You know a degree or MBA would reinvigorate your career, but between your 50-hour work week and your kids' activities, who has time to sit in class? With an online MBA degree program, the problem's solved. Here are 5 great reasons to consider online education.
1. Online Classes: Anywhere in the World--With No Commute
Traveling to an online MBA class is as easy as opening your laptop. What's more, online business schools give you the luxury of choosing the perfect program for you, whether it's at your community college, across the country, or halfway around the world. Distance is no longer an issue.
2. Ready When You Are: An Online MBA Degree Program Fits Your Schedule
"More flexibility is the No. 1 reason professionals are choosing the Net for B-school," says Business Week. "Instead of racing from work to an evening class, online MBA students can attend class and study wherever they are and whenever they have free time."
Do you work best before anyone else is out of bed in the morning--or after after the kids are tucked in at night? Do you prefer to build your future during your lunch hour--or on Saturday mornings? The beauty of earning an MBA degree online is that you can fit it into your specific daily routine. Whenever you have time, the class is there for you.
3. Pace Yourself: Take It Slow or Take a Full Load of Online Classes
Maybe one online course per semester is all your busy schedule can accommodate. On the other hand, the flexibility of being able to study at your convenience may enable you to take more than one course at a time and finish your degree that much sooner. In an online MBA degree program, it's up to you.
In addition, unlike traditional schools, some accredited Internet-based campuses eliminate electives from the MBA curriculum and require only core courses. This means that it might take you only 18 months to finish an online degree program that would ordinarily take more than two years to complete through traditional campus study.
4. One for All and All for One: Cohorts Provide Strength through Numbers
In an online MBA degree program, students form "cohorts"--groups that keep each other focused and motivated by studying together, sharing knowledge, and developing relationships. Your cohort is your strongest learning and motivational tool.
Business Week reports that the best students in online MBA degree programs often arrange to meet in person or online on their own time. In a cohort, online students encourage each other and everyone benefits from shared wisdom and experience.
5. Multiple Choice: Online Business Schools Let You Learn the Way You Learn Best
Online learning can be every bit as fun, social, effective, and engaging as classroom learning. In fact, an online class may offer advantages to students who learn best in non-traditional ways.
- Visual learners have everything they need on the screen in front of them. There's no struggle to hear the instructor or see the projection screen.
- Hands-on learners benefit from interactive classes designed to give students online practice in key skills and immediate feedback about their efforts.
- Email and live chat are two communication methods used to give online students one-on-one access to their instructors and cohort. With email, you can send out a question, comment, or request at your convenience. Live chat allows you to carry on typed, in-depth, topical discussions in real time with your cohort and instructors.
MBA Degree Online: Just Add Self-discipline
The advantages of attending business school online are plentiful, and federal financial aid is available for online students enrolled at colleges and universities specifically accredited for distance education. The one absolute "must" for successful completion of an online degree program is self-discipline. A recent Sloan Consortium survey of more than 2,500 colleges and universities named lack of self-discipline on the part of online students as the biggest barrier to effective online learning.
Bottom line: if you possess the self-discipline to work on your own (with support from your cohort), there's an online MBA degree waiting for you. It can fit your schedule, learning style, and budget--and it can change your future.