PRICING SUCCESS: RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF
THE ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS SCHOOLS IS THE VOICE FOR THE UK’S BUSINESS SCHOOLS AND INDEPENDENT MANAGEMENT COLLEGES
ABS sets the agenda for business and management education in the UK within an increasingly international environment.
It develops influential policies and promotes, communicates and lobbies on these at local, regional, national and international levels as appropriate.
Collectively, our members provide business and management education for over 250,000 students a year.
ABS works with similar organisations in Europe and around the world including: • The Arab Society of Faculties of Business
• Economics and Political Sciences (BEPS)
• Association of African
MBA PROGRAMS By Ross Geraghty
• The French Foundation for Management Education.
Business Schools • Association of
• Association of Asia Pacific Business Schools
Graduate Recruiters
• Baltic Management Development Association
• British Council • Canadian Federation of Business School Deans
• Chartered Institute of Public Relations
When those involved in the business school world – from deans, academics, and school faculty; to applicants, their family, and their friends – ask how much it costs to get on an MBA program, the result often leaves them spluttering into their coffee with shock.
• European Foundation for Management Development
After all, business school requires what can seem, especially to those who have no interest in furthering their business education, an enormous upfront outlay of fees and annually accrued expenses. This is especially true when the MBA candidate, as is very often the case, chooses to study overseas.
Harvard Business School for instance, estimates an annual US$84,000 expenditure for a single MBA student. This includes fees, estimated accommodation and personal costs. However, the figure could tip into the six-figure sum when travel, books, study trips and other outgoings are factored in.
Most schools will have lower fees than Harvard. But for the international student in particular, considering an investment like this naturally requires a great deal of consideration and soul-searching.
In 2008/9 students from over 200 different countries came to the UK to study business and management, from Azerbaijan to Zambia, with students from China, India, Nigeria, Germany and France the most numerous.
Business and management statistics:
Business and management continues to be the most popular subject area of study for undergraduates and continues to increase at a faster rate than the sector as a whole.
Finance and hospitality are two particular growth areas at all levels of study, with Marketing and Management both proving increasingly popular at
postgraduate level.
• 1 in 8 undergraduates chose business and management.
• 1 in 5 postgraduates chose business and management.
• 1 in 4 international students. • £2bn estimated contribution to UK export earnings.
Cost Versus Investment
While many will ask 'how much does an MBA program cost?' you’ll note that schools in particular try to avoid the word ‘cost’ wherever possible. The best advice is that business school ought not to be measured as a ‘cost’ but as an ‘investment.’
• £7.5bn estimated contribution to regional economies. Source: HESA Student/Staff/Finance records 2009/10
Employers are looking for key skills including: communication, analytical and research abilities, good interpersonal skills and increasingly an awareness of sustainability practices for business and research.
“An MBA is not like a motor car,” says one Melbourne Business School MBA alumni. “When you buy a
So whether you want to work in management consultancy, local government, charity or for any other business or indeed start your own business, skills from a business and management course will place you in a good position to get a job and build a career.
New course directory coming soon listing all UK business school courses online – check our website for details.
Follow us on Twitter: @Londonabs
www.associationofbusinessschools.org
CASE STUDY Andy Nielsen, MSc Management 2009-10
car you use it until, if you’re lucky, you can sell it in a few years’ time at a depreciated fraction of the amount you paid for it. An MBA is the opposite. It appreciates in value over time.”
Even in these stringent times, the MBA is time and again proving its worth as a qualification.
While pursuing my undergraduate degree in Communications from Goucher College in the United States, I was approached by Team Durham (student sport) and told about a new sports scholarship through which I would receive my Masters in Management while representing Team Durham on the University Lacrosse Team. Durham University has a rich history as the third oldest university in the UK, and Durham University Business School's Masters programmes are continually ranked as among the best and most competitive in the world. Armed with that knowledge, making the decision to attend was an easy one.
The management degree not only opens up international barriers, but
Once at Durham, I often found myself studying outside of the cathedral in awe. The surrounding buildings are magnificent, and there is always something fun to do any day of the week. There is an eclectic mix of students studying at Durham, and everyone that I came into contact with was both intelligent and interesting. I remain friends with students I attended school with from around the world.
Du win & C was I also three centra stude an exp on with
In the c profess informat approac internatio be a huge As the glo having the with profes across the a perspecti exposed to days. I cont perspective BlackRock, t asset manag Trading Oper includes lever technologies in overall risk, red cost, and incre processing of tr knowledge I gai day to day activi helped differentia and I continually in the office to my
allows for career progression or career change. However as average salary figures included in the recent QS Global 200 Business Schools Report show, it retains a very high level of return on investment.
Mary Granger, associate director of admissions and career services at ESADE Business School in Spain, agrees: “Despite the tough economic climate in many mature markets, today’s MBA graduates are global players with language skills and geographic flexibility who are able to use the knowledge acquired in their MBA wherever companies need them.
“We see recent growth in fast- growing countries such as Brazil, India, United Arab Emirates and South Africa, as well as other emerging markets which have been relatively isolated from the global crisis, and where the MBA skills can be put to good use. So return on investment has remained high on a global scale.”
Calculating the Return on Investment
In general terms, return on investment is best thought of as the amount of time it will take you to repay your MBA program expenditure; given that almost all MBA alumni experience uplift in their salary within a year of completing their program.
Let’s use Oxford University’s Saïd Business School as an example.
