What should I consider for an online MBA in the USA? I have a $40-$50K budget. I'm a finance director in a medium size business in Europe and overall looking for getting a reputable qualification where I can also improve my finance expertise.

Interesting: why are you looking for a US school rather than a European one where you might have a more useful alumni community and the possibility for face to face networking and classes?

I would certainly look at Oklahoma State University, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of Wisconsin System (my favourite in terms of integrated programme design) and the University System of Georgia.

If you can stretch your budget, then Florida is an option: http://floridamba.ufl.edu/workingprofessional/internet/

In Europe, your budget would stretch to much better schools.

Distance learning is rapidly becoming an alternative to traditional classrooms. The U.S. Department of Education reported in 2011 that about 20 percent of all students enrolled in post-secondary schools take at least one distance learning course. Students can benefit from the flexibility that comes with distance learning, and for students who don't have the time or money to attend traditional schools, distance learning can provide a path to higher education.

Interesting: why are you looking for a US school rather than a European one where you might have a more useful alumni community and the possibility for face to face networking and classes?

I would certainly look at Oklahoma State University, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of Wisconsin System (my favourite in terms of integrated programme design) and the University System of Georgia.

If you can stretch your budget, then Florida is an option: http://floridamba.ufl.edu/workingprofessional/internet/

In Europe, your budget would stretch to much better schools.

Well, none of these schools are top 100 quality. Warwick, Henley, Aston, Durham, Bradford are all schools that appear regularly in FT rankings and listings: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/online-mba-listing-2013 Warwick stands out, since it has the #21 executive MBA worldwide http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/emba-ranking-2013 The Manchester Global MBA is a very respected blended programme, so more expensive to run, but it also fits into your budget. They have a new Executive MBA and I'm not sure what those fees are but, since MBS has a campus in Florida, it gives you a school with a real alumni base in the USA. It's ranked in the top 30 for full-time MBAs and because of its traditional US structure, it's one of the more accepted European MBAs in the US.

PS I would also suggest the Euro*MBA, which is a consortium. Graduates become an alumni of top business schools from Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. The Economist ranked it in the top ten: http://www2.euromba.org/view.asp?view=news&show=JNROLNP4

Washington State's online MBA is quite good for the price.

If you can bump your budget a bit, there's ASU Carey's program, and of course IU Kelley's; although for the price of the latter, IE's Global MBA is arguably a better option, even if it's not in the US.

Razors / Ducan: Washington State's online MBA is not accredited by any of these authorities: AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA. (although it has many other US accreditations...)

Will you still recommend this univ?

Washington State University's online MBA is accredited by AACSB.

Are you talking about below uni?

http://washington.wgu.edu/business/master_business_administration_degree

If not then will you please share the link...

No, that's not Washington State.

http://omba.wsu.edu/

How is Jindal? Seems to be finance specialized ...

Jindal's a strong school, on the way up for the MBA and already a world-leading school for business research. You can see from the range of specialised masters that it's much more than a finance school. It's also, like UTD itself, a technocratic commuter school serving businesses around Dallas (including TI, which founded UTD). I would choose Jindal over WSU.