The process of deciding upon your master’s degree program is a journey in itself. After all,  It decides the course of your career. After taking this journey, if you have decided to pursue an MBA degree, then you have another arduous journey ahead of yours. 

Gone are the days when MBA meant just one general program. With time MBA has become a broad category under which there are several subparts. Before enrolling in a program students have to decide on the medium of the course, time period, type, and last but not the least, the specialization.  Out of all these, the trickiest is choosing the medium of the course. 

Under the subcategory of the medium, there are only two options to choose from. It’s either the traditional MBA programs conducted in a physical classroom or the online MBA program. 

Online MBA programs were first introduced in the late 1980s. Yes, you read that right. It has been around for 3 decades now. But even after all this time, most students still have doubts. This doubt is mainly about how credible these online MBA programs are. Let’s divulge into the nooks and crannies of the online MBA programs to clear these doubts. 

Understanding the concept of online MBA programs

Online programs are nowadays are no different than on-campus programs. The only difference is that instead of going to the campus, students can acquire their degree from the comfort of tier homes.  Some programs also follow a blended model wherein students have to spend a part of their course duration on the campus. The delivery of the program differs according to universities and programs. when it comes to classes, some universities conduct real-time online classes while others give students access to recorded sessions. 

Since online programs have students enrolled from all over the world, the courses are kept flexible. Students get the luxury of choosing their class, even exam schedules in some cases. This gives students enough time to pursue a job other courses side by side

Are online programs any different than regular programs?

It is true that even until recently, online programs were not given the same stature as on-campus programs. online programs were seen as an easy way out for students failing to get into full-time programs. Things started to take a turn when a lot of working professionals started to look for courses that would allow them to study while keeping their jobs.

Universities now offer the same curriculum, faculty, and facilities to all their students. And, gone are the days when students opting for online programs were considered of less caliber.  Just because you are taking the course online doesn’t mean that your experience should be any less than others. 

Unfortunately, few universities are upholding the tradition of differentiating between students on the basis of their course medium. It is best to stay away from such universities. Their courses may appear very luring because of their price tags. But these programs are not worth even a penny. 

Another important thing to check while looking for online MBA programs is accreditations.

What are accreditations?

To describe in simple terms, accreditations are quality assurance stamps. Certain private bodies review the quality of the programs delivered by universities and mark them accordingly. It has its own set of standards which a university needs to pass to get its approval. From student services, faculty, facilities provided to the students, curriculum taught to peer reviews, everything goes under scrutiny. 

Why are accreditations important?

Accreditations are extremely important when it comes to online MBA programs. The accreditations will speak of the quality of training you have received from the course. Recruiters pay special attention to accreditations while assessing online program students. 

Therefore do not forget to check the accreditations while checking different online programs. In some places, universities have different accreditations for different courses.  In such a situation, first, you should check the standards the said accreditation body has. This will help you to understand the quality of education delivered at the universities having the said body’s accreditations.

It is best to go for programs that have several accreditations. Several quality checks are better than one. 

For example, you can go for the online programs offered by Lincoln University of Business and Management, UAE. the online MBA courses offered here in partnership with York St John University, UK, and Geneva Business School, Switzerland all have multiple accreditations. These extremely flexible and affordable high-quality courses help you live your MBA dream in the best possible way. 

In conclusion, we can say that online MBA programs are as credible as on-campus programs. You just need to choose the right program and more importantly, the right university.