Hi,

I am a working mom having more than 12 years managerial experience in Sales & Marketing within multinational corporations. Considering my busy schedule I planned to take a distance learning MBA course in Hong Kong to refresh and excel myself.

I prefer those Distance Learning MBA offered by UK & US Business Schools and I got accepted by Bradford and University of Iowa Tippie Henry School. Before making a decision, I would like to compare these 2 offers in terms of:
- recognition among employers in HK and worldwide
- Return on Investment
- should I widen my selection to cover Australia and explore more options?

Any advice is highly appreciated.

Thanks!

There's a big difference between these two programmes.

The Iowa degree is actually run and owned by Iowa. All the teaching is by Iowa faculty. You'll have around 500 hours in class in HK and international experience. It's not a distance-learning programme at all -- it's a real part-time MBA. http://tippie.uiowa.edu/hongkong/program/schedule.cfm

The Bradford degree is run by RDI, a for-profit business which also runs the Leicester MBA (about which students are highly critical). It's a distance learning programme supported by RDI tutors. It looks like 4 of the 16 courses (14 must be taken) are run by Bradford faculty.

I would certainly choose the Iowa programme.

I would certainly choose the Iowa programme.

I am afriad you have been given incorrect information about the Bradford MBA programme it is NOT an RDI MBA it is a University of Bradford MBa which RDI recruit for and is completely taught by Bradford University faculty

Hi Kate. I don't think anyone is claiming that the MBA in Hong Kong is awarded by RDI. I wrote that "The Bradford degree is run by RDI, a for-profit business which also runs the Leicester MBA (about which students are highly critical)."

Read this page to get an idea, and compare it to the Iowa MBA: http://www.rdihongkong.com/distance-learning/Part-Time-study-from-Hong-Kong-or-Distance-Learning-from-anywhere.html?Itemid=0
½ day induction seminar led by Bradford faculty in Hong Kong
20 ? 24 hours of tutorials per module, tutored by RDI
10 compulsory modules and 4 elective modules, of which 4 modules delivered by Bradford faculty in Hong Kong over an intensive 3 day period (24 hours in total)

So, that means:
- Around 300 hours of RDI tutorial time (No profiles available for these tutors, but they will not be at the same level as the Bradford faculty)
- Less than 100 hours with Bradford faculty.

The Iowa MBA is 15 courses of 30 class hours with mostly top-tier professors: 13 Iowa professors plus Jerry Lynch (Dean of the Krannert School of Management) and Lopo L. Rego from the Kelley School of Business. They have a much wider range of electives.

So, in terms of face to face experience, the Iowa programme gives more time with higher quality (generally) staff. Both programmes supplement with web-based learning. Iowa students can also spend a whole semester at Iowa!