Free MBA Education (no degree, but useful skills)

[KittenMittens]

https://www.mysliderule.com/learning-paths/mba/

https://www.mysliderule.com/learning-paths/mba/learn

I was having a discussion with a co-worker about top MBA programs versus average to "no name" ones, and it got me wondering if there were any MOOCs available to learn the knowledge from a quality MBA program for free. So I stumbled upon a free program that utilizes free courses from Wharton, Case Western, NYU, and other top schools. It's a program hand-selected using some of the best-reviewed resources available, and it can be used a tool to either teach yourself the core skills of an MBA or free, or supplement your learning in an actual MBA program. One of the biggest obstacles students have is being unable to have access to these same courses and instructors unless they're lucky and financially capable of attending one of these schools. Top-tier courses, for instance, from brand name institutions have a reputation of being high quality like Harvard's Introduction to Computer Science, and have more resources to develop engaging courses for their students.

Granted, no degree would be conferred (for $150,000+), but the skills and information learned provided can be useful.

[DIYcollegeMom]

Is there a way to bookmark this thread?

[KittenMittens]

Is there a way to bookmark this thread?

There's an option above the first post, a little to the right called, "Thread Tools" click that and then click "Subscribe to thread." It will then show in your user control panel under settings. But it's probably easier to just bookmark the two links.

[dposborne]

This is interesting in that it directs you to the courses at the Coursera, Udacity, etc... site following a plan instead of picking through the courses yourself and wondering if you are or aren't attaining the MBA core knowledge. I am currently enrolled in the 4 classes offered from Wharton. Although I have an MBA already I am seeking further insight into some of the subject matter that interest me the most. I am also enrolled in some Project Management courses from UC Irvine (very interesting material). I am finding the free MOOCs to be very helpful in gaining more knowledge in interesting topics that I would probably not study otherwise.

[ajs1976]

dposborne,

I'm considering the MBA from WGU. Would completing these MOOCs before starting the MBA, help me complete the program faster?

thanks

[corpsole2]

I'm taking several MOOCs via EdX and Coursera that would enhance my business knowledge. Right now I am taking a fascinating course in International Law via EdX, and it is delivered by the Universite Catholique de Levain in Belgium. Another course I'll be starting soon is on Public-Private Partnerships. Short of getting a business degree right now, I am stacking the deck in my favor with these courses.

[dposborne]

dposborne,

I'm considering the MBA from WGU. Would completing these MOOCs before starting the MBA, help me complete the program faster?

thanks

Intro to Financial Accounting and Intro to Corporate Finance definitely would help out with the Finance portion of the MBA. They have changed the MBA curriculum at WGU since I attended but the information pretty much is the same... I haven't taken the Intro to Operational Management MOOC yet, but I am pretty sure that has a lot of good information that may help out with the OM section of the MBA as well. What's really interesting is the fact that 90% of the information covered in these MOOCs provided by Wharton is stuff that was actually in my coursework at WGU, so I am pretty confident that I did get a quality education even though my MBA costs thousands less.

[ajs1976]

that's good to hear. thanks

[dposborne]

One other thing I should mention, Accounting really doesn't have a lot to do with Finance per se since it deals more with the past in that it follows the money (where it came from, what a company did with it) and it deals with following legal rules for reporting. Finance deals more with the now and future: Methods of financing the company in the future or making decisions on investments are good examples. The reason I bring this up is because the Intro to Financial Accounting MOOC from Penn will help with an MBA since it goes over Financial Statements, Balance Sheets, Income Statements and Cash Flow Statements and it delves into requisite terminology. Conversely the course also concentrates heavily on Accounting which isn't typically a core MBA competency like HR, Finance, Strategic Management, Marketing, etc are... So it may not be a MOOC you may want to take to prep for the MBA especially since it requires more than the average amount of time a week to get through the coursework. It is an interesting class, but there are other MOOCs available that concentrate more on Finance and Managerial Finance which may be better suited for what you are attempting to do.

[KittenMittens]

The best thing to always do is check out the reviews for any courses. It gives insights as to what to expect for the course.

1) https://www.coursetalk.com/

2) https://www.class-central.com/

There are a lot of reviews about these courses from Wharton for instance, 5/5 rating for financial accounting, operations management, etc.

Operations Management:

"The first offering was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unreal to explain my impressions. You need to taste to feel.

[I]It gave me good understanding how all works. I have University Diploma in metal processing and this course improved my skills much.

I recommend the course for all managers and technology engineers especially from countries with poor management."[/I]

"By far the best MOOC I have ever taken (out of 10). The instructor is an expert in process design and makes the concepts easy to follow. I would love to see other classes by him."

Financial Accounting

"It turned out to be one of the best courses I’ve taken so far on any platform, for several reasons. First, the weekly videos were just hokey enough to be entertaining in a way that sort of hid all the math we were doing. Math is not so complicated, but I never enjoyed it for sport. A memory still lingers of dropping out of my first college math course because the inaugural week had me napping by each class’ end. The idea of staring at numbers on financial sheets was NOT immediately appealing. However, the videos were filmed with a cast of virtual students, each with their own personalities and bad jokes. Their interjections helped break up the number crunching and tie concepts back to past ones. Even though their tone was a little silly, it was appropriately so. Clearly Professor Bushee had spent quite a bit of time developing each video, and it really worked.

By following a real example throughout the course, I was able to get a better connection between abstract concepts we learned and the places they appear in the real world. So useful. The last lecture of each week took a look at 3M (you know, Scotch Tape and Post-Its?) and its publicly available financial statements"


"Introduction to Financial Accounting is an excellent course that teaches accounting to any one who is totally new to the subject. Prof Brian Bushee has no doubt taken a lot of pains in preparing the high quality study materials. His teaching style is excellent and one needs to do this course to learn how good an online course can be. The course has a lot of peculiarities as compared to most other MOOCs. Tests and home works are of a very high standard that checks your conceptual knowledge. There is activeparticipation in the forums and Prof Bushee interacts a lot with the students in the forums. I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn financial accounting, even if he knows nothing about the subject."

"Best course from Wharton MBA Foundation series. I agree that the course based on American accounting system, hence not useful for the other country learners. But the introduction of Financial basics in the MOOC is simplified and useful to capture. Thanks"