current MBA/IT student
May 28, 2009
I would select this school again. Very inexpensive and regionally accredited.
Its your approach.
December 23, 2008
There seems to be a mixed review of the school itself. I truly believe that if you are not satisfied with the school before you start, then don't go. If you feel confident in your ability to maximize resources to your benefit and use the topics covered to study and ...
DO NOT attend WGU!
January 7, 2008
I began WGU on August 1st. Boy was that a disappoint. From day one it has been horrific. First I had to PURCHASE an electronic "book" that was $30 some dollars. There are tons of "cases" in them. Then all of your assignments are tons of ESSAYS. First is like ...
WGU is best for independent learners!
November 23, 2007
I've read several reviews that speak to the lack of guidance at WGU. If you need a professor to tell you what to do, and when to do it, WGU may not be for you. If you’re an independent learner that understands the steps to competency in a subject, and ...
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Comments:
Jaycee February 18, 2009 at 8:35 p.m.
I'm sorry to hear of Jane's experience. I have recently completed the MBA program at WGU, and I had a positive experience. My undergraduate and prior work experience were also in business disciplines. Because of that competency, I was able to complete the program without sitting through lectures of content I already knew, reading chapters from texts that I already had a grasp on, etc.
The most important point for any reader of these comments to take away is that DISTANCE learning is precisely what it sounds like. It is NOT the traditional educational environment students like Jane are used to. It is designed for students who are comfortable with their subject matter who wish to translate their competency into a degree and to do so in as little time as possible. If they do not have that knowledge, they are presented with a number of learning resources to utilize to GAIN that knowledge. It is not a spoon-fed, do-this-assignment, now-do-that-assignment, now-take-this-test type of program. WGU is clear about that to students upon application.
There is an unfortunate stigma that because it is an "online school" it must be "easy." Not the case! In fact, I would argue to the contrary and perhaps second Jane's advice to steer clear IF you are looking for an easy degree. If you like time and location freedom and flexibility, affordability, and you want to put your best foot forward and complete your degree from an accredited institution without the need of someone to hold your hand through the process, then WGU may be for you!
Emmanuel Kesse March 10, 2009 at 9:38 p.m.
I hope WGU would review these complaints and reshuffle its policies to better serve future students. Some of these complaints are too grievous.
Bill March 31, 2009 at 12:15 a.m.
First, I would not give much credit to public message boards where anyone can post anything whether they went to the school or not. I am a student at WGU and must say it is absolutely perfect for me. The books are not that expensive, especially if you shop for bargains and buy used. No matter what school you go to, you will have to buy books, right? My mentor has her degree and most of the community leaders teaching my discipline are PHDs. My suggestion to anyone thinking about attending WGU is to do your research and consider whether or not online education is for you. Then you should check out the WGU Student Hall and see what real students are saying. Yes, WGU has had its growing pains, but with over 10,000 students worldwide you can see why. Lastly, WGU is NON-PROFIT and has the best fee I have been able to find anywhere. They are in it for the education, not the money!
Nick April 7, 2009 at 3:45 p.m.
I am a graduate of Rutgers University and currently enrolled in the MBA program at WGU. I can say without a doubt that WGU is definitely as challenging if not more challenging than Rutgers. I have had to study more hours per week than I ever put in at Rutgers. The bottom line is in order to graduate from this program, you need to pass the CMBA which is a monster of an exam. If anyone thinks that this program is a degree mill I suggest you look at the CMBA website and decide for yourself if the 6 hour 3 part exam is easy! Contrary I believe that if you don't have an undergraduate degree yet and you are considering getting one from WGU you should probably think about going to a traditional brick and mortar school to develop dedication and commitment. Most of undergraduate work is busy work, and it teaches you to be organized and forces you to not be lazy and go to class which carries over to life. I compared the MBA curriculum to that of Rutgers Business School and other major universities and they are essentially the same the only difference is WGU is mostly pass fail, if you don't know the material you will not do well at all!! The traditional MBA programs work mostly off of group work and project work which is thankfully missing from WGU. That being said I think WGU's MBA is a great program for working parents that do not have the time to waste by sitting in a class for 15 week semesters.
Jim Sellers April 10, 2009 at 1:47 a.m.
WGU is an excellent school that has developed a model that should be adopted much more widely. It ensures a top-notch education because you MUST demonstrate competence to graduate not just attend lectures. You can rest assured that any negative reviews are from students who need sunstantial hand-holding to learn. Any true independent learner will love this school. Regarding credibility, WGU is the ONLY university to be accredited by MULTIPLE regional accrediting boards. They are also innovators. For example, to ensure the quality of the MBA education, students are REQUIRED to pass the Certified MBA exam to graduate. Other so-called "first-tier" schools rely on their names but WGU proves the quality of every graduate in an objective manner. There is no better MBA program for experienced professionals and as a non-profit it is a great education that is also affordable. That being said, if you need to be spoon-fed information you will want to look elsewhere. This program is for responsible adults who know how to learn.
