Fan Mail From Lee

Lee writes:

I’m attending Kaplan University for my MBA. I’ve read that you got your BS degree from there. I want to know how good this school is. Is it hard to graduate from here?  Is it very well-known by most employers?  If I got my MBA degree from here, do you think I can get a good job in the east coast somewhere?  I hope they’re not ‘diploma-mill’ like some people have posted online!

All of these are good concerns.  First of all, if you are attending Kaplan for your MBA, I would change schools immediately before you spend more money and time.  This is NOT a knock on Kaplan, but their MBA program is not accredited by one of the two primary agencies that oversee this type of program.  Those agencies are the AACSB and ACBSP.  I have posted extensively about these agencies.

What employers will generally look for is the school you attend for your MBA, but it does matter if they’ve heard of the school or not.  There are tons of colleges of all different sizes that people have not heard of.  What they are looking for is their accreditation status.  Unless the program is accredited by one of the aforementioned agencies, the employer might not look too highly on your efforts.

Finding a good job is relevant.  There are a lot of factors.  Is the job you are training for in high demand?  Is the economy good?  Are you willing to relocate to find a good job?  This is a question that I can’t answer directly because of those factors.

Finally, Kaplan is not a diploma mill.  Their undergraduate programs are accredited by a recognized regional agency.  I have no problem recommending Kaplan to anyone looking for an accredited undergrad degree.  For a graduate degree (especially the MBA) I would suggest that you find a school that is accredited.  Perhaps Kaplan will achieve this milestone in the future.  But my opinion is that you could be spinning your wheels by going to a school that is not accredited by AACSB or ACBSP.