The University of Nebraska-Lincoln touts its online MBA program as one that is ideal for students wanting to earn their MBA from the comfort of their own home or office. “Take your courses from anywhere in the world. You’ll never have to come to campus,” the program’s website proclaims.
ASYNCHRONOUS AND ON YOUR OWN TIME
The 48-credit curriculum consists of 10 core classes and six electives, mirroring the on-campus, in-person version of the school’s full-time MBA program. Not only is showing up to campus not something students have to worry about, all classes in the online MBA are delivered asynchronously so students only log on and complete course work at times that are convenient for them. On occasion, professors may schedule webinars or other virtual meetings, however these segments are never required and are always made available for students to access afterward.
Application for admission into the program is on a rolling basis, occurring during the Spring, Summer, and Fall semesters. A minimum of two years professional work experience is recommended, and at least one year is required for consideration, 3.0 undergraduate GPA, and 600 GMAT score are recommended, but not required for consideration. What is required are two prerequisite undergraduate courses in statistics and calculus that must be taken before students are allowed to enroll in the core curriculum’s economics, finance, or business analytics courses.
Once they are matriculated into the program, classes are delivered eight weeks at a time and students typically spend 14 hours per week per class. Students can take as many, or the least amount of classes they feel they can manage at one time and this can change from one semester to the next. This allows students to move through the program at a pace that their professional or personal lives will allow. When taking multiple classes per term, it is possible to fulfill all requirements and obtain the degree in 1.5 years, the school says. However, the average time to completion is between three and four years. Nebraska alotts a total of 10 years to get it done.
ELECTIVES THAT HELP YOU PERSONALIZE
Opportunities to personalize the online MBA degree to match interests and career goals are mostly found in electives. According to the program’s website, electives may be taken from any business area or they can be taken from outside the College of Business if pre-approved by the student’s academic advisor. Another caveat: students choose six electives, but at least one must be selected from the school’s list of approved international-themed courses.
GUIDELINES WHEN APPLYING
Prospective students interested in Nebraska-Lincoln’s 100% online MBA will need a minimum of one year of professional work experience to be considered, although a minimum of two years is recommended, and to have taken the GMAT exam. Applicants who hold an advanced degree or are currently enrolled in medical school get to bypass the standardized test requirement as do those who have been admitted to the Nebraska College of Law. Other exceptions that may qualify applicants for a test waiver are seven or more years of managerial work experience and a high undergraduate GPA. Likewise, exceptions for applicants with less than a year of work experience are considered on a case-by-case basis. Total cost for this program is $30,240.
CAREER OUTCOMES
The latest ranking of online MBA programs from the Financial Times, published in March of 2018, had some very good news for applicants to this program. According to the FT’s data, derived from alumni surveys, no school’s MBAs did better on helping alums increase their pay than the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Nebraska alums reported salaries that were 40% higher, significantly more than the 32% average hike across the sample.
Ranked 13th overall in the FT ranking which is limited to just 20 online programs worldwide, the school’s alum reported an average current salary of $122,952 and impressively ranked ninth for the career progress of its online graduates.