Write Your Success Story With an Online MBA

Success in business requires skill. It requires strategy. Most of all, it requires you to prove yourself—to demonstrate that you deserve the opportunity to lead. Getting an online MBA, for many executives, is an important step in their success stories. It’s the one thing in their career that makes the biggest difference in their future.

Many students in online MBA programs work while they’re earning their degrees, which gives them the security of continuing to make money and build experience while they study. However, working and going to school simultaneously requires a pinpoint focus and the ability to motivate yourself; you have to complete graduate work while still excelling at your job, and that’s no easy task.

Don’t kid yourself: You have to work hard to earn your MBA online. Your twice-weekly appointment to appear in an on-campus business classroom is replaced by online, often self-paced, work. Your classmates interact with you in a virtual setting, and you have to make a real effort to build relationships. Not everyone has what it takes to complete an online MBA. You need exceptional discipline and unquenchable determination. Earning a challenging degree online is not a path for the faint of heart.

But then, leadership isn’t for the faint of heart, either.

Online MBA programs prove to your future employers—and most importantly, to you—that you have the drive, the passion and the skills to take your place as a successful business leader. Getting your online MBA demonstrates both your focus and your determination to meet your goals. The skills you learn, the network you build and the good habits you develop can set you up for a lifetime of success in business. Ninety-four percent of MBA graduates say they’d do it all again; that’s how financially and personally rewarding the experience can be.¹

Here’s a taste of where the online MBA has been, where it is now and where it’s going. Learn what real graduates have to say about how an MBA changed their futures—and start writing your success story today.

Timeline: A Brief History of the Online MBA

1900: Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business launches the world’s first MBA program. The class consists of 4 students.¹
1960: The University of Illinois creates an intranet where students can access tutorials and listen to recorded lectures.²
1984: The Electronic University offers correspondence courses via floppy disk for DOS and Commodore 64, and students submit assignments over telephone lines using a modem.³
1987: Aspen University creates the world’s first online-only MBA program.⁴
1989: Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web, enabling universities to store documents and other data that students can then access remotely via hyperlinks.⁵
1994: CALCampus becomes the first completely online school; small internet service providers make it possible for more people to connect to the web and to online degree programs.⁶
2010: The MBA edges out the Master of Education as the most popular advanced degree.¹

What Graduates of Online MBA Programs Have to Say

The Numbers Don’t Lie:

• 91% of business school alumni said getting a management education was highly rewarding¹
• 66% viewed their business management education as financially rewarding¹
• 96% of employers say hiring business school grads creates value for their companies⁷
• Full-time MBA graduates find jobs with starting pay (including salary and bonuses) totaling 50% more, on average, than their pre-MBA earnings; graduates of part-time MBA programs earn an average of 41% more⁸
• Five years out, full-time MBA grads earn, on average, 80% more than they did before their MBA. Students who earned their MBA part time earn 51% more than their pre-MBA pay five years after degree completion⁸
• Starting later in life is not a disadvantage: Right after graduating, someone who has completed a full-time MBA program earns an average of $2,822 more in starting pay for every year of work experience⁸
• 94% of people who’ve earned an MBA would do it again⁸

Earning an MBA Online Means:

• More career choices
• Faster salary growth
• A good investment of time and money⁸

Advice from Online MBA Graduates:

• Work in a variety of roles to gain strong cross-functional experience
• Don’t wait to pursue an entrepreneurial dream, even while you’re working on your degree
• Start at a prestigious, large company and learn as much as possible⁸

Are You Ready?

You are the author of your own success story; no one else can write it for you. Launch a chapter that will forever shape your future. Find out how to earn your online MBA from the University of Kansas today.

Do you have what it takes to lead? Find out more about the online MBA from the KU School of Business.