I am not a fan of DL but if I have to pick one, I would opt for DBS. Reasons are pretty obvious.. damn posh, big, traditional & russell, old name (just next to oxbridge) in your CV at affordable price and flexibility. Top uk ranking, within 100 world ranking, within 100 of worldwide employer pick list.

I have heard uk's most of the privately educated students go to Durham if they miss oxbridge (undergraduation I mean). (Anyone knows anything similar in the US? may be Princeton ? )
I guess that gives a wider posh alumni network with the well-to-dos. Employers do know the name very well.

Do I detect some inverse snobbery here? Poshness is not an attribute I would be seeking. But if so I would be Lucky Jim at Scone, Oxford.

BigD

I am not a fan of DL but if I have to pick one, I would opt for DBS. Reasons are pretty obvious.. damn posh....
I guess that gives a wider posh alumni network with the well-to-dos. Employers do know the name very well.

ha. ha.. If you don't like you can take the word "posh" off the list. But all the rest of the attributes are undeniable. The evidences are abound in Google.. :-)

A distance learning student will find it hard to extract a premium from a posh network they have not met on campus. If you just want a brand, do the LSE's diploma for graduates in management for one tenth of the price. But for an MBA network, look at which school gives you the content, experiences and the network on the ground in your country.

All possibilities of "posh networks" aside the decision on a graduate program would be best made on the quality of the program and the reputation and ranking of the degree and degree granting institution. These aspects have a longer and better chance of giving value over your career. The likelihood of connecting with a useful "posh network" is like buying a lottery ticket, and the lottery ticket may have a better probability of yielding the desired results.

Just my two pence, but if not located in the UK then look outside your country - I graduated from WBS (I'm Canadian - surprise if you didn't figure that one out already) and for a lot of reasons: cost, ranking, program, etc. I'm glad that I made the effort....

Well, plateglass uni is plate glass uni. Ancient uni is ancient uni. No comparison. The traditional, deep and wide uni network and lasting name is a bargain. Comparing them with the lottery punters is not correct.
Durham is a class uni on world heritage site and is here to stay. No one can deny that. Looking at the 2011 endowment alone (total value of an institution's investments) below, shall we say Durham is about 10 times more valued? ..
Durham endowment £61.3M
Warwick endowment £6.7 M

I just noted that DBS has rebranded to DUBS ..
"Durham Business School is to be re-branded as Durham University Business School to better align it with its parent organisation Durham University - one of the world?s leading research and teaching universities."

http://www.dur.ac.uk/business/news/latest_news/?itemno=15730

Durham is not an ancient university. Britian has six ancient universities, dating from before 1600. Durham's charter dates from 1837.

The notion that there's no comparison between ancient and plate class is silly. Would you rather than an MBA from St Andrew's (established in 1413) or from London Business School, founded in the late 1960s?

oh!. I did not know that 1600 is the threshold to classify it as ancient. (Duncan, you are the best out here in giving the correct facts!) Ok, let's keep it as lot older and has name and fame and "funded better" than others.

Dedicated schools such as LBS, HBS and my fav IIM is not in the discussion here. They are league of their own, they are independent/autonomus units (some awards their own diploma/degree and some just gets only the name from the parent uni). No comparison with uni based bizz departments.

The comparison is only for the DLs and their associated uni. My view is - stronger the uni better the usefulness/longivity of the DL degree. At least one can be proud to say I did this in so and so big/old/traditional uni, better sense of accomplishment with bigger name for those who are trapped in tight budget and flexibility issues :-)

Who gives a toss about whether they are the ancient stone colleges or the pretty modern buildings of the new schools, when you are studying by DL? Who cares about the poshness of the alumni and other non DL students whom you may never meet?

I would be more concerned with the reputation of the school, the content of the course materials and interactive learning practices of the school; the opportunity for face to face discussions...and of course the cost.

BigD

The comparison is only for the DLs and their associated uni. My view is - stronger the uni better the usefulness/longivity of the DL degree. At least one can be proud to say I did this in so and so big/old/traditional uni, better sense of accomplishment with bigger name for those who are trapped in tight budget and flexibility issues :-)

BigD,
That's right.. these are the first priority.

"I would be more concerned with the reputation of the school, the content of the course materials and interactive learning practices of the school; the opportunity for face to face discussions...and of course the cost."

After filtering down schools with these criteria, triple-acc and flexiblity etc, you endup with handful of schools. Just like the list given by the original poster georgep. Once you come to that level, then it is a matter of your preference/prejudice/bias etc. At that point, my preference would be big/old/traditional/russell/posh etc.
Everyones preference would be different. Someone might like a school that's in the middle of nowhere, someone would like it in the world heritage site, etc and proud to have MBA(dunelm). Do you know only few unis in the world that has those classy latin words you can use in your designation?. It is just ones choice after major criteria filteing.

oh man!, what am I doing here.. The more I write the more I endup in a DL. I am running to IIM-A/B.
(Sorry DL guys, my objectives are different. I get outa here and I let you play this DL game.. goodluck everyone!.)

Is it posh ? We should be told.

BigD

I am running to IIM-A/B.
(Sorry DL guys, my objectives are different. I get outa here and I let you play this DL game.. goodluck everyone!.)

