I just finished my undergraduate degree and considering going to CSU for my MBA. I have heard a lot of good things about the university on onlinereviewdegrees.com. However, I wanted to get some input from those in the Guard who have attended Colmbia Southern University. The reason I am looking into the school is because the MBA would be free for me. Thank you for all your help.
It doesn't appear that Columbia Southern University is regionally accredited, which would be a deal breaker for me.
While I can't speak for Excelsior's online MBA program, I did have a great experience completing my bachelor degree there and it is regionally accredited.
Thanks for the information. I woulld agree with you on Excelsior College because that is where I graduated from myself. I will look into their MBA program.
FedRich is correct, Columbia Southern is not regionally accredited; they are nationally accredited. That being said, what are you needing the degree for? Does the school your MBA is from going to get you the job you are applying for or you need the degree more? Columbia Southern is still a good school and I would rank them ahead of some of the degree mill schools that are regionally accredited. I would call Carl Hoffmann, who is a retired Coast Guard Chief, at the school and then weigh your options. If your interested in his contact info, shoot me an email; I'm in global.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: FSCNOLA,
Thank you for the information and I meet Carl Hoffman at a recent Education Fair. This meeting is what prompt me to look into CSU. Currently, I am an FS1 with 13 years in. Therefore, I have 7 or more years before retirement. My goal is to make myself more marketable to the outside world when I retire. In addition, TA covers the cost of tutition. However, CSU gives active duty a book grant! Therefore, who in the right mind would give up a free MBA! I know that CSU does have agreements with a couple of regionally accredited colleges.
Thank you for the information and I meet Carl Hoffman at a recent Education Fair. This meeting is what prompt me to look into CSU. Currently, I am an FS1 with 13 years in. Therefore, I have 7 or more years before retirement. My goal is to make myself more marketable to the outside world when I retire. In addition, TA covers the cost of tutition. However, CSU gives active duty a book grant! Therefore, who in the right mind would give up a free MBA! I know that CSU does have agreements with a couple of regionally accredited colleges. -----------------------
I wouldn't do an MBA that's not at least regionally accredited (RA). For MBAs, you may even want to look for programs accredited by the AACSB or ACBSP. AACSB is considered the gold standard, but most of those programs will require the GMAT for admission. Some will waive it depending on your GPA. I guess it all depends on what you want to do with your MBA, but I would consider RA the minimum. There are many programs out there that are RA and online. Some that come to mind are Liberty, Touro University International, NorthCentral, North Alabama, and AMU. Check out the DANTES website (External Degree Catalog): Dantes There are many online MBA programs not in that catalog, but it's a good start. Some of the tuition info is wrong. For instance, Northcentral says it's $475 per hour, but if you go to their site, military tuition is right around the Tuition Assistance cap. Liberty and Touro tuition was $250 last time I checked. I think AMU is $275. North Alabama's program actually is connected to Columbia Southern, but the degree comes from UNA and is both RA and ACBSP. Tuition is around $320 or so per hour. Also check out the forums at DegreeInfo.com http://forums.degreeinfo.com/
