Part 2 (1/2)

There are so many factors involved in addressing the ”Will they pay for it?” question, including the size of the company, your role within the organization, and the amount of time you've been working there.

Will They Work with You?”Because our jobs are so demanding, most managers are looking for full-time employees, not part-time employees. However, there are some exceptions. If an individual who has worked full-time is requesting a part-time schedule, the firm usually works with them to try and accommodate their schedule if they have a good track record. All regular full-time employees at my company are eligible for a tuition reimburs.e.m.e.nt program of $1,000 per year for tuition and books.”- Manager of employment at a multinational firm in Seattle, WAHow big is your company?

If you are employed at a small company that does not have a tuition reimburs.e.m.e.nt policy, size can work to your benefit. Perhaps they can be more flexible with their rules, make an exception in your case. Or, they may be willing to give you an additional ”bonus” to a.s.sist in the payment of your expenses. Remember that any nonreimbursed work-related expenses can be claimed on your income taxes. Ask your tax accountant for more information.

Where do you fit in within the company?

Does your job require a great deal of interaction and group projects, or are you a ”solo” worker? If you have constant contact with others, ask around and see if anyone has obtained a degree on a part-time basis. How did they go about asking at work? Depending on your work environment, you may want to discuss these matters outside the office (at lunch or over a drink, perhaps). Your colleague may be more comfortable and receptive to helping you and giving you insight if you're at an offsite location.

How long have you been employed?

If you are a recent hire, it may be premature to discuss whether or not the company would financially support your M.B.A. pursuit. Even if this issue was discussed in your interview, don't be surprised if your boss is taken aback if you suggest that you are ready to start your application process when the first paycheck hasn't cleared yet!

No one is indispensable, but . . .

Maybe you are lucky enough to be in a bargaining position at work. If this is the case, even if your firm does not offer tuition reimburs.e.m.e.nt, they may be willing to make an exception-just this once.

Once you have evaluated your employment situation, consider doing the following: * Read your policy and procedure manual or human resources booklet that describes your benefits. Is their mention of a tuition reimburs.e.m.e.nt program? Are you eligible?* Informally talk to colleagues and casually broach the subject.* Talk to friends and family who are currently employed in similar industries. What is their company's policy?* Prepare a formal letter of request to your boss, with a copy for human resources. In this letter, explain why you wish to obtain an M.B.A. degree, detail the program(s) you are interested in pursuing, and identify the timeline for admission and completion of the degree.* If you have a close relations.h.i.+p with your boss, go to him or her first. Show that you have done your research, and explain your timeframe and game plan. Remember, it is much easier to shoot down a proposal when it is not well thought out. Ask for his or her advice regarding the next step. Have your written request on hand should it be requested.* If you do not feel comfortable approaching your boss, ask for a confidential appointment with your personnel director. A word of caution: If your company does not offer a tuition reimburs.e.m.e.nt plan, do not expect any flexibility on behalf of the human resources team. They are required to enforce the rules of the company. If you are requesting an exception to be made on your behalf, go directly to the people empowered to change the rule or exempt you from the policy.

Whew! Your family, friends, colleagues, and boss are behind you as you embark on your pursuit of the M.B.A. degree. Now you must start your search for the perfect fit. The next section will help you choose the right school and program for you and help guide you through the brochures and literature you will need to filter through. If you do your research properly, the desirable program is out there for you. The lesson to be learned is that there are as many programs as there are schools.

* Remember that most schools will permit you to waive a course if you have taken it within the last 5 years and have received a ”B” or better. This is not a universal rule, but a general guideline. Check with your school.

PART TWO.

Selecting the Right School and Program

CHAPTER 5.

Evaluating Business Schools.

Now that you are quite determined to take the plunge into business school, it's time to start thinking about the most effective ways of finding the right school and program for you.

HOW TO FIND OUT ABOUT SCHOOLS.

Since you are applying to a part-time M.B.A. program, your selection of schools to attend will be limited by your location and current job restrictions. But how is the best way to start your research?

Friends, Family, or Work It's possible that a family member or friend has already been through the process. If this is the case, pick his or her brain; ask what helped him or her determine which school to attend. Keep an open mind, and remember that what works for others-even your sibling or best friend-doesn't necessarily work for you.

As far as work is concerned, unless you are setting a precedent, someone must have led the way before you. Perhaps your employers have a listing of schools for which they authorize tuition reimburs.e.m.e.nt. Check your human resources manual or ask to speak confidentially with someone in the personnel office. If you are the first in your office to break this new ground, congratulations-you've achieved quite a bit already! Be sure to check out the next two points, as your B-school investigation will most likely be based on reputation and/or pure research.

Reputation/Word of Mouth Depending on where you live, you may have only a few options. Unless you reside in a vacuum, you are most likely aware of the universities in your city or town. Which ones are perceived as the best?

