The Penn State Online MBA program is one that is designed to meet the needs of students from various fields of work. Penn State’s MBA program focuses on the needs of all fields of work including business, engineering, health care, technology, and several others. Nonetheless, the online MBA curriculum is perfect for students with business degrees or even those without. The Online MBA program offered at Penn State provides students with the necessary tools needed to communicate, solve problems, and develop strategies when it comes to all areas of business.

Is the Online MBA Program at Penn State Accredited?

Penn State’s online MBA program is accredited by the AACSB Accredited – The Global Standard of Excellence.

What Specializations Can I Study During My Online MBA at Penn State?

Penn State offers an opportunity to achieve higher standards because of an integrated curriculum. Specializations are offered in:

• Linking Management
• Finance
• Accounting
• Marketing
• Operations

What are the Application Requirements for Penn State’s Online MBA Program?

• Online Application
• Provide two contacts for Recommendations
• Resume
• 2 years of professional work experience
• Statement of Intent
• Two official transcripts from each higher-education institution
• Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited University/Institution
• GMAT or GRE test scores within the last 5 years (unless a doctorate level degree has been obtained)
• TOEFL if necessary

What are the Graduation Requirements for Penn State’s Online MBA Program?

Once accepted into the Online MBA program at Penn State you will be required to complete 8 continuous semesters or 2 years. Within this time, 19 online courses will be completed, totaling 48 credits. Two residencies are required at the end of the 3rd and 8th term of the program. Each residency will be one-week long. Once all graduation requirements are completed, you will receive a diploma that states The Pennsylvania State University grants you the degree of master of business administration in recognition of the completion of advanced study in business administration. Your diploma does not disclose whether or not your degree was completed online or as a resident on campus.

How Much Does a Penn State Online MBA Cost?

The total program cost of an online MBA at Penn State is approximately $55,000 for the two year program. An additional $65 application is needed at the time you apply. The cost of the two year package includes all tuition fees, books, course materials needed, fees, and room & board during residencies, Transportation to and from residencies is not provided within the cost of the program. The online MBA program does not charge additional fees for out-of-state applicants. If you are a military member applying to Penn State you may qualify for a military application fee waiver.

OpenCourseWare is Not an Online MBA Degree

OpenCourseWare should not be regarded as an online degree or even an award in itself. The application was first launched to give prospective students an insight into the world of online learning. OCW provides the general public with retired syllabus sheets, lecture notes, reading lists, and other associated material with an online MBA program. However, there are no instructors or assignments to be completed with OCW. Students are simply allowed to get a glimpse into what it’s like to be an online student and are then able to form more sound decisions regarding if it’s a right choice for them.

OpenCourseWare is Free of Charge in an Online MBA Program

OpenCourseWare is often used as a marketing tool to entice students. By giving students further insight into what it’s like to be an online student, they are able to better picture themselves as online students and can gauge their own success based on an OCW experience. It is a viable way to market online education as a new platform for students to explore over traditional campus study.

OpenCourseWare Benefits Graduates of an Online MBA Program

OpenCourseWare is also very useful for students to market themselves as online MBA graduates. This is because many employers are quick to denounce online education and often prefer campus-based students over online ones. Students may then quickly respond with OCW material in order to provide employers with reassurance that an online education is indeed equivalent to campus study, which can further be supported with OCW references and information. Employers can be quick to change their tune when they’re able to immerse themselves in an online learning environment!

OpenCourseWare also benefits graduates by providing them with a permanent reference source. Previous notes and material can be looked back on in the event that a student needs a quick refresher on a certain topic. OCW provides an ideal platform for this as relevant material to a course can be provided to the general public, which former students may then access without being registered alumni or current students at a college. This can make it very easy to quickly revise a forgotten topic!

Wikipedia as an Online MBA Study Aid

Wikipedia is the most widely known free encyclopedia on the Internet at the moment. It is a frequently updated and publicly editable source that contains several relevant pages for online MBA programs. Students may uncover articles and information pertaining to finance, marketing, strategy, human resources, and administration within moments! It is generally quick and reliable, but it has been met with some criticism in academic circles.

Since Wikipedia is publicly editable, there is some concern surrounding the validity of the information on the website. Guests may alter articles to include any information that they please, so article vandalism and tampering isn’t uncommon on Wikipedia. Fortunately, administrators can quickly revert articles to more integral states when they are alerted to potential vandalism. This means that students can be assured that every attempt is made to ensure an accurate user experience, but there is no guarantee that Wikipedia’s information can be free from vandalism all of the time. If complete validity is a concern, then students may want to look elsewhere.

The Online Books Page as an Online MBA Study Aid

The Online Books Page is an open library for users and is hosted by the University of Pennsylvania. Here, students may access over 30,000 titles free of charge. This can be a great way to supplement or even replace textbooks in a college program if the required titles can be found within The Online Books Page.

The website caters to a variety of core components in a business administration program, which includes marketing, strategy, and finance. This means that it is quite possible that core reading may be found on The Online Books Page!

