Simona Kozinova is a senior category manager for Coca-Cola. Her job is to develop strategic business practices that will help her company achieve the lowest cost of goods, while maximizing overall category sales. Her supervisors have given her great feedback on her performance, and she knows she's ready to take on a job with more responsibility, but she's run into a stumbling block. She doesn't have the required Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.
When you are ready to climb the corporate ladder, an MBA can help you reach the upper rungs of management. The degree also provides extra earning power. According to a 2003 survey by Salary.com, those with a professional degree earn an average of $81,000 a year, compared with $43,000 for those who have only a bachelor's degree. BusinessWeek's 2004 survey of 30 MBA programs turned up similar figures, with starting salaries for graduates ranging from $74,000 at the low end to $100,000 at the high end, for an average of $84,031.
It used to be that in order to reach those upper echelons, a potential MBA student would have to put his or her existing career on hold for two years to attend courses at a business school, such as Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management or University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. While traditional, ground-based MBA programs still lure applicants, they are no longer the only game in town.
Kozinova is one of the more than two million plus American students who have opted for an online education. She is pursuing her MBA through the University of Phoenix Online. Kaplan University and Colorado Technical University Online have similar programs.
Their main appeal, according to Dr. Jim Dorris, dean of Kaplan University's Graduate School of Management, is convenience. And regardless of whether it is earned online or offline, an MBA is "a gateway to promotion."
"I've had a lot of students who have lived even 20 miles from a good state university or a good private university," says Dorris. "They average 39 years of age or so, they're juggling two kids, a job, and a spouse or no spouse, and the notion of having to drive that 20 miles or take a train that 20 miles once a week or twice a week is just a bit much."
With an online degree program, students simply switch on the computer and complete assignments when their schedule permits. Online programs cover much of the same material as their more traditional counterparts, with a few differences. Online students usually concentrate on one subject area at a time, for a period of five or six weeks, and have assigned readings and projects to complete during that time. Although the students do not have face-to-face interaction, plenty of discussion happens in the class's online message boards. In fact, participation is often calculated as part of the student's grade.
According to Dr. Brian Lindquist, dean of the College of Graduate Business and Management for the University of Phoenix, online participation can be more beneficial than traditional classroom participation in some instances. In a classroom, it is easy for the discussion to become dominated by the more aggressive or opinionated students. Online, all students have a chance to reflect on the questions posed and offer their insights. As Lindquist puts it, "Nobody can hide in the online classroom. Everybody gets to and is expected to contribute."
Interaction is another benefit of online programs. Instead of spending most of their time in a classroom listening to a lecture, students are interacting with each other online and working on projects to develop their creative problem-solving skills. With some online programs, students can even take Web-based "field trips," visiting various sites online and reporting back about their experiences. Also, because students from anywhere around the globe can easily attend an online university, Lindquist thinks that there is a greater potential for a cross-cultural exchange of ideas. The discussion of ideas across physical borders will become increasingly important as we move closer toward a truly global economy.
Fees for online MBA programs vary, but in general, an online degree can cost the same or less than a degree from a comparable private university. Online universities all have different strong points, as do traditional campuses. With careful research, potential MBA students can find the program best suited to their unique needs.
Copyright © 2006, ARA Content
. Questions of a Do It Yourself nature should be submitted to our "