How to choose the RIGHT ‘Part Time MBA’ course: Working Manager’s dilemma.

Study reveals that having a MBA degree enhances the chances of becoming a CXO, facilitating the climb up the corporate ladder smoother, influencing the process to a certain degree.

The first and foremost thought which comes to every working manager or executive, who always wanted to pursue MBA and could not do so because of professional commitments is whether to quit job and go for a full time MBA or enroll for a Part Time MBA and continue to work.

Quitting job may not be a wise and feasible decision for many, as it may lead to financial instability at the personal level and create a 2 year gap in the professional front; especially for those working in technology, IT/ITeS, the gap means a lot.

Thus, going for a part time MBA is a good option. And for those lucky ones who manage to get their employer’s sponsor the MBA degree nothing else can work better than a Part Time MBA Course.

But the important question is to how to choose the right course and the right B-School. This is trickier, as many charlatans are filling up the space today creating confusions.

For the benefit of the corporate executive who aspiring for the MBA degree listed are some of the critical factors, apart from the general profile of the institute, which should be considered before taking the final call.

Is it different from the regular course : The Part time MBA course contents at many institutes are compressed versions of the regular course. Choose the one which doesn’t differentiate and compromise between Part Time and Full time courses and have exactly the same course content as the regular one. The difference should only be in time and duration, regular one being2 year courses, while the Part Time a 3 year.

FacultyProfiles: Many institutes offering Part Time MBA have separate set of faculties, with very few faculties facilitating both regular classes and part time classes. Select the institute whose faculties are same as the regular 2 year MBA course and in addition have a provision for lectures by guest faculty members coming in from corporate sectors. Little bit of probing and chatting with existing students of the institute will help one understand this better.

Examination Patterns and Evaluation System : Again, this should be exactly the same as the regular course. Many Part Time MBA aspirants prefer to have some relaxation in terms of attending classes & lectures and expect the institute to be considerate about their non-appearances or non-submissions of projects and not to be strict during evaluations or examinations. Suggestions to people who seek admission to such institutes can only be, why at all spend money, time and effort in pursuing an MBA; If you are not serious enough, why go for a fake degree which is not going help you much. Will you be able to getaway in your workplace with a similar approach? Point is, if you are serious about pursuing your MBA stay away from institutes which indulge into such practices. Choose the one which strictly gives you a mandate and the examination patterns and evaluation systems are same as the regular course.

Locational Conveyance: Let’s accept the fact that managing the job, the client, the boss and maintaining the work life balance is in itself a challenge. On top of that getting into a serious commitment of pursuing an MBA is definitely demanding. The least one can ask for is to plan it well and save some time in travel. It would be smart to choose the institute which is conveniently located in the city and one doesn’t need to do travel from one end to the other or take much of detour while commuting from office and residence.

Class Days and Timings: The evening class timings are generally scheduled for Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays but some institute schedule it for any of the week days, followed by week-end classes on Saturdays and Sundays. Now, one may not like to sacrifice both the days of the weekend, instead keep at least the Sunday for self and hence choose the “Thursday (or one weekday) with Friday, Saturday” combination as against the “1 Weekday+Saturday+Sunday” set. Choose as per convenience.

Other Professional Certifications: Many institutes include professional certifications eg. Six Sigma training and certification, in the Executive MBA curriculum and charges being covered in the course fee. This is definitely a huge add-on to the MBA degree. Check out with the institute and if yes, also check the credentials of the certificate provider.

Networking Opportunity: While this may not be a deciding factor but it is undeniable that the prospect to interact with individuals from varied top MNCs and people from different verticals, have them as classmates and share live case studies, is an opportunity few would like to lose. Carefully select the institute which has good no. of students being sponsored by top MNCs. Check with the existing batch of students.

To assist you further we have filled up the comparative chart below with one set of data provided by FORE School of Management, Delhi. You may key down data for other institutes and press the Submit button to help others.