ISEB and UNISEB

[NotJoeBiden]

Spoke to ISEB today, and they said the link for $727 was not for UNISEB programs.

Instead, I was quoted 2490 USD for enrollment into a UNISEB program, but there's a discount, and it would be $2100 If I did  it by Nov 10, and that and it can be paid in installments  

I politely declined. I am sorry, the UNISEB MBA convalidation was listed at $1400, and with 60% off, it came to $560. I think I can let this one go for now.

Thanks for checking. Seems like they are keen to keep raising prices.

[PearsonOTHMQualifi7654]

Spoke to ISEB today, and they said the link for $727 was not for UNISEB programs.

Instead, I was quoted 2490 USD for enrollment into a UNISEB program, but there's a discount, and it would be $2100 If I did  it by Nov 10, and that and it can be paid in installments  

I politely declined. I am sorry, the UNISEB MBA convalidation was listed at $1400, and with 60% off, it came to $560. I think I can let this one go for now.

Thanks for checking. Seems like they are keen to keep raising prices.

I was offered an additional scholarship, 1700 USD to enroll. I decided not to do this. I know I really wanted 2 separate degrees when I originally signed up for the ENEB MBA + Master, but this is way too expensive. I think I can let it go and just stop fussing over it.  If in the future they ever have a promo, happy to consider. I wouldn't mind doing the ISEB Corporate Finance Master's as that's practically identical to the ENEB Master. But I am told that is $990..

[NotJoeBiden]

Ya, that is simply too much for a propio when you can get an official masters for $3k.

[cacoleman1983]

The Masstercursos/CLEA programs are evaluated by IEE as graduate certificates from an accredited institution / unaccredited program. This is because these programs are validated by CLEA in Mexico without RVOE and the programs are also Spanish titulo propio degrees. Even though these are unofficial Spanish degrees (graduate certificates) offered under unofficial Mexican programs (unaccredited programs), you still obtain graduate credit that can be transferred.

ISEB and other Spanish professional programs are propio and will be evaluated the same way as ENEB provided you have the Universidad Isabel I certification. Otherwise, they would be unaccredited graduate certificates.

[PearsonOTHMQualifi7654]

I want to begin by thanking Dr. Coleman, whose detailed posts across two forums were actually what motivated me to join this community — and even to pursue the ENEB programs in the first place. The way he documented his evaluation process so thoroughly, especially his insights about ECE and IEE, really stood out. His transparency, research, and focus on smart evaluation pathways have helped many of us understand how to approach international and non-traditional credentials with due diligence and strategy.

After a lot of reflection, I’ve decided to retire my ENEB diplomas completely. They’re no longer visible anywhere on my profiles — even in the hidden “convalidation” entries where they had been listed under ISEB/UNISEB and UniMarconi. I wanted to start with a completely clean slate and focus on programs that stand independently on their own academic merits.

Today, I officially enrolled in the ISEB Master en Finanzas de Empresas (Master in Corporate Finance), which is delivered entirely in Spanish. Anyone interested in this program should be prepared to work in Spanish or have effective translation tools, as the learning platform, assignments, and final projects are all conducted in the language.

This marks the start of a new academic phase alongside my existing studies with UNISEB and Unimarconi — forming what I call a Spain–Italy Trifecta in business and finance. Collectively, the three programs represent 180 ECTS (approximately 90 U.S. semester credits) and include a 12,000-word thesis, amounting to a coherent and comprehensive postgraduate pathway across management, leadership, and finance.

Only one module overlaps between the ISEB Master en Finanzas de Empresas and the UNISEB MBA, giving me 23 distinct modules (120 ECTS total) between the two. I've decided to call this UNISEB Titulo Propio MBA, and the ISEB Master in Finanzas de Empresas collection, as a "Dual degree – Master in Corporate Finance and Business Management". Adding the Unimarconi Master di 1º Livello (60 ECTS, MIUR-accredited, with a full thesis) completes the picture of a well-rounded postgraduate portfolio. 

