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Affordable DL MBA in UK

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mymba34
Joined: 24 Jul 2012
Posts: 3
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Wed Jul 25, 2012 01:28 AM
Hello,

I've been lurking this site for a few days now. Been obsessed with researching DL MBA's for over 2.5 weeks and currently gathering all application requirements.

I am searching for an affordable online MBA in the UK, preferable under 12,000 GBP.

Profile:
Age: 34
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
15 Years Real Estate experience
8 Years Management experience
Goal: Career Boost vs. Career Change

I was looking at RDI MBA through Anglia Ruskin, University of Derby, University of London (Royal Holloway), University of Leicester, Magna Carta College, and University of Cumbria via Robert Kennedy College in Zurich.

Please provide any feedback on these schools and the program as I am not fully aware of their reputation.

Oh, yes, pay as you go tuition is a big driver for me since my hubby and I would like to pursue our DL MBA together.

Thanks.
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JK Duncan

Joined: 18 Apr 2011
Posts: 3640
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Wed Jul 25, 2012 05:54 AM
Of these i think only the Royal Holloway programme is accredited: the others are rather weak. I don't know what Magna Carta College is, but it does not have the right to issue degrees.

Look at Durham. It's only slightly more, and qualitatively better. Also if you are in Canada why not consider Royal Roads?
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ezra

Joined: 27 Jul 2011
Posts: 508
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Thu Jul 26, 2012 12:02 PM
I am searching for an affordable online MBA in the UK, preferable under 12,000 GBP.

Why not wait a bit and save up a bit more cash for the Warwick or Durham program?
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maubia
Joined: 23 Jul 2011
Posts: 440
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Thu Jul 26, 2012 01:23 PM
You might try with Warwick. Sometimes they give some schoolarships also for the online mba
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mymba34
Joined: 24 Jul 2012
Posts: 3
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Thu Jul 26, 2012 01:30 PM
Of these i think only the Royal Holloway programme is accredited: the others are rather weak. I don't know what Magna Carta College is, but it does not have the right to issue degrees.

Look at Durham. It's only slightly more, and qualitatively better. Also if you are in Canada why not consider Royal Roads?


Thanks Duncan,
Yes, I looked at Royal Roads too but decided to choose
UK for more a global perspective (virtual and offline interactions with international students) so it's a bonus if program offered residency options (1 or 2 weeks is good).

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mymba34
Joined: 24 Jul 2012
Posts: 3
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Thu Jul 26, 2012 01:34 PM
I am searching for an affordable online MBA in the UK, preferable under 12,000 GBP.

Why not wait a bit and save up a bit more cash for the Warwick or Durham program?


Ezra - I was exploring Durham yesterday. It looks great. Then I stumbled upon Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt University so I'm going look at that today.
Thanks.
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JK Duncan

Joined: 18 Apr 2011
Posts: 3640
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Thu Jul 26, 2012 01:53 PM
Heriot-Watt isn't accredited, I think.
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ralph

Joined: 07 Jul 2009
Posts: 839
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Mon Jul 30, 2012 12:36 PM
Heriot-Watt isn't accredited, I think.

No, it isn't. I'd stay away from this one, if you're looking at Warwick/Durham, etc.
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pooikuan82
Joined: 19 Jan 2013
Posts: 21
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Thu Jan 24, 2013 01:17 PM
Heriot-Watt isn't accredited, I think.

No, it isn't. I'd stay away from this one, if you're looking at Warwick/Durham, etc.


So is HW not recommended? They have been expanding their campuses and going to open new campus in Malaysia
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JK Duncan

Joined: 18 Apr 2011
Posts: 3640
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Thu Jan 24, 2013 02:34 PM
I would not recommend it. There are some great, internationally-accredited MBAs in Malaysia. Of course if someone isn't smart or ambitious, then any degree will do. But for a professional degree like an MBA people should aim for the best they can.
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LKF
Joined: 25 Jan 2013
Posts: 4
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Sat Jan 26, 2013 02:57 AM
Heriot-Watt isn't accredited, I think.

