For online MBA students, learning applicable to the job was ranked among the top reasons for online program choice while learning opportunities from interactions with other students were considered much less important (Bocchi, Eastman & Swift, 2004). Given the reported significance of flexibility, both in terms of access and reduced completion times, it is important to examine how significant these factors are in the program choice decisions of more experienced students.
Choosing an MBA Program
Research has shown that institutional reputation is the most important criterion in online MBA program selection, with workload and time to complete the next most frequently given reasons (Chiu, 1999). Other research has found convenience (Dunning & Mijayaraman, 2000; Tallent-Runnels, Thomas, Lan & Cooper, 2006) or flexibility in time management to be of greatest importance in choosing online education in general (McEwen, 2001; Moskal & Dziuban, 2001; Ryan, 2001; Smith, 2001). Flexibility was also found to be significantly associated with perceived learning and satisfaction (Arbaugh & Duray, 2002).
For online MBA students, learning applicable to the job was ranked among the top reasons for online program choice while learning opportunities from interactions with other students were considered much less important (Bocchi, Eastman & Swift, 2004). Given the reported significance of flexibility, both in terms of access and reduced completion times, it is important to examine how significant these factors are in the program choice decisions of more experienced students.
For online MBA students, learning applicable to the job was ranked among the top reasons for online program choice while learning opportunities from interactions with other students were considered much less important (Bocchi, Eastman & Swift, 2004). Given the reported significance of flexibility, both in terms of access and reduced completion times, it is important to examine how significant these factors are in the program choice decisions of more experienced students.