Taken together, the UniMarconi, UNISEB, and ISEB programs comprise a total of 34 postgraduate-level modules (180 ECTS).
After accounting for one direct duplicate and three near-identical thematic overlaps, there remain 30 distinct modules, each addressing separate aspects of business, marketing, management, or finance

This confirms that the three programs are complementary rather than repetitive, and together represent a coherent, multidisciplinary graduate trajectory equivalent in scope to a U.S. Master’s degree in Business or a related field.

In contrast, across ENEB’s different programs — MBA, Master in HR, Marketing, Big Data, Finance, and others — roughly 70–80% of the modules are identical. The same core subjects appear repeatedly under different degree titles. As a result, even if someone completes five ENEB double master’s programs or the Global MBA bundle, they end up with only about 10–12 truly distinct modules in total. The content repetition limits the academic depth and makes “stacking” ENEB degrees largely redundant.

This next stage is primarily for self-learning and personal satisfaction, but I’ve been genuinely impressed by the delivery and structure of ISEB’s academic platform. Each module is divided into several chapters, and every chapter includes a mix of practice exercises and end-of-chapter quizzes. Students must demonstrate consistent understanding across these activities to progress — a clear step up from simpler completion models elsewhere.

The program also features stronger academic requirements overall:

• Students may choose between completing module projects, a comprehensive final project or taking a final exam (100 questions).
  
• Transfer credit is optional, not automatic; students who wish to strengthen their record may retake transferred modules to earn new grades.
  
• The final comprehensive exam, can only be attempted after at least half of the program’s duration has elapsed and half of all course content has been completed (no final projects should have been submitted and graded for those module, but course quizzes must have been done for at least half of the total module count).
  

The content is clean and well-organized — a reflection of ISEB’s ongoing effort to enhance the learning experience.

Earlier in my journey, I completed one ENEB Master and one MBA + Master while transitioning into other studies — and I’ll always credit that experience, and Dr. Coleman’s early insights for sparking my interest in ENEB. Starting ENEB helped reignite my motivation as I was returning to formal education, leading me to complete my BBA, pursue a UK BSc (Hons), and soon finalize my MBA.

The Spain–Italy Trifecta of ISEB, UNISEB, and Unimarconi is the natural continuation of that progress. I plan to keep sharing new insights, evaluation outcomes, and positive findings for anyone exploring these alternative international pathways — because there’s real value to be found when you combine transparency, effort, and lifelong learning.

P.S. as for cost of the latest enrollment, I ended up settling somewhere between the $727 from NotJoeBiden's Hotmart Link and the $990 that I was quoted yesterday 

[Kalas]

Not listing anything from ENEB or UI1 is a reasonable decision. Between the low price and ability to enroll without a bachelor's there are a LOT of ENEB degrees out there, with many of them erroneously/fraudulently claiming to be official UI1 MBAs. ENEB still offers value in many categories (gaining access to doctoral programs, a cheap grad cert equivalent for raises/promotions, etc.) but the ship has probably sailed on it having any potential as a primary qualification for a job. I would assume most medium-sized employers have been severely underwhelmed by someone with an ENEB MBA by this point. And like you said, it's a good platform to transition back into studies after being out of school for a long time.

For anyone thinking of following a similar path, do note that the UNISEB propio MBA now costs more than double what Pearson paid and no longer makes sense at ~$1700. If the final goal is official MBA but not DBA an extra ~$700 gets you the official MBA from Unimarconni via ENEB. The SMC MBA is actually cheaper than ENEB+Unimarconi for an official MBA if you haven't already paid for a degree at ENEB (but takes longer and is almost guaranteed to be a lot more work). The Cardiff Metropolitan MBA Pearson is doing would probably be a little more prestigious (UK vs. Italy or Malta) but costs a bit more, with total costs being around 3500-4500 GBP (depending on how much you pay for the Level 7 Diploma before doing the top up at Cardiff).

