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Several years ago, I was invited to help judge the Rice Business Plan Competition, the largest pitch contest for student founders. These weren’t ad hoc groups of kids cooking up the next Facebook in their dorms. Many of the teams were clearly organized by their universities, with MBA candidates assigned to marketing and operations roles and engineering or medical school students in technical positions…….Story continues….
By: Stephanie Mehta
Source: Inc.com
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Critics:
Business school or MBA program accreditation by external agencies provides students and employers with an independent view of the school or program’s quality, as well as whether the curriculum meets specific quality standards. Currently the three major accrediting bodies in the United States are:
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB),
- Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), and
- International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE).
All of these groups also accredit schools outside the US. The ACBSP and the IACBE are themselves recognized in the United States by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). MBA programs with specializations for students pursuing careers in healthcare management also eligible for accreditation by the Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME).
U.S. MBA programs may also be accredited at the institutional level. Bodies that accredit institutions as a whole include:
- Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA),
- New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC),
- Higher Learning Commission (HLC),
- Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC),
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU),
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).[28]
Accreditation agencies outside the United States include the Association of MBAs (AMBA), a UK-based organization that accredits MBA, DBA, and MBM programs worldwide, government accreditation bodies such as the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which accredits MBA and Postgraduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) programs across India.
Some of the leading bodies in India that certify MBA institutions and their programs are the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the University Grants Commission (UGC). A distance MBA program needs to be accredited by the Distance Education Council (DEC) in India.
The Council on Higher Education (CHE) in South Africa, the European Foundation for Management Development operates the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) for mostly European, Australian, New Zealand and Asian schools, the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA), and Central and East European Management Development Association (CEEMAN) in Europe.
Full-time MBA programs normally take place over two academic years (i.e. approximately 18 months of term time). For example, in the Northern Hemisphere, they often begin in late August or early September of year one and continue until May or June of year two, with a three to four-month summer break in between years one and two.
Students enter with a reasonable amount of prior real-world work experience and take classes during weekdays like other university students. A typical full-time, accelerated, part-time, or modular MBA requires 60 credits (600 class hours) of graduate work.
Accelerated MBA programs are a variation of the two-year programs. They involve a higher course load with more intense class and examination schedules and are usually condensed into one year. They usually have less downtime during the program and between semesters. For example, there is no three to four-month summer break, and between semesters there might be seven to ten days off rather than three to five weeks vacation.
Accelerated programs typically have a lower cost than full-time two-year programs. Part-time MBA programs normally hold classes on weekday evenings after normal working hours, or on weekends. Part-time programs normally last three years or more. The students in these programs typically consist of working professionals, who take a light course load for a longer period of time until the graduation requirements are met.
Evening (second shift) MBA programs are full-time programs that normally hold classes on weekday evenings, after normal working hours, or on weekends for a duration of two years. The students in these programs typically consist of working professionals, who can not leave their work to pursue a full-time regular shift MBA. Most second shift programs are offered at universities in India.
Modular MBA programs are similar to part-time programs, although typically employing a lock-step curriculum with classes packaged together in blocks lasting from one to three weeks. Executive (part-time) MBA (EMBA) programs developed to meet the educational needs of managers and executives, allowing students to earn an MBA (or another business-related graduate degree) in two years or less while working full-time.
Participants come from every type and size of organization – profit, nonprofit, government – representing a variety of industries. EMBA students typically have a higher level of work experience, often 10 years or more, compared to other MBA students. In response to the increasing number of EMBA programs offered, The Executive MBA Council was formed in 1981 to advance executive education.
Full-time executive MBA programs are a new category of full-time one year MBA programs aimed at professionals with approximately five years or more. They are primarily offered in countries like India where the two-year MBA program is targeted at fresh graduates with no experience or minimal experience. These full-time executive MBA programs are similar to one year MBA programs offered by schools like Insead and IMD.
Distance learning MBA programs hold classes off-campus. These programs can be offered in a number of different formats: correspondence courses by postal mail or email, non-interactive broadcast video, pre-recorded video, live teleconference or videoconference, offline or online computer courses. Many schools offer these programs.
Blended learning programs combine distance learning with face-to-face instruction.These programs typically target working professionals who are unable to attend traditional part-time programs. MBA dual degree programs combine an MBA with others (such as an MS, MA, MEng, or a JD, etc.) to let students cut costs (dual programs usually cost less than pursuing two degrees separately), save time on education and to tailor the business education courses to their needs.
This is generally achieved by allowing core courses of one program to count as electives in the other. Some business schools offer programs in which students can earn both a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA in five years.
Many programs base their admission decisions on a combination of undergraduate grade point average, academic transcripts, entrance exam scores (for example, the GMAT or the GRE test score), a résumé containing significant work experience, essays, letters of recommendation, group discussions, and personal interviews.
Some schools are also interested in extracurricular activities, community service activities, or volunteer work and how the student can improve the school’s diversity and contribute to the student body as a whole.The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is the most prominently used entrance exam for admissions into MBA programs.
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is also accepted by almost all MBA programs in order to fulfill any entrance exam requirement they may have. Some schools do not weigh entrance exam scores as heavily as other criteria, and some programs do not require entrance exam scores for admission. In order to achieve a diverse class, business schools also consider the target male-female ratio and local-international student ratios.
In rare cases, some MBA degrees do not require students to have an undergraduate degree and will accept significant management experience in lieu of an undergraduate degree. In the UK, for example, a Higher National Diploma (HND) or even Higher National Certificate (HNC) is acceptable in some programs. Depending on the program, type and duration of work experience can be a critical admissions component for many MBA programs.
Many top-tier programs require five or more years of work experience for admission. MBA admissions consulting services have been increasingly used by prospective MBA applicants to improve their chances of admission. They are most common in the U.S., with as many as one-quarter of applicants using these services in 2016,though they have been gaining popularity elsewhere, including India and Canada.
Consultants can provide basic coaching including help with program selection, mock interviews, and essay proofreading, though some will provide other services like writing essays from scratch.The use of consulting services is frowned upon by many business schools’ admissions committees.
ؤpplications can be hurt by looking like they were written with a consultant, such as by having a high level of writing compared to the candidate’s speech or not appearing unique. Some also express concern that they give an unfair advantage to students who can afford the services’ high costs.
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