Master of Business Administration, more popularly known as MBA, is one of the most selected options by students going for their master’s degree. People from all academic backgrounds have preferred Business Administration as their field of study, as demand for people in this field has been ever increasing.

MBA is available in a variety of formats including the traditional full-time MBA, executive MBA, part-time MBA, accelerated MBA and Online MBA. With pressures on time and lack of money, more and more students have been opting for Online MBA, which has sparked a debate over which is the more suitable format of MBA.

The choice over the format in which MBA should be pursued varies from student to student, because the issues and obstacles faced by every student are different.

Online MBA was almost considered taboo a few years ago. The main criticism was that the students doing the online course did not step inside a classroom ever and yet they were awarded with the degree.

This was said to be devaluing the degree, as the student who had been attending classes regularly and making a much more determined effort to get qualified, would have the same standing as one who sat at home and studied. Preference was given to students of the traditional format but over the last couple of years, no prejudice is faced by online MBA students.

One thing in favor of the traditional MBA is that many online MBA programs are not accredited and recognized, which means that the student will get a degree but it will get him nowhere. Often the teachers teaching in online MBA programs are not as qualified as those who teach in the traditional institutions. The students, therefore, do not learn as much as they would if they went for the traditional MBA.

Time is a common issue faced by most students who opt for online MBA. They are usually employed in full-time jobs, without which they would not be able to support their education. Students from a privileged background can easily opt for the traditional MBA as they have no pressure on them to work to pay for their educational expenses. Having an 8-hour workload and then having to study for 3 or 4 more hours is not practical and cannot be managed by all students.

The cost of a traditional MBA program and an online MBA program are relatively similar. But, some online MBA programs, especially those offered by the virtual schools cut down the cost to as much as half of a traditional MBA program. Most of the costs charged by a reputed traditional institution are for the reputation you can get by enrolling in their program. Minus that, the online MBA programs have everything that one needs to be successful in his/her chosen field.

When choosing which format of MBA you are going to choose, all the issues that you face must be clearly identified. Only then you can be sure about the choice you are going to make.