[PearsonOTHMQualifi7654]

Not listing anything from ENEB or UI1 is a reasonable decision. Between the low price and ability to enroll without a bachelor's there are a LOT of ENEB degrees out there, with many of them erroneously/fraudulently claiming to be official UI1 MBAs. ENEB still offers value in many categories (gaining access to doctoral programs, a cheap grad cert equivalent for raises/promotions, etc.) but the ship has probably sailed on it having any potential as a primary qualification for a job. I would assume most medium-sized employers have been severely underwhelmed by someone with an ENEB MBA by this point. And like you said, it's a good platform to transition back into studies after being out of school for a long time.

For anyone thinking of following a similar path, do note that the UNISEB propio MBA now costs more than double what Pearson paid and no longer makes sense at ~$1700. If the final goal is official MBA but not DBA an extra ~$700 gets you the official MBA from Unimarconni via ENEB. The SMC MBA is actually cheaper than ENEB+Unimarconi for an official MBA if you haven't already paid for a degree at ENEB (but takes longer and is almost guaranteed to be a lot more work). The Cardiff Metropolitan MBA Pearson is doing would probably be a little more prestigious (UK vs. Italy or Malta) but costs a bit more, with total costs being around 3500-4500 GBP (depending on how much you pay for the Level 7 Diploma before doing the top up at Cardiff).

It seems I lucked out by not being willing nor able to pay another 1700 for a second UNISEB Master's in Finance and Markets, and opting for the ISEB Finanzas di Empressas instead because, had I done the UNISEB Finance and Markets, the overlap with the UNISEB MBA would have been astounding with 8 shared modules!

Sometimes more expensive isn't better

Also I think I have a very strong hypothesis that a directly issued propio and regular certified propio are not that different; however, when not involving ENEB will mainly help in certain cases with perhaps 2 evaluators. ECE may count GPA for UNISEB due to the prominent Isabel I mentioned and signed stamp on the transcript.
I will test these out in the future and will update.  

Anyway I think that unless one is comfortable with taking content in Spanish at ISEB or UNISEB, or UNISEB comes down in cost, a lot of the benefits I am seeing aren't going to work for everyone.  I also noticed that UNISEB now has in person programs too, so a person can go study at Ui1 in person in the UNISEB program.

I think at 1700 (with 2 discounts applied to bring it to this price) it's still priced a bit too high, as Kalas pointed out, by adding another 700 USD one can get the ENEB–Unimarocni Official Master's

My real reasons for doing all of this is to upgrade and evolve from the ENEB experience. Also, if I were to combine the UNISEB MBA + ISEB Master's + Unimarconi and send the three to a decent evaluator, it would be interesting to see how they view it. There are 30 unique modules, 180 ECTS, and a thesis.  The institutions are accredited, and the 3rd award is official. If I were an evaluator, even if I was being ultra conservative, I would certainly give this an equivalency to a US Master's without issue because it is normal to give at least 15 ECTS from each of the propios (30), and the 1 Livello is 60 ECTS = 90 ECTS with a thesis included, it has all the makings of a full Master's.

[PearsonOTHMQualifi7654]

So I wouldn’t blame the lack of a bachelor’s-degree requirement itself. The bigger issue is scale and mass marketing — when something becomes that accessible, we inevitably see a wider range of outcomes. ENEB is a very affordable model that’s opened doors for a lot of people. The saturation we’re seeing now just makes both the strong and weak outcomes more visible. But honestly, you’ll find underwhelming professionals from regionally accredited universities too — school timing and personal fit matter just as much as whether a person did "college" at the traditional age, or in a different sequence.

Just because a school enrolls students who don’t have a bachelor’s degree doesn’t make it substandard — but I totally get what you mean. In the UK, even respected universities have long allowed non-standard entry into their MBA programs. Admissions are handled on a case-by-case basis, and it’s not unusual for applicants without a full first degree to be accepted if they have strong managerial experience or relevant prior learning.

It’s actually quite common in the UK to meet people who hold postgraduate qualifications such as a PGCert or PGDip even though they never completed a bachelor’s degree. 

The system allows for this flexibility because qualifications are aligned under the national RQF/Ofqual framework, where earning diplomas in:

• Level 4, 5, and 6 correspond to the undergraduate stages (equivalent to years 1–3 of a bachelor’s)
  
• Level 7 is at the master’s level
  
• Level 8 is at the doctoral level
  

UK universities recognize these levels and can grant admission accordingly, which keeps the door open for experienced professionals to progress academically without always following the traditional path.

