Evaluating an Online MBA program

Online education comes in many shapes and forms and considering the time and money that goes into an MBA, you need to make sure you're investing in the right one. Here are some important questions you’ll want to consider before deciding where to get your online MBA.

Online education comes in many shapes and forms and considering the time and money that goes into an MBA, you need to make sure you're investing in the right one.

Here are some important questions you’ll want to consider before deciding where to get your online MBA:

Is It the same MBA?

The W. P. Carey MBA is the same degree, whether you return to school full-time and take classes on campus, if you fit evening or weekend classes into your schedule, or if you complete the program entirely online. It’s the same faculty, it’s the same core material — it’s the same MBA.

Why is that important? As PoetsandQuants suggests, “You certainly don’t want to diminish your employment prospects by walking away with a newly minted degree that isn’t quite as good as the traditional MBA.”

What is the learning environment like?

A recent W. P. Carey Online MBA graduate tells us that he was down to his final two schools, ASU and another large state university. Instead of interactive learning materials and lots of opportunities to connect with classmates and instructors, the other option was essentially a correspondence course. Materials would be mailed to him for his studies, which he felt severely limited his ability to interact with fellow students and faculty members.

Course delivery is a crucial differentiator of the W. P. Carey Online MBA, and the material is constantly refreshed to keep up with the latest trends and findings. And beyond the lectures, you work on projects with teammates online, building the same kind of relationships you would if you were on campus. Our interactive learning environment is just one of the reasons the W. P. Carey School is consistently ranked among the very best online graduate business programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Is it accredited?

In other words: Who stands behind your degree? The AACSB is the gold standard of business school accreditations, and is the most prestigious, longest standing, internationally known accreditation available for schools of business. Instruction, research, curriculum development, faculty, and student learning are assessed against 21 accreditation standards.

Typically, accreditation takes five to seven years, with reviews every five years thereafter to ensure that the program's level of quality is maintained. The W. P. Carey School is proud to be AACSB-accredited, but many online MBA programs fall short of this high standard, so always check the label.

What level of support will you receive?

W. P. Carey is where business is personal. And that might be even more important for online students who can’t just pop by the Career Services office or meet with a faculty member after class. So we take that into consideration with everything we do — delivering textbooks, an invaluable on-campus orientation introducing you to classmates and key members of the W. P. Carey School, 24/7 technical support, career services webinars, and more.