No, it isn't. I'd stay away from this one, if you're looking at Warwick/Durham, etc.


Heriot-Watt (H-W) is an accredited Scottish university. All of H-W's degrees are recognised. Its MBA does not have the additional business programme accreditation by AACSB, EQUIS or AMBA. But this does not mean that their MBA degree is not valid.
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JK Duncan

Joined: 18 Apr 2011
Posts: 3640
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Sat Jan 26, 2013 08:46 PM
In the sense that it's used here, on this forum, HW is not accredited. See www.find-mba.com/accreditations to see what we mean.

Lacking accreditation doesn't mean that HW is not a university. It is a real, legal university. But its business school has been successful exactly because it recruits students that cannot get in to accredited business schools. Employers that recruit large numbers of MBAs understand that the quality of MBAs is uneven, and that's why they look for graduated from an accredited MBA programme.
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LKF
Joined: 25 Jan 2013
Posts: 4
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Sun Jan 27, 2013 12:31 AM
Accreditation is a process. It is not something that you use in a specific sense, although I understand what you are getting at. A valid academic degree is an accredited one. Specialized accreditation is voluntary. Simply stating that a MBA lacks accreditation or using foreboding terms like "stay away" is misleading potential students. There are varying degrees of quality for most degrees and this includes the MBA. Underlining that a specific MBA does not hold a "professional" or "business" or "specialized" accreditation would better reflect a response in my view.

[Edited by LKF on 27 Jan 2013]
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JK Duncan

Joined: 18 Apr 2011
Posts: 3640
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Sun Jan 27, 2013 05:18 AM
You are disingenuous. Accreditation in this context has a clear and specific meaning: the formal recognition by a reputable third party of an business school. It is the outcome of a process. It is not misleading to mention that HW lacks that, and to link to the page which explains MBA accreditation. That is a simple and important statement of fact about a clear quality signal.

Only 30-something percent of HW students are in Scotland. Its whole business model is based on international students. With the HW MBA, I notice that it requires neither a degree nor work experience. That is unusual and is also a clear sign of quality.

I don't say that no one should attend HW, but I do say that someone who could attend an accredited MBA would be making an inferior investment if they took HW's instead.

[Edited by JK Duncan on 27 Jan 2013]
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LKF
Joined: 25 Jan 2013
Posts: 4
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Sun Jan 27, 2013 05:47 AM
You are disingenuous. Accreditation in this context has a clear and specific meaning: the formal recognition by a reputable third party of an business school. It is the outcome of a process. It is not misleading to mention that HW lacks that, and to link to the page which explains MBA accreditation. That is a statement of fact about a clear quality signal.

Only 30-something percent of HW students are in Scotland. It's whole business model is based on international students. With the MBA, I notice that it requires neither a degree nor work experience. That is unusual and is also a clear sign of quality.

I don't say that no one shoul attend HW, but I do say that someone who could attend an accredited MBA would be making an inferior investment if they took HW's instead.


And I think you are being Mischievous at best or downright rude at worst in labeling me as disingenuous! Accreditation is accreditation and it is perceived by most people that if one indicates that an institution does not have accreditation it falls into a non bona fide category. To avoid such a perception I am simply suggesting that it would be better to reflect that any MBA that does not have the business programme accreditation is clearly stated. You seem to want to use the standard term of accreditation into a different context altogether. What is wrong in clearly stating that a MBA from XYZ university does not have the professional/business accreditation from AMBA/EQUIS/AACSB that other MBAs have and then guiding students to recommendations? My point is that this would be better that just saying that XYZ university is not accredited, when that institution has clear authority, recognition and is accredited to award degrees by their locality.
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JK Duncan

Joined: 18 Apr 2011
Posts: 3640
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Sun Jan 27, 2013 09:27 AM
I don't think most people come to to this forum. In the MBA world, and in education generally accreditation has a specific meaning: the wikipedia article en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_accreditation explain it well.