Research In the back of this book, you'll find a geographical listing of all schools offering Part-Time M.B.A., Executive M.B.A., and Distance Learning programs. This is a great place to kick off your B-school search. Also, you can do a little browsing on the Internet. There are several sites out there (for example, ) that list neighboring schools with M.B.A. programs. Request brochures and read through them carefully-but don't judge a book by its cover. The school with the nicest brochure and the snazziest website is not always the best selection for you!

Internet InfoCheck out , a global M.B.A. Program Information Site where you can get the email address to correspond with schools and obtain feedback on 2,500 M.B.A. programs from current students and graduates.

HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT SCHOOL.

As a part-time B-school candidate, who, more likely than not, will continue to work on a full-time basis, you will be limited in your options. When selecting which schools to apply to, your decision will probably be based on several factors, including inst.i.tutional and professional accreditation, location, programs offered, ranking, faculty, and facilities offered.

Accreditation An important determination in selecting a program and school is whether or not the inst.i.tution is accredited. Currently, there are so many different agencies that accredit colleges and universities-12 in all!-that the pertinent question to ask is whether the Council on Postsecondary Education (COPA), the authorized ent.i.ty that recognizes the accreditation agencies, accredits them. Though the nature of their organization remains the same, COPA has since been dissolved in lieu of the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation (CORPA), which, in turn, has been replaced by a new agency called the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

What MattersGreg Gomez, Director of Admissions at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, identifies the most important criteria to consider when selecting a school:* Travel and location* Schedule of cla.s.ses* Transferability of undergraduate courses* Company tuition reimburs.e.m.e.nt* Career services and job placement* Evening or weekend options* Size of cla.s.s and teaching methodologies* Accessibility of the faculty* Admissions requirements* Accreditation of program COPA had originally approved six regional accreditation agencies: the New England a.s.sociation of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), the Middle States a.s.sociation of Schools and Colleges (MSASC), the Northwest a.s.sociation of Schools and Colleges (NASC), the North Central a.s.sociation of Schools and Colleges (NCASC), the Southern a.s.sociation of Schools and Colleges (SASC), and the Western a.s.sociation of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

Although the six regional agencies are separate and distinct, they retain essentially the same standards. A prospective student should understand that the regional accreditation bodies sanction the whole inst.i.tution and not just some individual parts of the university. What this means is, the university as a whole whole is accredited, and not the M.B.A. program specifically. is accredited, and not the M.B.A. program specifically.

The Professional World Chimes In The Professional World Chimes In In addition to this regional accreditation bestowed upon an entire inst.i.tution, professional accreditations exist that look solely at the quality within a particular discipline. There are two organizations in the United States that accredit business schools. One is the American a.s.sembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). This not-for-profit members.h.i.+p company, established in 1916 and located in St. Louis, is the organization originally sanctioned by COPA to accredit bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs in business administration and management. As of summer 2002, there are more than 400 accredited programs worldwide. The AACSB members.h.i.+p consists of over 660 U.S. educational inst.i.tutions, over 140 international educational inst.i.tutions, and approximately 50 business, government, and nonprofit organizations. AACSB has bestowed accreditation to only a small percentage of those members seeking inclusion. Standards for AACSB professional accreditation include faculty quality, student quality, curriculum, and program resources, including support staff, library holdings, and computer facilities. For more information regarding AACSB accreditation, refer to their website at mute. Do you want a school close to your office or close to your home? If you will be commuting by car, what will traffic be like during rush hour? Is parking available? Even if you will be taking advantage of public transportation, you must take into account rush-hour congestion.

If you're like everyone else, chances are, nine times out of ten you will leave yourself too little time to get to cla.s.s on time. Of course, you won't plan for this to happen, but sometimes meetings can't be avoided and the telephone doesn't know to stop ringing at 5 P.M. You want to arrive at school in a calm and composed frame of mind so that you are able to concentrate on the subject at hand (instead of sweating and stressing over commuting issues). This may sound minor to you right now, but remember, on average you will be commuting to school two or three times per week.

Don't Feel Like Commuting after Work?

Many schools offer students an opportunity to earn their M.B.A. on the weekend. The weekend M.B.A. is particularly appropriate for working professionals who must travel during the week, or who live and work in locations that make it difficult to reach campus during weekday evening hours. Universities with B-schools that offer Weekend M.B.A's include:* Bowling Green State University* Duke University* Florida Atlantic University* Iowa State University* Michigan State University* Seattle University* University of California-Berkeley* University of Chicago* University of Miami* University of South Florida Contact the school for more program information, and be sure to check around for more weekend degree opportunities.

Available Programs Since you have opted to stay employed, you must contend with finding a program to fit with your schedule: * Traditional Part-Time M.B.A. programs* Executive M.B.A. programs (if your company will sponsor you)* Distance Learning or online M.B.A. programs Although more and more programs are being developed that emphasize flexibility, make sure that the schools you are contemplating are very invested in their part-time programs. Consider the following questions: Can full-time students register for evening courses? Will you be competing with these full-time students for a seat in an evening or weekend cla.s.s? How many sections of the cla.s.s are offered (i.e., is the same cla.s.s offered on different nights)?

