Patten MBA Review

[study0019]

Based on the lack of information on the MBA from Patten I decided to give it a shot and will keep my progress here. 

Factors to Patten as my choice:
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Fast start date -Only had to wait a week to start (WGU would have been 45 days in my case)
Thought it was one project and one exam per course (more later)
Low cost of 2080/4 months
RA

Against
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Little to no reputation (or even bad)
no FA
not AACSB accredited

Again, I was torn between Patten, WGU and Amberton. I chose Patten for above positive factors, although with some trepidation. But for the good of the forum I thought I would try it. 

You can access courses before you start and read the material, assignments, and flash cards. You CAN NOT access projects, pre finals, or post finals prior to being officially enrolled in each course. 

I took the week before my start date to read the information and study the lessons. I have have worked for 25 years and have quite a bit of business background so the first course was easy and I aced the initial assessment without much effort. 

Once my course actually started I thought all I had to do was to finish the project and take the final to move on but...... NO. You HAVE to complete Exercises in units 2,4, and 6 prior to having access to the final. These consist of discussion board type posts that you self grade and a 3 page paper for each unit (3 papers total for each course). I don't mind writing but based on the forum that is not what I was expecting and it will delay progress (factoring in grading time) to a point that I can't see anyone finishing in 4 months. You would be looking at a total of (36) 3 page papers, 17 projects and 9 final exams. No way this would be doable for most people in 4 months. 

I don't know if I will continue this or withdraw and wait on WGU. If I stay I will update progress here.

[dfrecore]

Thanks for the update. Are you certain that this will be the case for every course, or could this one be an anomaly?

[study0019]

Thanks for the update.  Are you certain that this will be the case for every course, or could this one be an anomaly?

Not 100% sure as I don't have access to all of them but according to the syllabus for each class this seems to be the case. The syllabus details 2 assignments for each course. Also, the intro course they make you take states assignments in units 2,4 and 6 of every class. 

I read this information once I signed up but still was not sure as everything on the forum says they are optional and you can challenge the final. 

I reached out to my advisory person and she stated as much.

[burbuja0512]

Thanks for posting all the info.

Since you have a lot of business experience, I would assume that you're getting the MBA to enhance your career, not necessarily start from scratch in a new industry. In that case, I wouldn't worry too much. However an MBA is a very long time. In my case, I spent more time in the MBA program than I ever did on my undergrad. It's a long time if you're not totally comfortable. And you should be proud when you're done and feel happy singing the praises of your MBA from the rooftops.

Ok, maybe that's a bit much, but if you want the MBA to help your career in any way, you should feel good about it. You should also have an idea of what makes Patten special. I have found that no one really cares about my undergrad, but once you put a graduate degree on a resume, recruiters and future employers really do ask. So, you need to feel great talking about it, and it sounds like you don't.

I would recommend either really "selling yourself" on the degree so you can be enthusiastic for future employers, or consider a different option that you are excited about. Either way is fine, but do be excited about your school or program. Otherwise, you'll have a hard time getting employers excited.

[jsd]

The mandatory additional course work must be new. We've seen reveiws in the past for the MBA where only the project and final exam were mandatory, with additional coursework optionally available to try to boost your grade. That was definitely how my undergraduate courses were at Patten, and how people before have said the MBA was.

[study0019]

Ok. I ended up withdrawing from Patten after 2 days and was on the hook for $100.00. I don't know exactly where the $100 comes from but must have been in the contract somewhere. 

So, for my limited experience, I cannot recommend it at this time and I think overall WGU is a better option for most, considering the new requirements for Patten. 

WGU is 3895 for 6 months and it has been proven you can complete in that time frame or less. If you can't do Patten in 4 months (highly unlikely with new requirements) then it will be 4160. Not a huge difference in cost and you probably can also complete Patten in 6 months. 

I feel that you are paying the same and spending the same amount of time then you should go with the one that has a little more pedigree (neither is AACSB accredited) and better name recognition (admittedly neither is Harvard). Of course WGU also has financial aid and more history with the MBA program. 

Personal preference will always win out but this is based on my experience.

[jsd]

you should go with the one that has a little more pedigree (neither is AACSB accredited) and better name recognition (admittedly neither is Harvard). Of course WGU also has financial aid and more history with the MBA program. 

Personal preference will always win out but this is based on my experience.

WGU is a candidate for ACBSP programmatic accreditation, at least. Which is something?

 Of course WGU also has financial aid 

Oh yeah, that reminds me of another bummer about Patten -- You don't get the tax write off. Because they don't participate in Title IX (hence no financial aid), they can't provide you with a 1098-T and your tuition paid there is not eligible for write-offs.

[RANSOMSOUL]

Ok. I ended up withdrawing from Patten after 2 days and was on the hook for $100.00. I don't know exactly where the $100 comes from but must have been in the contract somewhere. 

So, for my limited experience, I cannot recommend it at this time and I think overall WGU is a better option for most, considering the new requirements for Patten. 

I had to chuckle because after reading your initial post, I did not have a good feeling on Patten being your MBA journey once the dust settled. Patten just feels way off in the beginning but I still feel if you can get through 4-5 courses they may catch a Patten rhythm that will assist them down the stretch. Still keeping hope alive that someone will eventually post a super positive completion share about Patten.

[jsd]

I did 9 Patten courses (albeit undergrad) and never hit a rhythm. Their courses and their assessments just have nothing in common. They have potential, but need a complete overhaul. It doesn't seem like anyone is interested in improving things over there, though.

[RANSOMSOUL]

If we can just get a superhero to muscle through 9 graduate courses; at 75% completion, rhythm or not, they would figure how to get over the finish line!!