5 Things to Consider Before Choosing Your Distance MBA Colleges

It is great if you’re willing to opt for an open or distance mode of education to pursue an MBA degree. A distance MBA program will be very apt for working professionals who have completed their graduation from a recognized university. To enhance your skills and in-depth knowledge in a particular stream, you can join an MBA program. Holding a PG degree can bring career growth amidst the growing corporate world and competition. Hence, it becomes very essential to choose the right college or university that offers the benefits of a distance MBA program that is best suited to an individual’s preferences.

Major aspects that will help the students make an informed decision while choosing the college or university are self-research, course curriculum and specialization, accreditation and reputation, fee structure, and most importantly, flexibility and support services.

Each of the points is explained in detail to give a proper scope of distance MBA to decide on the college that will meet their needs or career goals.  

Self-Research: Firstly, there are plenty of colleges that offer distance MBAs in the country. It becomes necessary for you to understand your needs and do complete research about the colleges. Checking with online reviews, and college websites, knowing the ranking of the college, word of mouth, etc. Many educational websites can give brief information about the colleges offering distance MBAs. This will help the students compare the information and then narrow down the colleges.

Program curriculum and specializations: After shortlisting a few of the satisfied colleges, the next step is to derive complete information about the distance MBA program at different colleges. The distance MBA curriculum is known to lay a solid foundation for the entire program. Students are required to review the syllabus of the program, which is tailor-made for working professionals.

The distance MBA specializations will differ from college to college, but some of the common ones are finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, human resources, and information technology. Candidates should make sure that the available disciplines are relevant to their career goals and are currently trending or high in scope.

It is also necessary to review the experience and credentials secured by the faculty members. Those with teaching experience along with industry and research expertise can guarantee valuable insights and mentorship. 

Recognition and affiliations awarded to the colleges: Another important aspect is that the college has received approvals from recognition bodies like DEB, UGC, and AICTE.

• All India Council for Technical Education: AICTE approval means the college does meet certain standards for quality education and is recognized by the employers.
• University Grants Commission: The approval from UGC is also very important as it regulates the quality of the curriculum offered by the universities.
• Distance Education Bureau: UGC's DEB recognition ensures the regulation of the course curriculum on a timely basis and maintains the quality of education without any compromise. 

Being recognized by these bodies acts as proof that they offer quality education and that the curriculum is designed in such a way that it caters to the needs of students. Also, after course completion, the degree certificate from such colleges will hold higher value in the corporate world.

Fee structure and financial help: Another important factor that needs to be considered while pursuing a distance MBA course is its fee structure. It is commonly understood that the fees are comparatively lower than the full-time MBA program. However, the distance MBA fees also vary depending on the type of college and the course duration. Based on the rough analysis, government colleges have lower fees as compared with private colleges. The range of distance MBA course fees will be from INR 50000 to 2 lakhs. 

It is a misconception that if academic prices are high, it means they have the best quality of education. It is essential to always consider ROI rather than price fluctuations. Additionally, students must also be aware of the other expenses or costs, which include course materials, exam fees, technology fees, etc.

Many distance MBA universities provide payment plans. This is a flexible option given to students on how to pay their academic fees. I.e., installation plan or deferred plan.

• Under the installment plan, students can pay the fees at equal intervals without having to pay them in lump sums.
• In a deferred plan, few colleges allow you to delay your payments till the end of the program or after getting started with a new job.

Under financial help, certain colleges do provide scholarship benefits based on the merit scores of the deserving candidates. Thus, it helps reduce the financial strain among the students. Some of the types of scholarships or aids would be:

• University Scholarship: Here, the institute or the college will provide scholarships based on academic merit or work experience.
• Government aid: Certain amounts of loans are given to students under government schemes that can be used by the candidates.
• Employer Tuition Reimbursement: For working professionals, employers will provide reimbursement of fees if the employees are pursuing higher degrees. Candidates must know its availability and conditions to apply for it. 

Teaching methodology and resources: The last but not least factor is understanding the teaching methods and the available virtual infrastructure facilities. Commonly, the colleges will offer virtual classes in live or recorded format. Even reference books shall be sent in digital mode in PDF format. Also, the candidates must understand the semester curriculum, mode of exam, study materials, etc.

Here are the learning methodologies and other resources that would be offered for distance learning:

Learning Management System: The Learning Management System (LMS) is the common format, also known as the backbone, for conducting distance education MBAs. It is very user-friendly and reliable, which makes the learning process different and effective. Consider the following aspects of the LMS:

• Easy accessibility: Students can use LMS on multiple devices, like mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. This makes it easy to attend classes or learn from anywhere, anytime. 
• Simple Usage: The university should make sure that the LMS usage interface is easy and simple to navigate course content, take part in discussions, and also for other curriculum tracking.

• Features: The tool should provide features like conducting interactive online quizzes and other collaborative tools.

Digital Resources

One of the major advantages of a distance MBA program is that students will be given access to digital resources. Some of them include:

• Digital library with e-books and journals: There is a vast collection of e-books and journals about academics that will help in building knowledge and research work.
• Interactive Tools: Case study PDFs, practice exam papers, and more will be given to students that act as interaction tools.
• Recorded classes: Recorded videos and lectures, such as webinars, are provided to review material at your convenience.

Interaction between students and faculty:

Active interaction with faculty members and other resource persons is important to enrich the educational experience. Kinds of interaction platforms would be:

• Live classes: Virtual live classes will be conducted in real-time to have one-on-one interaction and get personalized feedback as well.
• Forums for Discussion: Online forums will be held to conduct the exchange of ideas among students and also collaborate on content.
• Group Work Projects: By the end of the program or in the course curriculum, group projects will be assigned, which will simulate real-world business situations and help build teamwork skills.

To conclude, it is not just the time and effort put into a distance MBA. One should know about the skills gained and the value attached to them. And this happens when you make the right choice of college or university. Remember to get proper advice before going further with college admission. After getting the right choice of specialization, accreditation, course curriculum, learning methods, and cost and financial help, join the college. Hence, do your research well and begin your distance MBA journey thoughtfully.

Here are the top distance MBA colleges in India along with course fee structure:

College/ University name	Distance MBA college Fees
Indira Gandhi National Open University	31500
Andhra University School of Distance Education	25000-30000
Lovely Professional University	41600
Welingkar Institute of Management Development	62000
Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies	77200
Sikkim Manipal University	73000
Annamalai University	39700
Symbiosis Center for Distance Learning	41500
SRM University	30000
Chandigarh University	27650
Bharathidasan University	30000
IMT Ghaziabad	1.1 lakhs
MIT School Of Distance Education Distance MBA	56000
Jagannath University	25000