A Sea Of Red

I'm about to finish LU's bachelor's program in July. With the exception of the Corporate Finance class, I love the whole online business program.

I have LU on my final list of grad schools. I think the only two negatives I see is that 1) LU's MBA is 45 credits and most schools offer 36 credits and 2) there seems to be quite a bit of group work. I've had some not so great experiences with teammates not doing their share. The only other negative would be that LU's business program is not AACSB accredited. However, my friend in HR said that jobs outside of teaching do not stress AACSB accreditation.

I was wondering if anyone could give me some feedback on LU's online MBA program. Any personal or word-of-mouth experiences would be great.

haven't done it myself, but I hear it's fairly easy.

one word...

CAKE!

all you gotta do is figure out what they are looking for and then throw it together. it really was easier than my undergrad.

matshark wrote:one word...

CAKE!

all you gotta do is figure out what they are looking for and then throw it together. it really was easier than my undergrad.

Yeah, I pretty much do that now with the bachelor's program. There are times when the teacher tried to be the big boss, but other than that, everything has been cool.

As far as the level of difficultly, it seems like I would have no problems. However, I do want my MBA to hold some weight on a resume.

Is the online MBA the same as the on-campus classes in terms of difficulty? Just wondering because most schools claim that their online courses are the same as on-campus courses...I'm not saying that LU made that same claim.

I am currently in my first semsester and it is easier than I expected. You just need to be sure you stay on top of things and don't procrastinate.

Are you deciding on Liberty because it is a Christian school? If so, cool. If not, check out this website. It does a really good job of breaking down on-line programs by cost and requirements. There are a lot of choices out there now as universities are realizing the cash cow that is distance learning. If you want the AACSB – those are available, too, and can cost less than Liberty.


http://www.geteducated.com/

I took a couple courses, and thought it was way too easy, especially if you did undergrad business at LU. It's basically a repeat of the undergrad stuff. If you want to actually learn, try another program. If you just want to get a piece of paper to hang on your wall as quickly and easily as possible, go for it.

Blessed1 wrote:However, I do want my MBA to hold some weight on a resume.

it will.
M.B.A. always holds weight.

Guys, thanks for all the feedback!

vastrightwinger - The same is true with all online courses. Procrastination is like dying a slow death in online education. I had marketing with corp. fin. the first time and thought marketing was better, therefore I pushed my homework back in corp. fin. Long story made short, I am taking the course again with no other distractions!

AZjonz - Geteducated.com is a great website for online schools because you can filter through information. They are still trying to get things together because I think they are trying to do some sort of peer-rating system on their site. Idk.

ALUmnus - I was told an MBA is basically a repeat of undergrad studies too. I want the paper, but I do want a challenge too! Idk. If I decide on LU, I guess I could double-up on some courses to graduate sooner. I want to take one course at a time. If I do that at 45 credits, it will take 2 full years and 1 semester to finish. Not bad, but programs like Marylhurst U can get out the door in about 18 months with an MBA. It will basically come to my schedule in family, social, and business, etc.

matshark - Yes, I agree a MBA will hold weight. I think an MBA degree from a brick and mortar school like LU will hold more over an unknown, for-profit college. However, it depends on the industry you want to get into. A job in corporate America may be more demanding of a degree from a b-n-m school than let's say a job the music industry. I'm just positioning my self to have the best chance in whatever industry I get into.

one of the things i LOVED about the online MBA was being able to work it around my schedule. its HUGE!

you'll get a lot of group work in most mba programs. it's supposed to put you in a managerial position in the business world, you have to be able to work in groups if you expect to go into upper management. additionally, graduate students are completely different than undergrad students. you can't even compare the work ethic of the average graduate student to the average undergraduate student. if you don't want to do group work, then you might want to reconsider going into an mba program. not just the LU mba program, but any any program. Or just find one that doesn't have much group work, but I guarantee you it won't prepare you as well for the business world as one that does have a lot of group work.

Everybody seems to be in agreement in this thread. So lets mix it up. Assuming you are not getting a free ride, is getting your MBA worth it? Heck, throw in undergrad degree to the discussion.

Not sure if I completely agree with 84's assessment, as when I was looking at transferring back in the fall (complicated issues, no need to discuss them), I got an e-mail from Virginia Tech that said they wouldn't take any LU courses for credit "because it is a cohort-based program."

VCU and Longwood were a little more willing in that regard.

ATrain wrote:Not sure if I completely agree with 84's assessment, as when I was looking at transferring back in the fall (complicated issues, no need to discuss them), I got an e-mail from Virginia Tech that said they wouldn't take any LU courses for credit "because it is a cohort-based program."