Ken Griffith April 14, 2009 at 7:42 p.m.
I'm considering WGU for my MBA or MBA-IT. Thanks for the mixed reviews :)
I completed my BS from Excelsior (formerly Regent's) of New York--one of the oldest distance programs in the country. The nice thing about this institution was the ability to go out to a brick & mortar school and "grab a class" if the topic was one too difficult or foreign for solo study.
I'm a little ocncerned and have also noticed that WGU doesn't have any business school accreditation. Education program yes! Business program no.
Any feedback from the program is welcomed kengeeoh@yahoo.com
Jack May 14, 2009 at 5:59 p.m.
In response to Ken, here is WGU's accrediting body: Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. I am not aware of any other required business school accreditation. Please advise.
Sal Velasco May 28, 2009 at 7:22 p.m.
Hello,
YOU NEED AN MBA OR MS TO GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN LIFE.
I'm a current MBA/IT student. Specifically, I need a school that is regionally accredited. National accreditation offers no benefit in my opinion. I chose WGU as I don't have the time to sit in class after 11 hour work days but I need a graduate degree in less than 18 months.
PROS:
I am assigned a mentor to guide me. We must talk every week to be sure I am on track.
Ever class has a blog/chat/talk mentor to help you with the course if need be. For example, I was stuck on an essay so I checked the blog. Wow, the exact answer I needed was there. This is not strange, as I feel the course content is fairly well thought out.
I can learn alone or get on calls/ chats with classmates that might be in the same course by chance.
CONS:
Requires discipline as no one teaches you.
You have to be a professional so you can teach yourself.
When each course is started, I have to hassle to go to three different areas to pull together the course content in to one binder.
I would select WGU again. The classes are setup so you can take two at a time. Currently, I am taking the IT Mgt courses. These two course have three essays based on a 15 page Frito Lay case study. The other ITM course is a proctored test.
The cost is VERY inexpensive. I pay about $3k with tuition and books you can buy on the open internet every six months.
One final thought is: it is not possible to fail a course as the mentors work to help you get resources so you can pass the courses. I already failed one essay. The essay grader gave me feedback and I passed with the revised submission.
Need more insight? See me on linked in.
Anon-Ya-Biz June 4, 2009 at 8:42 a.m.
If you are looking to get a professional job then you should choose a college that is AACSB certified. You won't find out about the importance of the gold standard accreditation until you go to register to take the state accountant exams and they reject your degree.
Alan August 11, 2009 at 11:41 p.m.
What WGU is and what it isn't.
It is regionally accredited and insofar as its undergraduate programs go, this is all that's needed to establish transfer and admissions credibility for that grad program if you're so inclined.
Once you get into graduate programs (Masters level) you really need to make sure that your institution of choice has a secondary accreditation that's usually governed by a different body of scholarship from the regional boards (at least for any field of reasonable age.) Business is AACSB. Teaching is NCATE, IT does not have one that's uniformly recognized but IEEE is slowly getting there.
This secondary accreditation is important because most states require AACSB schools in order to sit a CPA exam or broker's exam etc. NCATE accreditation is really important for teaching careers.
So if you're a teaching candidate, run, don't walk to WGU. If you're a business candidate at the Masters level and have any dreams of research academia, credible doctoral work, CPA, whatever.. run away until WGU gets the AACSB down pat.
It's worth it to note that their CMBA designation was put in place directly in response to the decision to not pursue AACSB accreditation. WGU owns the rights to the CMBA. A bit shady.
But that stated, I do carry an undergrad from WGU in IT. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and got an education that filled in a lot of gaps in my overall skill base. I'm not in any way bitter, and still keep in touch with my mentor. It was challenging and I believe harder than work taken during my undergrad history program at another brick and mortar school.
To each their own.. just make the best decision for you and don't do a MBA with caveats. If you're going to do the work, make sure you get a degree that gives you access to all of the career options the degree should. If WGU got their act together, I'd transfer back.
Thanks,
Alan
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Jane Doe January 22, 2009 at 8:16 p.m.
WGU is HORRIBLE. I wish I had NEVER started. From day one, they were more concerned with making money than teaching. They told me to buy over $1,000 worth of books and other "cases". Once they saw that I was completing courses faster than they expected, they procrastinated in giving me assessment scores, which procrastinated my completion dates. They lied about what assignments were due and when. Then, they changed their minds about what needed to be done in order to fulfill course requirements. The "Capstone", which is similar to the thesis, has been changed 3 times in 6 months. Worst of all, THEY DO NOT TEACH. They tell you buy book after book, to go to website after website, but NEVER TEACH YOU. In fact, when you ask for help from their "community leaders", they only send you to MORE websites and tell you to buy MORE books. Most mentors and community leaders don't have the degree themselves, so they avoid teaching anyone, because they don't know anything! They give national tests for material they can't teach or know themselves. They are sneaky, greedy, and unethical. Like I said, this university is more concerned with money than education. DO NOT ATTEND.