A person with many years of professional experience would reasonably qualify for Levels 4, 5, or even 6 in the UK’s Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF). Levels 4 and 5 generally align with working professionals in the early to mid stages of their careers—Level 4 equates to the first year of a bachelor’s (HNC) and Level 5 to the second year (HND). Level 6 corresponds to a full bachelor’s, Level 7 to a master’s, and Level 8 to a doctorate.

These UK MBA programs are also structured with tiered exit awards:

• After a few modules (3 or more) → Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert)
  
• After more modules (all taught modules) → Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip)
  
• After completing the dissertation → Full MBA
  

Universities know that not everyone will finish the full MBA, so they design flexible, modular pathways that still maintain rigor and reward progress.
ENEB, for example, operates legitimately within Spain’s título propio framework through Universidad Isabel I. It’s simply a very accessible and affordable model that’s widened participation. The visibility of ENEB graduates just makes the full range of outcomes more noticeable, good and bad. 

I’ve worked alongside plenty of people with bachelor’s degrees from regionally accredited universities, and that alone didn’t make them perform any better than me. In fact, it was often the other way around — I tended to be at the top of the group and consistently outperformed expectations. No one ever knew I didn’t hold a regionally accredited bachelor’s degree; it was just something that quietly bothered me on a personal level.

[PearsonOTHMQualifi7654]

Totally enjoying the ISEB Finanzas de Empresas content

If I were a Spanish speaker with a bachelor’s degree already, I would do the ISEB Títulos Propios in a heartbeat. The content is excellent. The theoretical material PDFs are solid—around 200 pages each—and the online modules are very well presented, both in terms of content and graphics. Each module usually has 4–7 chapters or sections with an incredible amount of detail that I was not expecting, plus interactive practice questions throughout, and a 10-question mini-practice exam at the end of each chapter.

ISEB clearly has a large global Spanish-speaking audience, and honestly, I’m more impressed with the ISEB content than with UNISEB. While UNISEB also offers strong theoretical materials (some marked with Universidad Isabel I) and practice quizzes, it lacked Interactive online learning that the ISEB Master in Finanzas de Empresas program includes. Interestingly, both the UNISEB and ISEB courses are on the same UNISEB login. One thing I did notice is the grading for the assignments for UNISEB, they are not giving out a 10 just for a great effort. The projects are completely scrutinized and it is near impossible to get a 10. 
6.5 to 9.2 for a first submission was not surprising, and a revision would fetch anywhere from an 8.5 to a 9.5 at best. 

My personal theory is that there’s no real academic difference between ISEB and UNISEB. UNISEB just serves as a more upscale marketing brand, possibly with slightly more involvement from the university, and offers additional perks that create a stronger “direct from Universidad Isabel I” feel — including in-person classes at Ui1 and diplomas/transcripts that feature the Universidad Isabel I name prominently.

Also, I think this was a case of A/B testing by the Namencis Education Group, where they briefly tested the waters (around August) with the ENEB audience, introducing UNISEB as a more premium offering. They later shifted focus to Unimarconi. Considering the cost of program administration, it might be simpler and more profitable for them to refer students to Unimarconi instead.

The elevated UNISEB prices being quoted — around $2,100 — likely serve to push prospective students toward Unimarconi. Even with a discounted UNISEB price of $1,700, the $2,400 Unimarconi option makes more sense from a perceived value standpoint.

Meanwhile, ISEB at around $900 is an absolute bargain. The content and quality are totally worth it. The only real challenge is that it’s entirely in Spanish — but given the massive global Spanish-speaking population, ISEB doesn’t even need to compete in the English-language space. They already have a strong, well-defined audience. UNISEB is probably more targeted towards people in Spain.

[wow]

This sale page says the sale for an ISEB propio masters at 890 euros is over (except where it say it's not over lol), but click through and the price is actually quite a bit lower: $734 or 599 euros.

I do not believe this includes UNISEB.