Anyone done the MBA from TESC?

[Yanji]

Although I agree that there are better graduate options out there, especially for MBAs, I don't think TESC is always a bad choice. While they are not business accredited yet, they are an official ACBSP candidate, and ACBSP accreditation usually goes back retroactively a few years. Seeing that TESC is an overall well-managed institution, I see no reason for them being denied accreditation. I may be biased as an alumnus, but I'm also of the belief that TESC is a quality institution, despite its anonymity. I think their biggest strength lies in the fact that non-traditional education is all they do, and while the call center model that they use for most services is not ideal, they do have the resources and procedures required to provide adequate services to their students across the country. This cannot be said for the tiny online MBA programs that many state schools offer which usually have only one point of contact for all student needs/concerns.

I've never put too much into accreditation, (historically, neither have many of the top business schools, but one could argue that they may not need to) because unlike regional accreditation, business accreditation only really matters in accounting or if your employer requires it for tuition reimbursement. In the case of accounting, I would accept nothing less than AACSB, but it's not too important otherwise. Looking through the list of ACBSP-accredited schools is just a dreary list of directional schools, "where is that?" schools and proprietaries. I think ACBSP is worth something, (unlike IACBE) but it's not a must-have for me.

With that being said, while Business Analytics isn't a common MBA major - especially for online programs - there's almost certainly better than TESC out there. For me, I'd limit my search to state schools that require the GMAT and do not waive this requirement for work experience. Requiring candidates to meet minimum standards is usually a better indicator of quality than any accreditation.