Accreditation is not the ability to issue degrees: that is controlled by the state. Accreditation is an independent quality assurance process. If someone is confused between those two statements, then it's important that we talk about accreditation and set it in content. As a rule of thumb, accredited courses are better and have higher standing, especially with employers. In the US, for example, most financial aid is available only to students in universities with accreditation.
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LKF
Joined: 25 Jan 2013
Posts: 4
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Sun Jan 27, 2013 09:45 AM
I am aware of what accreditation is. Apparently you have skewed interpretation. In the US, for example, there are several forms. You have given a wiki link and if you really understood it, you will realize what the term accreditation means. I have already said clearly what I believe to be a fairer way to describe whether a MBA has the specialized business accreditation. This is what you should be addressing here in this forum for students. I do not have any problems with your explanation with regards 3rd party certification of business schools/ MBA courses. However, you have not answered the question as to why it is such a problem to clearly state that a specific MBA lacks specialized "business accreditation" as opposed to just saying it is not accredited? Simply stating that a MBA is not accredited when it comes from an established institution is plain inaccurate.

[Edited by LKF on 27 Jan 2013]
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mattbellagio
Joined: 17 Feb 2011
Posts: 58
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Sun Jan 27, 2013 10:41 AM
I don't think most people come to to this forum. In the MBA world, and in education generally accreditation has a specific meaning: the wikipedia article en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_accreditation explain it well.

Accreditation is not the ability to issue degrees: that is controlled by the state. Accreditation is an independent quality assurance process. If someone is confused between those two statements, then it's important that we talk about accreditation and set it in content. As a rule of thumb, accredited courses are better and have higher standing, especially with employers. In the US, for example, most financial aid is available only to students in universities with accreditation.


In the US, federal funding is available to students who undertake degree programs with Regionally Accredited (RA) universities. However, not all RA universities will have Programmatic Accreditation, such as AACSB for business, ABET for Engineering Technology, TEAC for Teaching etc; for every degree. Hence, it is a misnomer to state that a MBA degree is unaccredited if it comes from a RA university (or its equivalent in other countries). Rather, what it lacks is the specific programmatic business accreditation.

But Duncan is correct in asserting that MBA degrees having added AACSB or AMBA accreditation will have a higher standing in the market place. In trying to emphasize this however, one needs to have a proper understanding of the terminology - accreditation.
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JK Duncan

Joined: 18 Apr 2011
Posts: 3640
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Sun Jan 27, 2013 12:01 PM
I think you'll find the term is used very consistently here and on on other MBA forums. When people here talk about accredited MBAs, they mean MBAs which are accredited * separately * as graduate business programmes. There's a link on every page on this website to the article on accreditation.

It would be worse than meaningless, it would be untrue, to suggest that MBAs without AACSB, AMBA or EQUIS MBAs are equally valuable to those without them. It's a vital distinction to make in the case of HW and other schools which sell themselves internationally as a premium brand, but might not deliver the premium outcomes from accredited MBAs.

PS Matt, HW doesn't have anything like regional accreditation. It has a license from the state to issue degrees: a royal charter. These are awarded by parliament and are not subject to review. I never heard of one being lost.

[Edited by JK Duncan on 27 Jan 2013]
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JK Duncan

Joined: 18 Apr 2011
Posts: 3640
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Sun Jan 27, 2013 12:06 PM
PS LKF, accreditation is *different* from the right to issue degrees. HW has the right to issue degrees. Accreditation is an ongoing and independent process which certifies the quality of a programme. HW does not have accreditation. Pure and simple.