Referring to
TopMBA.com’s business school profiles, it’s easy to find that the mean-base salary for MBA alumni taking job offers within three months of completing the Saïd MBA is equivalent to US$98,000. Furthermore, it shows that 60% of alumni go into finance,
accounting or consulting. To live comfortably and pay all their fees, the student will need US$84,000 for the year, according to the school.
The latest
TopMBA.com Applicant Survey found that the current average salary among MBA applicants in the UK is just under US$61,000. This shows a salary uplift of US$37,000 per year, therefore the time required to repay that initial investment is less than two-and-a-half years.
Given an average work expectancy of around 35 years at a high rate of earning, this seems like a no-brainer, especially considering factors such as performance-related bonuses and MBA scholarships, which may shorten this time period even more.
For Nick Barniville, MBA director at the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) in Germany, this mathematical approach has some value. He suggests that looking at business school and applying the kind of financial models that MBA programs encourage, is an advantageous way of working out whether an MBA degree at a certain school makes a reasonable investment.
“Potential MBA students make their decision based on their calculation of the net present value (NPV) of the investment,” he says. “[MBA candidates] take the opportunity cost of foregoing their current salary for either one or two years, add this to the price of tuition, minus any financial aid available and living expenses in their target cities, and compare this to the expected increase in income that they are likely to earn over their career post-MBA. All else being equal, the school which has the highest NPV will be chosen.
Working out the Average MBA Salary
It is always a good idea to look closely at the salary figures provided by business schools.
This is an ‘average salary’ that alumni have told their schools, but beware – these are two parties for whom a higher figure looks better than a lower one. However, identifying return on investment is not an exact science and it’s often one that is hard to pin down, as most of the figures are inexact or based on averages.
Most people will use the ‘average salary upon completion’ of the MBA program, which can be found on
TopMBA.com's business schools profiles, or via TopMBA Scorecard.
Additionally, this average is going to be far higher for a school such as London Business School, which produces a disproportionately high number of financiers and investment bankers.
Another factor to consider is: at which stage in an alumni’s career does a school take the average salary figure? At their first post-MBA position, or at one, five, or even ten years after graduation, when a salary is likely to be far higher?
Candidates need to look carefully at what a realistic return on investment is for them as an individual. What is the likely salary window they are going to be operating in when they complete their studies?
Find out more about financing your MBA at:
www.topmba.com/mba- admissions/mba-finance
HEADING FOR THE USA! The 10 Countries Sending the Most Students to the U.S.
5% Taiwan (24,818)
STUDYING ABROAD MAKES YOU MORE ATTRACTIVE
3% 4% 38% China (194,029) Japan (21,290) Vietnam (14,888)
Good news! Just by studying abroad you’re instantly more interesting and attractive. This is because travel is the most talked about subject on a first date! According to a survey, commissioned by Expedia, travel is the most popular topic for first-date conversation - 50% of respondents said they’d discuss travel, beating both work (42%) and music (31%). So, as international students, you’ll have plenty to talk about in the future when trying to charm someone.
International students starting life in a new country tend to have two things in common: they are young and they are single. OK, so this is a bit of a generalisation, and of course there are exceptions - namely mature students and people attempting long-distance relationships - but as a rule of thumb, it usually hits the nail on the head. So studying abroad is conductive of dating.
International students also tend to spend time intermingling while at university, whether at welcome parties, in language class or at special networking events. This can be a great way to meet new people from all over the world and find out about new cultures.
3% 14%
South Korea (73,351)
But, what happens when you want to make a good first impression on somebody you fancy and you have no idea how it’s done where they come from? Even if they like you back the differences in flirting customs vary massively from one country to the next, meaning you could both miss out on romance as your wires get crossed. At worst this could even lead to the person you have a crush on getting offended by your actions or remarks!
For instance in Italy has a strong body contact culture so touching is a natural way to show interest, but in the Netherlands, unless you know somebody very well, touching is a big no-no.
So the best idea is to do a bit of research first. In this love and travel infographic that Expedia produced, based on the aforementioned research, there is a basic guide to cross-cultural flirting, which is a good starting point to avoiding confusion.
Mexico (13,713)
So, have confidence and talk about our travels while flirting but just remember to be sensitive to other people’s cultures, especially when it comes to affairs of the heart. Although, an embarrassing story about how you were misunderstood when trying it on can always provide your friends with some laughs!
4% Saudi Arabia (22,704)
6%
Canada (27,546) Turkey (12,184) 2% 21% India (103,895) Source CBS News, November 2012
INTERNATIONAL
YOUR GUIDE TO GRADUATE STUDY AROUND THE WORLD
Help and Advice for Students Looking to Study Abroad
Study in China Studying Abroad Makes You More Attractive! Help With Graduate Admissions
BUSINESS AND FINANCE STUDY INTERNATIONAL for postgraduates
www.studyinternationalmag.com CONTENTS
International Graduate Opportunities: The 1994 Group Universities
Heading for the USA
Studying abroad makes you more attractive Business and Finance Health and Social Care Law
Cheapest Country to Study in
16 - 19 26 - 27 28 - 29 31 - 46 47 - 53 55 - 61 62 - 63
STUDY for postgraduates
www.studyinternationalmag.com ISSUE #18 SUMMER 2013 FREE!
QS Network Top University Rankings
Events and Fairs Across The Globe
Business & Finance and Law Sections
Latest News and Updates Worldwide Study Guides
The Best Postgrad Courses for International Students
STUDY INTERNATIONAL for postgraduates
Business and Finance
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