Distance Learning or Regular MBA - Which One Would You Choose?

Pursuing a Masters in Business Administration is a resounding success story. Yes, MBA is expected to open all important career and pay gates for you. One would be called a well qualified and smart individual all their life, if the decision to pursue an MBA gets them a high figure paycheck.

Every year, thousands of working and non working professionals enter the gates of some or the other B schools worldwide for personal and career betterment. Yes, an MBA can as much be a choice you make for personal growth and betterment as it will be a career booster. In India, there are millions of universities offering regular and distance learning MBA programmes. So what will influence a professional’s choice for opting from among a regular MBA programme or a distance learning MBA programme?

Purists may argue that there is no substitute for a regular degree as regular MBA colleges from all over the world are known for their rigorous entry procedures. These entry procedures ensure that only the best of the lot enter a prestigious B-school, and then the best of the most intelligent minds are groomed further to become seasoned management professionals. Besides preparing oneself for a tough entrance exam battle, it takes years to build a good professional profile that will impress B-school admission panels to even consider you for a seat in an MBA batch. All things said and done, there may be some management aspirants who would not be willing to take an expensive sabbatical from work to pursue learning. For such aspirants, a distance learning option would be a more viable one, as it will give them the flexibility to earn and learn.

There are institutes that let you in for MBA with less rigid procedures. Here the distance learning MBA may not guarantee a very fat paycheck, as soon as you enroll for the course, but would ensure continued learning, personal betterment and would sound a less expensive and more practical way of understanding management essentials.

Distance learning MBA may sound lucrative on the pretext of getting flexibility of study hours, submission of assignments and sitting for semester exams. However, it everybody may not be able to be successful in juggling many hats like family, job and education together. Distance learning education is successful only if one is able to exercise high amount of self discipline.

Some factors to keep in mind while selecting a distance learning B-school

1. How well does the B-school offer to keep you engaged during the MBA programme?
2. What is the efficiency with which technology can be implemented in the programme?
3. What is the expected return on investment for the programme?
4. What will be the schedule of tutorials, assignments and exams under the programme?
5. Is the degree recognized by government accreditation boards?
6. How efficient is the programme support staff ?

Pursuing a regular or an online degree is as much a matter attitude as it is of convenience. One can make a choice between regular and distance learning MBA  programme, based on salary and career expectations one has from the programmes as well as the time and cost involved.