http://texas.wgu.edu/business/master_business_administration_degree

Anyone have any experience with this, or has anyone heard any feedback?

It's an online college that's not for profit, it's supported by the state of Texas, and its really affordable. About $6500 a year. So cheap that basically work would pay for it. It has the necessary regional accreditations (It doesnt have AACSB because it isnt a research university and there's no face to face component, not even a weekend residency. But US News's online college rankings have it ahead of a few AACSB accredited schools)

It's obviously not a name that gets HR excited like a Wharton, or a Columbia, or a Texas. It's probably considered below even the lower tier brand name colleges. But I'm wondering if it would help get me a promotion into management in an industry that has leaders from "regular" schools, and doesn't require MBAs from Ivies. Sort of a check the box thing. It basically would end up being free to me.

How does everyone think this compares to going to a better school and racking up debt? Would you view this option favorably against somewhere like U of H or UTD? It would obviously be nowhere near as prestigious as Texas or Rice, but could it be successfully argued that the ROI would be better after considering those two programs cost between $70-100k in tuition plus lost salary if you go full time?


[This message has been edited by AggieMavsfan (edited 1/9/2014 11:26a).]

It looks to be about half the price of UH, but with it being so new I don't know that it would have the name recognition.

We trashed all resumes that contained any mention of an online college. I would assume western governor's enjoys the same treatment.

We don't trash the resumes of online schools for executive MBAs...and haven't with any of the companies I've worked for which includes Fortune 100 companies.

I wouldn't trash the resume, but a WGU MBA wouldn't do much to help a candidate in my eyes, either. Maybe if two candidates were dead even otherwise the MBA would be a tiebreaker.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 1/18/2014 12:39p).]

quote:

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We don't trash the resumes of online schools for executive MBAs...and haven't with any of the companies I've worked for which includes Fortune 100 companies.

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I'm curious to know where you've worked. Wal-Mart usually tops the Fortune 500 and I know Walgreens and Home Depot has been in the Fortune 100.

But I emailed some of my old buddies. Here are some companies that trash online resumes.

Huntsman - huntsman actually does trash Western Governor's degrees specifically. I asked her last and thought to mention WG and if they would trash it. She said "of course". She had good advice, though, she said you can do online if you can fool people into thinking it wasn't online. Like Cougar High, as OP was mentioning.

CPchem

Exxon

Transocean

Now you might have worked in a different field than I and have different experiences. When we were filling a position and communicating with head hunters, we would explicitly tell them "no online degrees".

They're a scam anyway, I think.

Just trying to help OP make a good decision.

Boxer, are you talking about any online degree including graduate degrees or undergrad only? Trashing someone whose undergrad was online makes a lot more sense than trashing a resume from someone with a reputable undergrad who wanted to get an advanced degree without taking time off from work.

If you are talking about the latter, then I am going to suggest that that is a stupid practice whether large companies do it or not. I'm not biased because I do not have an online degree nor do I plan to get one.



[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 1/24/2014 3:19p).]

They do trash online MBAs. They trash all online degrees.

But, like I said, if it is an online degree from Cougar High or somewhere that isn't Western Governor's or University of Phoenix or a known "online college", then you might can pass it off.

There are executive MBA options all over. I have seen people go to the Texas A&M executive MBA program and not miss work. To go to an online college because it's cheaper or more convenient is shooting yourself in the foot and throwing your money away.

You may think it's stupid. You are probably not a hiring manager.

Edit: poor word choice

[This message has been edited by BoxerCXXVI (edited 1/24/2014 9:32p).]

The fact that it is online or not is pointless...it's whether it's a proprietary/for-profit school versus a public/not-for-profit school.

Western Governors is non-profit. They are the same as taking online classes from a state school (very common).

They also have competency-based learning, meaning that if you want to be, say, an accountant and you've worked as a peon in the field for 20 years and know everything, you can get through it a bit faster (self-paced learning).

I haven't met someone with a WGU degree yet, but I definitely wouldn't discount it.

You may not discount it. I am telling you that people will.

I will. My friend at huntsman will. I will check around and see if other people will as well, if you want to get a poll going.

We all are (or were in my case) hiring managers.

Yes, some people will, maybe even the majority. Not the type of company I'd want to work for of they can't differentiate between a poor candidate with a "traditional" degree and a good candidate with a WGU degree.

And, yes, I am also a hiring manager. I look for required and preferred qualifications be met to get you an interview (with good experience, etc on resume). The interview is where you have to really impress me.

I don't expect every candidate to have the same resume I have or educational background.

I do agree that an online MBA is a complete waste of time in terms of aiding your career, and I would never get one myself, or even an MBA from a non-name school. I just don't understand throwing out a candidate who has that in addition to good qualifications.

Is it an outcome of rules that require paying extra for any MBA/advanced degree?

Not really, no. We throw out online degrees because we are selective. That is something we do. We think they're a joke, so how can we take a candidate seriously if they have an online degree?

We can't. So into the trash it goes.