A Groupon Deal For A $299 Online MBA

The Groupon deal for a cheap Online MBA from Spain

How’s this for a low-priced online MBA degree? Just above the Domino’s $5 for $10 gift card offer and mixed in with the $271.38 laser hair removal treatment is an offer for a $299 online MBA. That’s a huge price cut from what the school purports is the more typical $8,400 cost of tuition and fees.

In fact, the $299 price does not only include an MBA. It also includes a master’s degree diploma in a range of subjects that vary from a master’s in digital marketing and e-commerce and international trade. ENEB also tosses in” a specialization in coaching and NLP diploma” and a “Spanish for Business Program” certificate. The NLP acronym stands for natural language processing.

“All the contents of the academic programs are in English,” the school assures in its promotional offer on Groupon, “based on high-quality education and customized attention to each student, bringing in the newest market and managing trends. All the diplomas issued by ENEB Business School are university accredited.”

HOW LEGIT IS ENEB BUSINESS SCHOOL’S $299 MBA? NOT VERY

By any standard, that would be quite a deal. After all the most disruptive online MBA programs at the University of Illinois Gies College of Business cost $22,000, while the forthcoming online MBA offering from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business will go for $24,000. And some of the most expensive online MBAs at UNC-Chapel Hill and the University of Michigan cost in the six-figures.

How legit is ENEB’s offer among the other deals for a $166 chemical peel and botox treatment or a $55.25 colon hydrotherapy session? Not very. The degree would be granted by ENEB which calls itself a European Business School in Barcelona, Spain. While the school claims to be “highly recognized in the academic and business spheres,” it has never been ranked by either The Financial Times or The Economist. And its online MBA is not ranked by either the FT or Poets&Quants.com.

Instead, the school claims to be “ranked among the best business schools specialized in distance learning according to important rankings, such as Financial Magazine, Portal MBA, and Club-MBA.” Too bad none of those rankings are considered important or credible.

ONE REDDIT USER TRIED IT OUT ON A LARK: HERE’S WHAT HE FOUND

The school, moreover, is also not accredited by either the AACSB (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), which accredits IESE Business School, IE Business School, and ESADE in Spain. It also does not have the seal of approval from Equis nor AMBA, two other agencies that make up the so-called “Triple Crown” of accreditation and are the three most commonly acknowledged accreditation agencies for business schools.

Although Groupon’s review system gives the offer a 4.5 rating with the highest possible score a five based on 109 reviews, the school and its offer have not escaped a healthy debate over the quality of its offerings. One user on Reddit decided to take the school up on its offer on a lark and check it out.