Guest post by Alvina Lopez
If you want to advance in your career but continue to find yourself getting edged out by the competition, you may want to consider taking your qualifications to the next level and earning an MBA. Many working professionals are hesitant to take this step, however, because they think they will have to quit their current job to make it happen. This is not always the case. A number of top regionally accredited doctoral programs are available online, with flexible schedules that allow you to keep working while earning your degree at the same time.
Are Online Programs Easier than Traditional MBAs?
Now before you get too keyed up, realize that online MBA programs will be just as difficult and time consuming as a traditional program. Online or not, you will be completing graduate-level work. Due to misconceptions about online studies, people tend to believe that online graduate programs are easier and allow you to work at your own pace. This is not necessarily true. Online MBA programs are just as rigorous as traditional MBA programs; the only real difference is that the former have been adapted for online delivery. You will also have firm deadlines for projects. In other words, you can’t just turn in assignments whenever you feel like it. There are well-defined parameters for the coursework you need to complete each week.
Convenience and Advantages of an Online Program
While it won’t be any easier than a campus-based program, online MBA programs are certainly more convenient. You can log into your courses at any time of the day or night, and you will never have to set foot on a college campus, saving you the headache of a commute. Using a username and password, you log into your schools’ course management system, where your courses are listed along with your work assignments for your classes. Professors may post video or audio clips of lectures, from which you take notes, or assign a passage of reading. Students generally turn in homework by e-mailing it directly to their professor as an attachment file or spreadsheet. Some online programs allow you to upload your homework documents to a virtual drop box from which your professor can access it. Even tests and quizzes are given online.
Communication with Class and Professors
Students enrolled in online MBA programs communicate with their professors and fellow classmates via e-mail, chat and occasionally by phone or video conference. Very often, professors will require students to participate in conversations he or she posts on an online discussion board, which is basically an online group conference room. Here you can share your opinion on a topic your professor selects and respond to other students’ comments. For example, a professor may ask you to share your opinion on a certain element of business ethics or perhaps how you might solve a specific organizational problem.
Finally, remember that not all online MBA programs are created equal. It is important to select an accredited program offered by a regionally accredited university with a good reputation. Also, ask the human retargets department at your current job if you are eligible for tuition reimbursement.
This guest post is contributed by Alvina Lopez, who writes on the topics of accredited online colleges . She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alvina.lopez @gmail.com