Ditch UoPeople for Walden?

[rachel83az]

While it is true that technically NA and RA are no more, it remains to be seen whether employers or most universities will actually make changes to their requirements in light of these updates. I have my doubts, as I've mentioned previously in other threads.

[StoicJ]

Honestly, if my plans were to work in the USA I wouldn't go with a UoPeople MBA. It's inexpensive, but not THAT much cheaper than a few other US-based MBA deals that come up now and then.

I am only an undergrad at UoPeople, but there really is a good bit of work involved in the courses I have taken, and I've taken a bunch of traditional and non-traditional over the years. Not that Walden or WGU don't require a lot of work, but it seems their formats are a better fit for people who just want to knock out a business administration degree.

That said, hurriyng through coursework is something that a lot of people are going to struggle with. The UoPeople MBA is a better fit for people who need to spread coursework out over a year or two, and still keep the cost under $5000.

Lots of variables to consider.

[SweetSecret]

Op, I really wish I would have seen this earlier!

I would say your choice of MBA program depends on your goals, how you like tests versus writing, and how you feel about student interactions/groups.

If you want a more unique concentration or business accreditation, without paying an arm and a leg, take some courses at UoPeople and transfer them to Walden. The Tempo program is almost all reading with papers.

If you want a quick MBA with business accreditation and don't have test anxiety then pick WGU.

If you only care about regional accreditation then go with HAU.

If you care about price and can handle group work well the go with UoPeople.

[eLearner]

While it is true that technically NA and RA are no more, it remains to be seen whether employers or most universities will actually make changes to their requirements in light of these updates. I have my doubts, as I've mentioned previously in other threads.

I consider it literally because it was the Department of Ed that originated support for the system and have now discontinued that support, and for good reason: the Department of Ed never placed regional accreditation above national accreditation. Belief to the contrary was pure mythology that got completely out of hand once the internet took hold and all it did was serve to create more confusion and unnecessary roadblocks. 

Most employers don't have requirements for accreditation, they generally don't have people on staff who understand it or guidelines that care about it, that's part of the reason LinkedIn remains filled with phony degree holders in good-paying jobs and leadership roles. Where it's better understood is with jobs in education and general licensed professions but that's normally handled by state requirements before a person would ever be at the point of applying for a job in one of those fields anyway, and even there those have changed quite a bit over the years as overly strict states like New York have removed much of it's language requiring regionally accredited degrees for a number of professions including Medicine which also allows unaccredited Medical degrees. Oddly, however, to become a Doctor of Psychology in New York you still need an RA Doctorate according to the state licensing language last time I read it.

I wouldn't expect any change to happen across the board quickly. It never happens that way. That letter was put out in 2020, so it will likely take many more years before the term "institutionally accredited" replaces the old model with enough penetration into the market to consider it the new norm, but there are some schools already adopting it. We have to keep in mind that the Department of Ed controls the flow of financial aid and just like many other changes over the years the schools will eventually fall in line for a number of reasons attached to that critical piece, and because students are certain to legally challenge received disadvantages based on the "official" dissolution of the old model/language. Those challenges will also be bolstered by changes within state language which is a legal base. It's no mistake that the Department sent these letters to state authorities first rather than to the 7,000+ institutions of higher education.

[Vle045]

Op, I really wish I would have seen this earlier!

I would say your choice of MBA program depends on your goals, how you like tests versus writing, and how you feel about student interactions/groups.

If you want a more unique concentration or business accreditation, without paying an arm and a leg, take some courses at UoPeople and transfer them to Walden. The Tempo program is almost all reading with papers.

If you want a quick MBA with business accreditation and don't have test anxiety then pick WGU.

If you only care about regional accreditation then go with HAU.

If you care about price and can handle group work well the go with UoPeople.

Thank you for the info.  Have you tried each of these first-hand?  (Just curious.)  

From what you describe, WGU is a good option.  I don’t have test anxiety at all.  Sometimes I can lack focus, so a lot of long papers and tons of reading might just be annoying.  I do care about price - to an extent.  I think I would be cool with anything up to around $10,000.  I would prefer to pay out of pocket (maybe grants, discounts, scholarships to help).  I don’t want student loans again.  Took over 20 years to pay off my BA degree.  

Since I start the free term with Walden in May, that will probably give me a good idea how well I will do and how fast I can get work done.  Then I will at least know if competency based is a good fit.  Hopefully I can get beyond the zero credit competencies quickly.

I also just stumbled upon Grantham.  It could be a good option if competency based doesn’t work.  My husband is a veteran and a federal police Lieutenant, so it looks like that would qualify me as a spouse under their Heroes discount.  $250 per credit would be under that $10,000 threshold.  so I think I am sticking that in my back pocket depending on how the Walden thing goes.

I do have an interest in Human Resources though.  And most of these seem to only have a good undergrad option for that.

[rockyskay]

When I looked at their site last week it wasn't listed anymore.

[Vle045]

When I looked at their site last week it wasn't listed anymore.

Which site? What are you looking for?

[eLearner]

When I looked at their site last week it wasn't listed anymore.

Which site? What are you looking for?

Nothing. Rocky was a bad dog and a spammer that had to be put down before he caused any more trouble.

[Vle045]

When I looked at their site last week it wasn't listed anymore.

Which site? What are you looking for?

Nothing. Rocky was a bad dog and a spammer that had to be put down before he caused any more trouble.

Uh-oh.   I thought maybe they were looking for the Walden deal.  (I is still available)