Are the Cla.s.ses Limited in Size?You want to make sure that you are not ”shut out”-especially if the cla.s.s you want is a prerequisite for another one you have planned to register for in the following semester.

Ranking/Reputation Which schools will make the final cut? Rankings are a rough guide to the reputation and quality of the schools and their programs. It is not an exact science, though. When you read ”The 10 Best B-Schools in the Northeast,” you probably can't help but wonder what the operational definition of ”best” is. Best social life? Best placement statistics? Best library (most volumes)? Best applicants (highest GMAT scores)? Best food on campus? Read the fine print when you are perusing some of these surveys and be advised that there is no single accepted ranking system founded on the quality of business schools. Sifting through the recent rankings in U.S. News and World Report, Business Week, U.S. News and World Report, Business Week, and others, it's hard to ignore that the same schools do indeed keep popping up, so look for a consensus. and others, it's hard to ignore that the same schools do indeed keep popping up, so look for a consensus.

You are not alone in reading these articles-your employers (or future employers) look at these statistics as well. Rankings and reputation are appropriate guidelines if your employer is considering these opinions when recommending you for a tuition reimburs.e.m.e.nt program. So if the prestige, reputation, and marketing of the schools are important to you and your employer, then by all means, take these rankings seriously.

Who Does the Ranking?In U.S. newsstands you will find rankings in the following publications:* Business Week Business Week (includes E.M.B.A. ranking) (includes E.M.B.A. ranking) * * U.S. News and World Report U.S. News and World Report (including Part-Time M.B.A. ranking) (including Part-Time M.B.A. ranking) * * Which M.B.A.? Which M.B.A.? (includes Part-Time M.B.A. and E.M.B.A. ranking, as well as some international rankings) (includes Part-Time M.B.A. and E.M.B.A. ranking, as well as some international rankings) * * The Insiders Guide to the Top 10 M.B.A.'s The Insiders Guide to the Top 10 M.B.A.'s* The M.B.A. Advantage The M.B.A. Advantage Other rankings: Other rankings:* a.s.sociation of M.B.A.'s (a British a.s.sociation founded in 1967)* Capital Another important statistic to factor in is the school's placement record, especially if you are considering a career change once you have obtained your degree. Most schools will provide you with a listing of employers who recruit on campus.

Value of Your Degree The return on investment of your M.B.A. education should be taken into account when selecting a school and program. Most schools will identify the average starting salary ranges for their graduates-look on their website or brochure. With this information, you can figure out how many years it will take to you recoup your investment.

Numbers Can Be DeceivingHere's your first accounting lesson: Understand how to read a number. For example, ”ten” can be a very small number or a very large amount. Ten cents can be immaterial when you are rounding to the nearest dollar, and ten cents can keep you at your desk for hours on end when your balance sheet is out of balance. The lesson is this: Be very wary in how you interpret the numbers you are reading.

Quality of the Faculty The quality of a school's faculty is important and is reflected in each program's reputation. Nonetheless, there are several important questions to ask. Since faculty reputation is typically based on research output, how adept are the faculty members at translating research and theory to usable information? Indeed, how much emphasis is given to teaching? Is teaching an activity in which all the faculty members engage, or is it something left to those who no longer are succeeding researchers? What proportion of the cla.s.ses is taught by full-time faculty members, and what proportion is a.s.signed to adjunct part-time instructors who may not have equivalent credentials? Will you get to take cla.s.ses with the school's marquis professors? With a proliferation of executive education programs, teachers at many well-known schools are sometimes a.s.signed to teach executive education students instead of the M.B.A.'s. If one of your prime motivations in attending a certain program is to take cla.s.ses from specific professors, make sure you'll have that opportunity.

School Facilities If you decide to attend a brick and mortar school, school facilities will be a big concern. Apart from cla.s.sroom time and study-group sessions, you probably will not spend too much time on campus. Despite this, you should consider what additional facilities are available to the part-time students.

Specific questions you should ask include: * What are the library resources and hours of operation?* When is the bookstore open?* Is there a computer lab available for part-time students, and what are its hours of operations?* Is there an area available for you to meet with your group or study in silence? Again, check on the hours of operation.* Do part-time students have access to the dean's and registrar's office? Is financial aid available to part-time students? If school offices close at 5:00, what other access to information does the student have (such as call-in registration, email, etc.)?Try Out a CourseSome schools may allow you to take a course as a nondegree student before applying to the degree program. If the program requires certain prerequisites that you do not have, consider taking them at the school at which you are planning to study for the M.B.A. This will give you the opportunity to personally experience conditions at the school before committing yourself to it.

Part-time students are combining school with the often-hectic demand of work and family, and as a result, they need access to information as effectively as possible. Some schools will handle routine administrative business electronically; for example, allowing students to register and pay for cla.s.ses over the telephone.

There once was a time when all students needed to register for cla.s.ses in person or by mail via ”registration cards”-drop them in a slot and pray. Fortunately, these days are long gone.