Well, plateglass uni is plate glass uni. Ancient uni is ancient uni. No comparison. The traditional, deep and wide uni network and lasting name is a bargain. Comparing them with the lottery punters is not correct.
Durham is a class uni on world heritage site and is here to stay. No one can deny that. Looking at the 2011 endowment alone (total value of an institution's investments) below, shall we say Durham is about 10 times more valued? ..
Durham endowment £61.3M
Warwick endowment £6.7 M

I just noted that DBS has rebranded to DUBS ..
"Durham Business School is to be re-branded as Durham University Business School to better align it with its parent organisation Durham University - one of the world?s leading research and teaching universities."

http://www.dur.ac.uk/business/news/latest_news/?itemno=15730

Durham is not an ancient university. Britian has six ancient universities, dating from before 1600. Durham's charter dates from 1837.

The notion that there's no comparison between ancient and plate class is silly. Would you rather than an MBA from St Andrew's (established in 1413) or from London Business School, founded in the late 1960s?

When I was studying classics at Merton, I become disappointed with all these new things like trade and merchants.

A gentleman of means should not have to lower himself to such things.

BigD

- Before anyone asks: yes they do allow such students, but they try and prevent them.

Durham is not an ancient university. Britian has six ancient universities, dating from before 1600. Durham's charter dates from 1837.

The notion that there's no comparison between ancient and plate class is silly. Would you rather than an MBA from St Andrew's (established in 1413) or from London Business School, founded in the late 1960s?

btw, it is interesting that scotland had back then 4 univiersities while england only had 2.

I went to Lund damn being the first or one of the first Scandinavian uni, it was not ancient enough to be classified as ancient

Wow! too many personal attacks.. looks like there is lot of Warwick PR guys around here. Not worth fighting with them. Let me get out..

You are playing the "Personal attacks" card ? Don't talk rubbish. Because people question your bizarre advocacy based on strange posh-and-ancient criteria ? Speaking personally, I have no axe to grind except for a slight affection for Oxford.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
BigD

Wow! too many personal attacks.. looks like there is lot of Warwick PR guys around here. Not worth fighting with them. Let me get out..

Let's go back to the title's thread.....

Just received MBS's newsletter; starting from July fees for the global mba will be 28400pounds (a 4000 pounds rise, wow!)

The key thing for an MBA is the concrete outcome experienced by the students. If ignorance has a worst kind then, surely, it must be snobbish arrogance. The idea that one should elevate Durham because of its Latin postnominals, rather than those outcomes, is pathetic. London and Harvard business schools are part of their respective universities, quite unlike the IIMs.

I'm an LBS alum, and my MBA is from the University of London rather than the University of Durham. Those two universities are more or less the same age, and they are certainly not ancient. The USA has more than 60 universities which are older. It's the people, not the stones, that matter.

PS It's ironic that someone in love with Durham should sneer about plate glass. They have evidently not seen the school: http://www.dur.ac.uk/news/newsitem/?itemno=13610

Let's go back to the title's thread.....

Just received MBS's newsletter; starting from July fees for the global mba will be 28400pounds (a 4000 pounds rise, wow!)

Lots of posts since my last one and interesting debate around "poshness" of schools and "failure" of DL programs. Bringing the thread back on track, I would like to put forth my own experience on finding the right B-school for my MBA.

I think when it comes to choosing an MBA, deciding on the mode of study becomes the foremost decision which is purely based on personal circumstances as opposed to a choice. In this current financial crisis, quitting a job or taking a sabbatical to do a FT MBA seems like an outrageous decision, hence PT/EMBA becomes an alternative solution but then again what if your preferred B-school is not in the same country? Would it be foolish to do a DL course? Personally, I would say "no" with an IF statement! When it comes to DL, one needs to be cautious as it is yet to catch up with its other forms across the world of recruitment. Plus with every other school/college/private institute for financial reasons or other offering MBA degree to anyone who is anyone is truly degrading the value of MBA as a program overall (personal experience). The only way to compensate for this lacking in DL mode is to:
1. Select an Accredited School
2. Check Ranking & Reputation: Refer to FT and
Economist rankings for Global MBA or EMBA. Those
rankings can easily be applied to DL as well to a
certain extent as most reputed school will apply similar
methodology of teaching and will ensure the success
of DL MBA in par with their FT MBA
3. Check teaching procedure and effectiveness of it. Is
the technology or the platform used to deliver lectures
modern and flexible? Suits your style of study? Speak
to students or admin of school to learn more
4. Networking: Check the alumni network! After your
MBA this is one thing that will really come handy when
you're climbing up that career ladder.
5. Career Services: What kind of support a school
provided for a DL student? What are your expectations
and requirements from the career support teams post
graduation? Please consult with school to find out.
6. Finances: Last but not least, if like myself, you have
found a school which way over your budget compared
to the ones you chose earlier, be sure that this extra
cost is justified. Sometimes, you will realize that you
are paying that extra bit just for brand equity and the
high rank of a school. If that's what you fancy, then get
ready to pay for it. After all, its not everyday you invest
in yourself! Choice is yours...

Sorry..the above is based on my experience as I am still applying for my MBA in various school and have not yet decided which one to go for. One thing for sure though, "Poshness" or "which year school was established" is not on my agenda as a selection criteria for my MBA school