VCU and Longwood were a little more willing in that regard.

People from the Lynchburg College MBA Program have transferred to the VA Tech MBA program and all but two classes I have had here require an extensive amount of group work...

flamesbball84 wrote:

ATrain wrote:Not sure if I completely agree with 84's assessment, as when I was looking at transferring back in the fall (complicated issues, no need to discuss them), I got an e-mail from Virginia Tech that said they wouldn't take any LU courses for credit "because it is a cohort-based program."

VCU and Longwood were a little more willing in that regard.

People from the Lynchburg College MBA Program have transferred to the VA Tech MBA program and all but two classes I have had here require an extensive amount of group work...

But how many of their credits transferred? Maybe its more that LU's is entirely online, but thats the e-mail I got.

I am 2/3 complete w/ the LU DLP MBA program. The #1 reason I chose it was that I didn't ever have to set foot on campus again. It also helped that as a Liberty grad ('07), I was accepted with no difficulty, even though my undergrad was in sport mgmt.

The 45-hour aspect, sucks, and there is a group project in nearly every class. I agree w/ 84 in that knowledge of group dynamics is necessary, but in the virtual classroom, I feel as if I've learned less from my group experiences.

That said, the program is not difficult. I'll be the first to admit that all I really want is that paper to hang on the wall, because it does carry weight. Also, you'd be hard pressed to find someone busier than I (collegiate basketball assistant coach), and I still take 2 courses together at certain points of the year.

My suggestion: take the "Leadership" track. Those 4 courses are excellent!

ATrain wrote:

flamesbball84 wrote:

ATrain wrote:Not sure if I completely agree with 84's assessment, as when I was looking at transferring back in the fall (complicated issues, no need to discuss them), I got an e-mail from Virginia Tech that said they wouldn't take any LU courses for credit "because it is a cohort-based program."

VCU and Longwood were a little more willing in that regard.

People from the Lynchburg College MBA Program have transferred to the VA Tech MBA program and all but two classes I have had here require an extensive amount of group work...

But how many of their credits transferred? Maybe its more that LU's is entirely online, but thats the e-mail I got.

Not sure asbout that. I didn't keep in touch with them (i think it was only two, they were a married couple and moved) so I don't know how many did.

JK37 wrote:My suggestion: take the "Leadership" track. Those 4 courses are excellent!

agreed, that's the track i took and those 4 classes were GREAT!

I pretty much decided on the Leadership specialization, if I go to LU's grad program. It's the only one that interests me. I truly believe LU's "group learning" preference explains why they had to increase their MBA program to 45 credits.

I asked a couple of enrollment counselors a while back about the increase because about 5 years ago the online MBA was only 36 credits (with a 1 to 2 week residential stay as well). They said they had to increase the credit amount from 36 to 45 because they were told to and that other colleges were doing it as well. I don't know about the last part. But ever since LU dropped the GMAT requirement and the residential stay, their credit total jumped.

The colleges that I am looking at are U of Scranton (PA), Benedictine U (IL), Nichols College (MA), and or course Liberty. Each school has their pros and cons.

Scranton

Pros: Name recognition, Top-Tier university according to the U.S. News
Cons: Cost of attendance ($27,900), only offer the General MBA online

Benedictine

Pros: Top-Tier university as well, offers both Marketing and Entrepreneurship specializations (my first and second choices)
Cons: Cost of attendance (slightly over $23,000)

Nichols College

Pros: Bonafide Business school, 1 out of 10 of their grads are either CEOs or managers (according to Nichols of course ), you can customize your MBA program
Cons: Self-Study program where you go at your own pace, Relatively unknown outside of Central Mass.

Liberty

Pros: Current student (enrollment will be a breeze), Cost of attendance (slightly under $18,000)
Cons: 45 credits, predominately team-based

they dropped the gmat requirement for everyone? unless they have stipulations in place that you can get a gmat requirement waived if you have a certain GPA or something like that, then that's a MAJOR red flag at any institution. i guarantee you won't find a lack of a GMAT requirement at the top ranked MBA programs. that's basically like a undergraduate school not accepting the SAT/ACT but even worse.

Dunno, about the GMAT req. at LU, but i had a 3.89 - maybe that had something to do with why i didn't have to take it?

matshark wrote:Dunno, about the GMAT req. at LU, but i had a 3.89 - maybe that had something to do with why i didn't have to take it?

