A facile admission process
Getting admitted into an online MBA program is no herculean task. The basic eligibilty criterion requires an applicant to hold an undergraduate degree. That's it! Unlike the admission process for a traditional MBA, there is almost zero emphasis on work experience, gender or academic diversity, or marks of higher secondary and graduation. Furthermore, the process is devoid of any WAT (Writing Ability Test), GD (Group Discussion) or PI (Personal Interview). Some providers do require an applicant to take a test, but the difficulty levels are astonishingly low.
To put this point in cons is a matter of perspective. The stringent selection criteria for a traditional MBA ensures that you study with peers that possess at least the same levels of aptitude and smartness as you, if not better. This benefit is absolutely missing in an online MBA, as can easily be inferred.
Lack of exposure
Ask any MBA student about what has been the best and most educative part of his/her 2 years, and you will get the internship as a prompt reply. Industry exposure is one of the most vital experiences a business student must go through, for bookish knowledge alone has never been enough. An online MBA entails no such opportunity. Working professionals may find a chance or two to put to use their theoretical knowledge, but non-working students will surely find their money wasted.
Traditional MBA students are also involved in various live projects and port visits. Not only do these add to their practical knowledge, but many times these open the students to a plethora of career options. Unfortunately, students of online MBA are not able to grab such windows of opportunity.
The students of traditional MBA also participate in various challenges and case studies competitions, conducted across all prominent b-schools. This helps them assess their potential against a larger pool of candidates, and brings them experience and wisdom unable to be found anywhere else. Online MBA students lose on this front as well.
No opportunity to build a network
An online MBA student will surely miss out on the chance to build a network with not just like-minded people, but peers with varied but amazing thought processes and ideologies. The alumni network of a college comes in really handy when one graduates and is in the need of a job, or is looking for career advancement. Apart from the prospect of career growth, students of online MBA may also lose access to the vast pool of knowledge and experience one can have with a strong network.
Recognition from recruiters? Zilch, zip, nada!
Forget about placements and job offers if you're going for an online MBA. A sane recruiter will always prefer a student of the traditional MBA program than that of an online one. All the aforementioned arguments are more than enough to understand why a recruiter might do so. Even if a student is lucky enough to get a job offer from somewhere, the compensation offered is bound to be a major put-off.
Another thing cardinal enough to be mentioned here is that an online MBA will not provide you the opportunity to change your line of career. A traditional MBA helps engineers, doctors and even teachers to foray into the realms of business, management and entrepreneurship. However, such is not the case with an online MBA.
Lack of discipline
Traditional MBA programs are famous for beating students into shape, turning even the laziest ones into the future businessmen and businesswomen of the country. Students form a myriad of good habits, of which discipline and punctuality are prime. Online MBA students, on the other hand, can study at their own whim. A student would have to have a great deal of will and self-determination to be able to form habits like his or her counterparts, something which I feel is extremely onerous.
Pros
It is not that an online MBA is the worst option in the world for everyone. Allow me to justify this statement with some pros, and by the end of the article, you will probably be an even better judge than me.
Inexpensive
The fee of a regular MBA program is exorbitant. No premier b-school in India would charge you less than ₹18 lakhs for the full-time MBA program. Online MBA programs, on the other hand, cost you invariably less when compared with the former. So, a distance MBA might be an appropriate option for aspirants who are looking to build concepts and gain theoretical knowledge, with having to spend a fortune.
Flexibility
Students of the online MBA program possess absolute time flexibility. You can study wherever you want, and whenever you want, be it early in the morning or in the middle of the night. Exams are not stringent at all, and those too can be taken at your own convenience. You can learn at your own pace, revise the concepts as many times as you want, and extend the timeline of the course in some cases, if you are confronted with any issues or obstacles.
No opportunity costs
The opportunity costs that one has to face while doing a regular MBA are probably the only factor that might fillip an aspirant towards an online MBA program. Opportunity costs include the salary you could have earned in the two years you spent on your MBA, the promotion(s) you could have achieved, the time you could have saved, and so on.
For working professionals, online MBA opens a sea of opportunities of earning while learning. Moreover, some cases have been spotted where just the tag of an MBA is enough for an individual to get a promotion, or change the line of work. Online MBA, again, may prove to be a good option in such situations. But most of this happens within the company which the person serves in. And hence, the individual must undergo grave contemplation before taking any decision.
With this, I wish to consider the online MBA as a good option only for the working professionals, who wish to earn while they go on with the studies. Freshers and people without any experience must not settle for an online MBA program. There are much better options available to individuals of such sort. Finally, you have to be smart enough to be the judge of your needs, requirements, conditions and abilities, and then choose what mode of education will serve you the best.
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