The Ease of Getting an MBA

Options to Make Your Skills Invaluable
 
During a recession, as always, having formal educational experiences has benefits.  When hiring managers are making downsizing decisions they factor in how valuable your experience and education is to the organization and what you bring as an individual to the table.  Making sure that you are more than qualified for your position can help when times get tough.
 
One way to make yourself invaluable and irreplaceable is to update your credentials while working.  Lansbridge University and Royal Roads University are two educational institutions that offer Masters of Business Administration programs that are designed for people that are currently working and have careers.  "Lansbridge University's typical candidate is mid-to-late twenties, to later forties, although we've had students through the program that are older than that as well," says Holly Christie, marketing manager at Lansbridge University.  "There's no age limit on continuing education."
 
Stephanie Slater, director of community relations at Royal Roads University, says that advancing your skill set goes hand in hand with advancing your career.  "At Royal Roads University, our students particularly enjoy being able to apply their learning in the workplace immediately, linking theory with the realities of business practice.  Most find their career really notches up a level, with promotions, pay increases or new job offers," she says.  The Royal Roads program is two years long but it is being revised to 18 months next year to bring the total credit load in line with other Canadian MBA programs.
 
Many professions require constant knowledge upgrades and training.  "Our program attracts working professionals who want to 'learn while they earn' - that is, not give up their careers or move away from their home towns while they pursue their graduate educations," says Slater.  "They see themselves as contributors to their organizations in management and/or leadership roles and they are focused on the opportunities for career advancement our applied MBA offers them."
 
Most online MBA programs offer very competitive rates.  At Lansbridge, the tuition for the MBA is @20,000.  Students are able to pay course-at-a-time and are allowed up to five years to complete either program.  Online programs have made getting your MBA easy and straight-forward from the convenience of your living room.
 
"At Lansbridge, we operate similar to a traditional bricks-and-mortar school in that, we have specific start and ends dates to our semesters . . . Lectures are held online in a virtual classroom using Voice Over IP technology and classes are held in the evenings," Christie says.
 
Similarly, Royal Roads University's MBA program is a combination of online and in-class course delivery that they call a blended model.  "This option is extremely attractive to students who are unable to stop working or re-locate to attend a traditional face-to-face program," Slater says.  "We use a cohort model, which means they are moving through the program at the same time as others in the cohort, so even while they're online, and all over the country or even the world, they are still working together as teams and have class discussions."