An online MBA

In the United States, Europe and Asia, typically the more education attained - the greater salary commanded. This is not necessarily the case in Australia though, unless you are trying to get a seat on the board of directors on a mid to large company - that has more to do with connections anyway.

Two questions remain; firstly, is an MBA worth the cost and effort and secondly, will the qualification get you that job or promotion?

A standard full-time MBA from a top university can cost up to $75,000 in Australia whereas an online MBA starts at $18,000 at the Central Queensland University, $24,000 at the University of New England and Southern Cross University, now renamed Federation University. 

Face-to-face delivery will set you back $30,000 for Curtin, Murdoch and Edith Cowan Universities, $46,000 at the University of Western Australia and Melbourne Business School topping the list at $75,000, slightly below the price at the Graduate School of Management.

The option of full time or part time courses creates a quandary, one year full-time versus two years part-time indicates a loss of income during that period - it takes a pretty good pay rise to make back $75k in a respectable time period.

Of course, MBAs are equipped with the tools to calculate their return of investment - although they should be able to crunch the numbers before they commit to such an intense program.

Executive MBA programs on the other hand are designed to meet the needs of executives, upper managers and increasingly middle managers - the advantage of maintaining employment is the ability to implement learned principles in an actual environment.

Given the cost of a full-time MBA, one could assume the full-time face-to-face is of higher quality given the price differential. The online version of the MBA is significantly cheaper, one would presume the class sizes are somewhat larger but lack the vis-a-vis interaction between lecturer, class members, corporate practitioners and links to industry.

Reputation is paramount where prestige and brand dictate employability prospects, likewise, strong alumni ties builds relationships. The ability to work from textbooks, communicate via a learning platform such as Moodle, C6 or Blackboard suits adult learning styles.

Online MBAs are suitable for those who are motivated and well prepared to manage their own learning outcomes - facilitation methodology for humanistic learners according to Rogers is student-centered and highly personalised.

The job market for recent graduates is tight, online delivery is significantly cheaper with a major advantage of maintaining full-time employment (needed to pay for the course) and viewed equally with face-to-face delivery. A ROI of $25k is much easier to reconcile as compared to $75k with further advantage of gaining and maintaining actual work based experience.

That being said, gaining a $25k pay rise could see educational debt paid off in 5 years after tax, that's tacked onto the two years required to complete the qualification - a 7 year commitment. The disadvantage of online study is the lack of personal relationships combined with no tutorials and the ability to practice presentation skills.