HW has the biggest distance learning MBA in the world, partly though its almost unique admissions policy, which require neither work experience nor a degree. It is not the same MBA experience as at an accredited school, nor are the outcomes the same. It would be a disservice to applicants to conceal that.
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mattbellagio
Joined: 17 Feb 2011
Posts: 58
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Sun Jan 27, 2013 12:22 PM
Duncan,

This is a case in point. This information is not just about HW, it is generally for all similar standing universities in the world. HW in the US is considered as RA equivalent from what I've seen in student evaluations done by recognized Credential Evaluators.

Any experienced professional in the education field would understand what accreditation means. The fact is that we are addressing the uninformed student public. So one needs to be clear. In making the distinction that MBAs with AACSB or AMBA etc., I believe LKF is suggesting that this is stated clearly, i.e. "this MBA does not have the relevant business programmatic accreditation. This is a reasonable statement. Why is it that you are so hung up about this? No one is asking you to do a disservice to students. Just state it as it shoud be. As I have already pointed out, Accreditation in the US takes on several formats, including Regional Accreditation. Which includes quality assurance of programs conducted by the university concerned. So programs of RA universities are considered accredited including business faculties. However, as a added measure business schools also seek additional AACSB or other similar programmatic accreditation for added recognition in the market place. Why is that so difficult to understand?

Anyway, I think this has gone on long enough.........

[Edited by mattbellagio on 27 Jan 2013]
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JK Duncan

Joined: 18 Apr 2011
Posts: 3640
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Sun Jan 27, 2013 08:22 PM
Hi Matt,

This matters for reasons of practice and accuracy.
- In this forum, it's quite impractical to expect that people should use a long-winded for of words like "does not have the relevant business programmatic accreditation", rather than "is not accredited" and then link to the article on accreditation.
- The situation is HW is not only that its MBA lacks accreditation, but also that the university as a whole explicitly declined to participate in accreditation. It's not accredited by anyone. That's it. It would be inaccurate to say that HW lacks specific MBA accreditation when, indeed, the entire university lacks it.
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mattbellagio
Joined: 17 Feb 2011
Posts: 58
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Mon Jan 28, 2013 02:42 AM
Hi Duncan,

I beg to differ. Your view of accreditation is not consistent with the general understanding of what it is taken to mean in the broader sense of quality assurance in education.

Let's leave it at that.

P.S. For practice, accuracy and clarity, it doesn't take a whole lot to say "does not have programmatic accreditation"..........
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mattbellagio
Joined: 17 Feb 2011
Posts: 58
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Mon Jan 28, 2013 04:38 AM
It is to be noted that....Heriot Watt, as are all other well established British universities, are governed by the UK Quality Code for Higher Education. This external review is conducted by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) which safeguard standards and improve the quality of UK higher education. Heriot Watt is subjected to a quality audit and has received approval (confidence judgement) in the QAA institutional review audit report.

However, it is a fact that the Heriot Watt MBA does not have the value added accreditation from either AACSB, AMBA, or EQUIS.

[Edited by mattbellagio on 28 Jan 2013]
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JK Duncan

Joined: 18 Apr 2011
Posts: 3640
Affordable DL MBA in UK
Mon Jan 28, 2013 07:19 AM
Matt. It would be pointless if we moved away from the generally used definition, exemplified by wikipedia, of accreditation as an independent quality assessment which is separate from the legal right to award degrees.

The point about accreditation is that it give an *additional*, higher level of quality than state agencies. By definition, every HE institution in the UK has assurance by the government through QAA. The QAA assures the *minimum* level of quality needed in Britain's cash-strapped HE sector. That's quite unlike regional or national accreditation, which a university may fail. It is impossible to imagine that a state university in the UK could fail. Even in Britain's seething morass of private schools, I think only one has failed to pass, in 2006.

The QAA's process is especially inadequate because the vast majority of HW students are abroad. No-one can expect the QAA to fly to the HW campus in Malaysia. It's not comparable to US regional accreditation, which is independent from the state and assures a high level of quality.
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