SA’s first low-cost MBA
Though SA universities are among those offering ‘massive open online courses’, the completion rate is low. And it is unclear how much value these courses have in the eyes of employers
Tom Ryan wants to give more South Africans the opportunity to do an MBA. To do this, Ryan, who co-designed the executive MBA at UCT’s Graduate School of Business, has developed SA’s first low-cost MBA equivalent. Ryan was inspired by the story of an American, Laurie Pickard, who earned her now widely publicised "no-pay MBA" using massive open online courses (MOOCs) and other low-cost online resources. He has partnered with a Cape Town-based nonprofit organisation, Salesian Life Choices, to create a two-year business education for R38,000. This is a fraction of the cost of MBAs offered by Wits, UCT and Stellenbosch — which range from R226,000 to R289,000 — and an even smaller portion of the fees for MBAs at top international business schools, amounting to well in excess of US$100,000. Naturally, Ryan’s low-cost MBA doesn’t come with the same credibility as its higher-education equivalents, and it is not yet accredited within a recognised qualifications framework. But the plan is not ...
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