Validity is not as much of a concern here as much as Wikipedia, but it is still prudent for students to cross-reference what they are reading on The Online Books Page with hard copy print to ensure that data has not been mistyped or is invalid. Doing this will ensure that accurate material is being learned and will prevent unnecessary marks lost on final exams and in assignments!

Equipment for Free Online MBA Classes

Like many online MBA programs themselves, many free to use online MBA classes do not require the latest in computer hardware or technology. This is great news for students who have older systems. However, it is important to note that some free online MBA classes depend greatly on accessing multimedia. Streaming video can put a considerable strain on older hardware, which results in frame stuttering or other forms of “lag”. If a student experiences usage issues, then hardware upgrades may be in order to take full advantage of what a free online MBA class has to offer.

The first port of call for many computer upgrades is the RAM. Memory can be regarded as a “holding cell” for running applications and it allows simultaneous operation for many programs loaded at once. Streaming video can put a considerable load on the web browser, which in turn puts a considerable load on the RAM. It would therefore be wise to install new RAM modules in order to take advantage of newer multimedia.

The processor or CPU can also become burdened by multimedia. The CPU load on most systems can dramatically increase when demand is placed on it, such as through streaming videos. This means that a CPU upgrade could also be beneficial. This is slightly more difficult than RAM upgrades as users must first determine what socket type their CPU is, then match a processor according to the socket type. This can be done by comparing the current CPU to a product technical sheet to determine the socket type, but if this is unknown, then it may be wise to allow a technician to do the upgrade.

Video card upgrades or installments can also be beneficial to users. For very old systems, a low end PCI graphics card can enhance the viewing experience by providing streaming videos with dedicated RAM that is specifically for video use. This can reduce the load on the RAM and CPU.

Business Spanish for an Online MBA Program

Business Spanish aims to teach students conversational Spanish alongside simplified writing and grammar skills. It is offered free of charge and allows students to participate in two concise lessons each weekday. This can be a great insight into the world of online learning as it is delivered in an intuitive HTML interface, which is common to the Blackboard technology that is used in many online MBA programs.

Business Spanish primarily caters to speakers of the English language, which could make it difficult for natives of other languages to grasp the lesson plans and delivery. However, this is not the only free to use business course online, so students who aren’t native speakers of English shouldn’t despair!

My Own Business for an Online MBA Program

My Own Business is a free to use business course with some paid-for premium features. It offers students 50 video clips and templates that build and design business plans. It also helps students avoid pitfall mistakes when starting a business to ensure that they will remain financially viable. It is required that students register for the program in order to gain access to it, which also provides students with a free newsletter with various tips for starting a business.

United States Small Business Administration for an Online MBA Program

The United States Small Business Administration program provides students with free techniques to develop business plans and e-mail marketing campaigns. Both are critical aspects to a business’ success in today’s modern climate, so courses are usually found to be very useful. It is one of the very few courses that is backed by the US government, so users and students alike can be sure of the validity of the information and be confident that their skills will be useful in modern American business settings.

Google Toolbar for an Online MBA Program

Google’s web toolbar was one of the first and rapidly became one of the most popular web toolbar choices for use. It offers users a chance to integrate their email account and other Google services with a functional toolbar that performs web searches using the Google search engine. It is available for both Firefox and Internet Explorer with a minimal download. Once the download is complete, users should see a “Google” branded toolbar below the address bar on their web browser. Typing a search query into the toolbar will perform a web search and automatically direct the user to search results.

Yahoo Toolbar for an Online MBA Program

Another contender in the web toolbar race is Yahoo’s brand of toolbar. It is similar in its functions and operations when compared to Google toolbar, but also comes with an added spyware detector and deterrent for users of Internet Explorer. This small addition can greatly enhance a user’s protection while surfing the Internet and offers comparable levels of performance versus the Google toolbar. It is definitely worth looking at if a student primarily uses Internet Explorer!

Are Toolbars Safe for Online MBA Programs?

Web toolbars have experienced a recent decline in usage in recent years. This is because web toolbars are notorious platforms for virus and spyware distribution through malicious coders who develop fraudulent toolbars. It is therefore important for students to ensure that they download web toolbars from a reputable source and remain within recognized stable companies, which include Google and Yahoo. Other lesser known names might not offer the same level of performance and could damage a system if installed.

If a student uses software provided from a reputable recognized source, then they should experience no problems in using web toolbars. This means students should always download from recognized websites; either from the source of the toolbar or from a reputable third party mirror. Pop-ups prompting for the installation of web toolbars on seemingly random websites should best be avoided. They could be viruses!

The Online Books Page for an Online MBA Program

The Online Books Page is a well-indexed online library for free use. It is hosted by the University of Pennsylvania and provides free access to over 30,000 books and titles in current circulation. Each title is formatted in HTML and can be accessed by any HTML capable device for instant reading. There are no registration processes involved, so users have instant access to all of the titles that are currently hosted on the website.

Online MBA students find The Online Books Page particularly useful. This is because the website hosts several business topics and titles, such as those related finance, accountancy, marketing, and law. Having these titles on hand can be a great cost reducer for students as some core text books may be available on The Online Books Page, so can be accessed and stored free of charge!

