This weekend I had a conversation with an recent acquaintance, who was about to enter into an online MBA program. They spoke of the program like it was Men’s League basketball at the local YMCA, with comments like:
“…well my company will pay for it, so why wouldn’t I get my MBA.”
“…I have to take a test to get in, right?”
Frack. This post is going to be a rabbit’s trail type of rant, so get ready.
Over the past few years, I’ve become disgusted at my MBA. Not my experience or takeaway knowledge, but the dilution of my degree’s worth in terms of perceived value. Truth be told, it seems in the current times, an advanced degree, specifically the MBA, has lost its value. As cracker box MBA programs have popped up across the nation, and top ranked schools have shifted emphasis from top-teir education to revenue growth strategies. The cracker box programs promise an graduate degree with little effort and not much sacrifice. Seriously, just google MBA and see where it takes you… the page is full of ads and paid placements of MBA programs that offer convenient MBA degree programs, from the comfort of your home.
Even my alma mater has fallen out of the graces of the Rankings as it pursued the part-time MBA offering. This fall is just ridiculous, as OU Price College of Business was a well respected program, ranked among the top 25 schools in the nation when I received my MBA (2004-2006). The classes… kicked my ass. I’ve never studied as much, read so much, and worked so hard. I was a full-time student, I didn’t have a side job, because school was so demanding. It was how I envisioned graduate school to be — competitive, collaborative, and fully engaging.
So. What happened?
It seems the school decided to push into the part-time MBA space by offering classes and degree paths outside of the Norman campus, spinning up satellite campuses in downtown Oklahoma City. Great for revenue, terrible for rankings… and I would argue terrible for everyone who’d received the degree circa 2006.
It’s like learning to tie a windsor knot online… sure you’ll be able to get it done. But you won’t have the story. The memory of when your dad took you aside when you were 14 and taught you the reason why the Windsor was his favorite knot, and how it’s differentiated from the Half Windsor and the Four-in-hand knot. I’d argue it’s always the context that makes the story memorable, and without it you’ll probably look up the directions on “how to tie a tie” from your iPhone every time formal attire is required.
My are my panties in a bunch? Well, call it graduate school arrogance and higher learning pride. I’m of the guild who believes degrees stand for something… hard work, dedication, mastery of a subject, and a certain elitist status (in that you where of the few who completed the degree). I believe a Master’s degree is more than just a paper certificate or a hall pass to get you past the glut of middle management in corporate America. To me it is it was an avenue to higher earning potential and an overall understanding of the macronomics of globalized business… something you could not get at the neighborhood community college.
Ok, forgive my pedantic ramblings. I agree with your contrarian sentiment — What you do is what matters, as knowledge and certificates can never trump hustle and the habit of shipping.
So. What’s the solution?
Well, for starters… The General Assembly with early round investor Tom Vander Ark have been developing a fantastic alternative to Higher-Ed (more here). And with growing incubators like Startup City Des Moines, in my backyard. It is evident the next generation of learners place more value on the do of entrepreneurship than on the aging knowledge of academia.
Moral. The dilution of the MBA is based upon perceived value of the knowledge. If middle managers across the country accumulate MBA’s, yet don’t accomplish anything with the knowledge… the value is lost. Make something easy and it will no longer attract those who are drawn to build great things. Make something difficult, requiring sacrifice and hard work, and you will have found the sieve that filters out mediocrity.
Good luck @GA & @startupcitydsm. Go get ‘em.
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thanks to Sam Mahlstadt for the impetus this AM on twitter.
2 Comments on "the online MBA (stinks)."
Good word, Sam
I’ve gone back and forth about pursuing a masters but haven’t been able to pull the trigger. The value proposition just doesn’t seem to make sense to me at this point.
I’d hold off… it’d be difficult to enter into any graduate work, unless you have the time and the money (for it to be a risk-free win, that is).