Yeah don't really need to take the GMAT if you have a 3.89, but I would look into rather its not required for anyone or if there is just a waiver you can get if you have a high enough GPA. Not that I'm descrediting the LU MBA program because I know some people who have gone through it and done a fine job with their career afterwards, but some employees might discredit your MBA if they know that the school doesn't require the GMAT any at all.

flamesbball84 wrote:Yeah don't really need to take the GMAT if you have a 3.89, but I would look into rather its not required for anyone or if there is just a waiver you can get if you have a high enough GPA. Not that I'm descrediting the LU MBA program because I know some people who have gone through it and done a fine job with their career afterwards, but some employees might discredit your MBA if they know that the school doesn't require the GMAT any at all.

The GMAT is not required for any incoming student in the MBA program, which is one of the reasons I chose to take it. However, I did the Masters of Science in Management track. It was only 30 hours vs. 45. Same core courses.......didn't have to take policy. It was geared more toward the human resources side than crunching numbers.

blwall1416 wrote:

flamesbball84 wrote:Yeah don't really need to take the GMAT if you have a 3.89, but I would look into rather its not required for anyone or if there is just a waiver you can get if you have a high enough GPA. Not that I'm descrediting the LU MBA program because I know some people who have gone through it and done a fine job with their career afterwards, but some employees might discredit your MBA if they know that the school doesn't require the GMAT any at all.

The GMAT is not required for any incoming student in the MBA program, which is one of the reasons I chose to take it. However, I did the Masters of Science in Management track. It was only 30 hours vs. 45. Same core courses.......didn't have to take policy. It was geared more toward the human resources side than crunching numbers.

This is correct. LU doesn't have GMAT requirements for its online students. Having a high GPA will do nothing but help in that case. Many schools, including some AACSB accredited schools, have requirements that may qualify you for a GMAT waiver. I've seen some schools only require a 2.75 minimum to waive the GMAT in whole. However, I seen some schools who want at least 3.25 and X amount of years of managerial experience just to be considered for a waiver. Of course, there is no guarantee that you will be admitted. In those cases, a good GMAT can only help your cause.

I am considering programs with no GMAT. Why? One reason is because I do not like to take tests. The second reason is because I do have managerial experience. Therefore, I look for schools that have the GMAT waiver.

As far as LU's Master of Science in Management degree, I did consider it. However, I was told by many of my friends to aim for the MBA....Which brings up the MBA vs MSM debate. I think it all depends on the company/industry you are trying to work for. Some companies/industries may prefer an MBA and some are willing to accept an MSM degree.

Blessed1 wrote:

blwall1416 wrote:

flamesbball84 wrote:Yeah don't really need to take the GMAT if you have a 3.89, but I would look into rather its not required for anyone or if there is just a waiver you can get if you have a high enough GPA. Not that I'm descrediting the LU MBA program because I know some people who have gone through it and done a fine job with their career afterwards, but some employees might discredit your MBA if they know that the school doesn't require the GMAT any at all.

The GMAT is not required for any incoming student in the MBA program, which is one of the reasons I chose to take it. However, I did the Masters of Science in Management track. It was only 30 hours vs. 45. Same core courses.......didn't have to take policy. It was geared more toward the human resources side than crunching numbers.

This is correct. LU doesn't have GMAT requirements for its online students. Having a high GPA will do nothing but help in that case. Many schools, including some AACSB accredited schools, have requirements that may qualify you for a GMAT waiver. I've seen some schools only require a 2.75 minimum to waive the GMAT in whole. However, I seen some schools who want at least 3.25 and X amount of years of managerial experience just to be considered for a waiver. Of course, there is no guarantee that you will be admitted. In those cases, a good GMAT can only help your cause.

I am considering programs with no GMAT. Why? One reason is because I do not like to take tests. The second reason is because I do have managerial experience. Therefore, I look for schools that have the GMAT waiver.

As far as LU's Master of Science in Management degree, I did consider it. However, I was told by many of my friends to aim for the MBA....Which brings up the MBA vs MSM debate. I think it all depends on the company/industry you are trying to work for. Some companies/industries may prefer an MBA and some are willing to accept an MSM degree.

There's a BIG difference between not requiring a GMAT for anyone and then having a waiver for the GMAT. Not requiring a single person to take the GMAT is considered a shady tactic in academia and to some extent the business world too. I know one guy in HR at a large, nationally known company who refuses to hire people who get their MBA from schools that don't require GMATs for anyone at all (waivers to the GMAT are acceptable, of course) because those schools are generally viewed as diploma mills.