re: LSUS Online MBA Reviews

Congrats @mtntreks!

Get it anyway, it's only a one-time $60 which is nothing after the cost of the MBA. It might not ever be helpful, but it will never be harmful. Regardless, even if it does nothing, it will still be more valuable than ISDS 705 (or ISDS 710 for that matter).

@GeauxUF hahaha at riveting tale of Principles Of Managerial accounting. I think i read a similar riveting tale about Strategic HR while I was on a beach in Miami this past summer. Sometimes you have to sacrifice.

Love the idea of text to speech. Wish I was that type of learner as I have a lot of road time for work. But I am far from an auditory learner and I regularly practice selective listening ha!

@baroquen how are you holding up in 760 and 720? Again, what possessed us to do this to ourselves? At this point I can crank out a 10+ page paper like it's nothing

@mtntreks congrats! you going to the induction ceremony?

waiting for these last 4 weeks to be here and gone. It's so close....yet so far...

@bsramzy that PAYTMs wallet case is so stupid... He’s asked 20 questions about It and it’s only an 8 page article that provides no info or insight on any of the questions he is asking. For Most of the questions I’ve had to do outside research and google info, and I still don’t quite understand what the company is all about....glad someone else is sick of that dumbass case. And just as a I thought - the last skill builder he docked me 3 points because it wasn’t long enough - this time I filled in with complete nonsense b.s. to up my word count.....and he gave me bonus points! What a colossal waste of time, effort, and energy

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@baroquen how are you holding up in 760 and 720? Again, what possessed us to do this to ourselves? At this point I can crank out a 10+ page paper like it's nothing

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Im doing the same 760 , 720 along with isds 705. Typing a paper is now something I can do in my sleep. I have never been good at it, but apparently one way to learn is when your given a large volume to do.

The Paytm case is interesting to me. I've actually enjoyed doing research on it. I think there are three challenges that must be overcome in understanding the business case:

1 - View the actual business case document in the course as a "to be continued" story. The business case ends right when things start reaching a very critical pivot point for Paytm. The decisions Paytm has made since then are a story of a founder essentially playing poker and going all in with other investors' equity at stake. Doing the research on Paytm to catch up to today uncovers a lot of new facts that make analyzing the case easier - and fascinating.

2 - Both the actual business case document and news on Paytm are generally written by people who know English as a secondary language. It takes extra time to decipher Indian terminology (crores, lakh, exchange rates) in order to learn exactly what is going on.

3 - Adapting to the overall nuances of analyzing a foreign market. The external business environment of India is very different than the US, and some extra research has to be done to get a sense of the challenges Paytm and its competitors face. It's a great opportunity to apply the external environment analysis concepts taught in the course.

Once I got past those hurdles, I found the business case to be quite interesting.

I'm with those i meeks that are actually liking the case analysis and class in general. My group is great. And I'm definitely learning alot in the class. Like somebody said previously, you get out of it what you put in.

lexid18.

Look like 2-3 pages back and you will see two posts that I made with extensive reviews of 5 of the classes. If you're interested in any specialization or concentration you should also indicate that so people can suggest electives.

Foundation courses aren't recommended. Waste of time/money, especially with even a minor background in Business. At worst you'll spend an hour or two to brush up on things you lack.

Lin is not actually recommended if you're hoping to learn something. Lin is only recommended for those needing an easy pairing with a heavy class. The class requires very little work and provides even less useful knowledge. Gibbs appears to be the recommendation for ISDS 705.

Oh... and avoid ISDS 710.

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One reason why I chose LSUS is because of its affiliation with the flagship campus. I highly doubt they will allow the Shreveport campus to come even close to being at risk of losing their accreditation. Additionally, I have a peer paying several tens of thousands of dollars more than us in a "prestigious" business school and spent her first class dealing with a similar debacle of disorganization and lack of professor engagement. She said it was a mess and his lectures were awful and only served to confuse them basically. But goes to show there are bad professors everywhere. Nobody panic.

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They used to advertise that it is the same education, same curriculum, with some of the same instructors, for a lot less money.

If that is so, our education system really sux. The quality of the MBA program at LSUS has been very disappointing. Most students are not here to learn. Most are here to navigate the easiest path to the letters behind their name and just do not want to work for it. I don't mean to offend anyone, but you know it is true.

Now that you don't need to buy textbooks, the quality is even worse. As someone pointed out earlier, the information is so outdated in the "free" texts, it only substantiates that teaching and learning are not priorities in this program.

Most teachers do not teach at all. Most exams do not test knowledge or ability to think or work through problems. There are some wonderful exceptions, but they are rated wonderful only because of what they are compared to in the rest of the program.

APA compliance is more important than content. Many times, assignments do not relate to course material. If you learn anything in the course of making your A, it is because you decided to, not because you had to.

Classes that are time consuming are so because of busy work and silly requirements that are disconnected from learning.

Perhaps the worst thing is that most of the instructors have absolutely no experience in the real world of business. They are academics who have never had a real job, and it shows. Look them up. They are experts at rights of passage, hoop jumping, busy work, tactical research, and have no original thoughts- nearly every sentence in their articles and other published material is a citation. OF course, there are a couple of, perhaps more, exceptions.

Exceptions are the the ones everyone mentions, Meeks and Shaugnessey.I don't include Vines as exceptional. Otherwise, it is pay your 12.5 grand, go through some hoops, get your MBA with a 4.0, unless you trip on a hoop, but then you can whine about extra credit and get your A anyway. And if you don't, it is likely because you bombed a test that asked you about an insignificant minutia data set that nobody cares about and you didn't understand the badly worded answer choices or questions correctly.

Fortunately, I do not need the MBA for learning how business works since I am already well into my career. But, if you think an MBA from LSUS makes you better at running any business or more qualified to be successful than those who do not have an MBA, or that you are even remotely prepared to handle significant roles in business because of it, you have been fooled.

This is the reality and most of us don't like looking at reality and won't admit it. But, you know it is true.

This is why I think one should not put "MBA" after their name as all MBA's are not created equal. An MBA from LSUS is not on equal footing as an MBA from Wharton.

@businessknight I'm going to have to agree to disagree with you. For you to say completing the program doesnt make you better prepared to run a business or having a position of significance is you discounting the entire process of obtaining the degree. The prioritization, studying, reading, comprehensive writing etc that has to occur to get through the classes alone teaches something. Regardless of the specific curriculum. Effort had to be put forth to complete the class. More effort likely resorted in better grades. So yes you do get out of it what you but in. I knew going into an online program that a lot more self teaching and guiding would be involved.

I loosely equate the Harvard/lsus debate to public/private school debates that occur daily. Does paying more money mean better education? Maybe. Maybe not. Does paying more money guarantee a better education. Not necessarily. Regardless those public school kids are learning and still go on to be successful, well educated, well rounded individuals who go on to own extremely successful businesses. Education is about expanding your knowledge base. Whether you do it through formal or informal channels you are still learning something. You are basically discounting the entire process and stating you got nothing from your time earning your degree. At least that's how it came across to me
And If that is the case. that's a bummer. Because you should be proud of the degree you earned from LSUS. I know I will be. Go Pilots!