Project Gutenberg for an Online MBA Program

Project Gutenberg is another excellent free to use resource for online texts. It is similar to The Online Books Page in terms of its interface and presentation, but caters more closely to those interested in fiction and out of print texts. However, this does not mean that online MBA students won’t find Project Gutenberg useful. The website offers several business-related topics such as finance, marketing, and administration for free access and reading.

Why Use an Online Library for an Online MBA Program?

Online libraries can be a great way to reduce the cost of textbooks in a college program. If students can adjust to reading from a screen as opposed to reading from a physical book, then there are few reasons to purchase textbooks if they are available in online libraries free of charge! However, students should always be ready to challenge what they read in online libraries. While it isn’t likely that text will be tampered with, there is always an opportunity to do so!

Wikipedia and an Online MBA Program

Wikipedia is widely hailed as an excellent free to use resource for information. It is publicly maintained to ensure data integrity and keen watchdogs keep tabs on who edits content and what adjustments are made. This is done to help weed out those who abuse the service or make adjustments that are untrue or aren’t founded with fact. Users may also flag information as inaccurate, which allows users to vote on what piece of information is most valid related to an article.

Students in an online MBA program will find that Wikipedia hosts several pages of information related to their program. Wikipedia offers articles on marketing, human resources, sales, finance, management, and other pages of information related to core components. Students may use these to supplement their learning and gain further insight into specific topics.

However, there is also a growing criticism that surrounds Wikipedia. Because it is publicly edited by general users, students may find that the information they access at a specific time is invalid or has been tampered with. This can make it all too easy to read false information. For this reason, students should always cross reference their sources with textbooks and be prepared to challenge the information they read on Wikipedia.

Britannica and an Online MBA Program

For students who are concerned about the validity of the information they read on line, then Encyclopedia Britannica can offer an ideal solution. It operates with similar functions to Wikipedia, but is backed by a world renowned encyclopedia publisher that is known for its accurate information and general usefulness. Unfortunately, students must be prepared to pay an access fee in order to read articles posted on Britannica’s website. These fees can vary, so it is important for students to compare and contrast the various plans on offer in order to come to a sound judgment regarding if Britannica is an ideal solution for them.

What are Hashtags in an Online MBA Program?

Hashtags are usually placed at the end of a post and are started with the hash key, which is represented by #. Using a hashtag allows users to click on the term and be shown a list of relevant posts that also contain the hashtag. They are particularly useful marketing tools as posts can be inserted into a hashtag search query that direct users towards their own personal content. While this can be regarded as spam, there is a fine line as to what is actually declared spam on the Twitter service and there have not been many public acknowledgments of banning as a result of spam posts on the network.

How can Hashtags Be Used for My Online MBA Program?

Hashtags can be used to draw users into discussing online MBA topics. Students may post messages or “tweets” to the network that are followed by subject specific hashtags, such as #Finance, #HR, #Marketing, or even #MBA. Fellow users who also post using these terms will be able to instantly network themselves in order to converse with one another using the service! This means that Twitter can provide students with an all-in-one solution to the social qualms that are associated with online study. No longer will they experience feelings of loneliness or isolation!

Is Twitter a Viable Social Option for Online MBA Students?

Twitter can be both a positive and negative for some students depending on their own personal preferences. The network restricts posts to 140 characters, so it can feel very much like sending SMS text messages over the Internet when trying to cram in a bunch of information! However, many experiences have led to students feeling that the network is generally friendly and helpful. It is also not uncommon for users to be willing to connect with one another in order to share their strengths. The service does present an initial learning curve to adjust to the requirement of 140 character posts, but once this has been overcome, then students will find themselves becoming “tweet crazy”!

Using Google to find Online MBA Blogs

Google can be a powerful search tool when guided using appropriate measures. In order to uncover online MBA blogs, students should first come to terms with such terminology as long tail search, stop words, and the use of quotation marks in the search process.

Long tail searches are search queries that use a specific term or written as a full question. Many searches tend to use simple keywords to uncover a wide array of results, but these results can be narrowed by adding more specific terms and phrases to form a long tail search. This means that “online MBA blog” can be narrowed by querying “online MBA blog with human resources and marketing articles”.

It is also important to note the importance of avoiding stop words when using Google. The search engine is trained to avoid common words such as a, an, the, and to, so using these in a search term is often useless as Google will simply ignore the terms. There have been several reasons posed for why this might be, but the general agreement is that stop words are ignored to decrease the time it takes to perform a search. Google is the most accessed website in the world according to Alexa traffic research, so its highly advanced filtering system is a strong backbone to its overall excellent performance at most times.

Quotation marks are also beneficial for students to use when performing searches. These force Google to narrow search results to specific search queries in their presented order, so “online MBA blog” will query websites that have this term in its exact order. This can make searches more well-honed and could direct students to specific information more quickly than those searches that do not contain quotation marks. Quotation marks can also be “stacked”, which means that quoted search terms can be combined with unquoted search terms to draw information related to the quoted search term closer to the first page.