ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Women Friendly MBA Programs and MBA 101By Della de Lafuente
Women-Friendly MBA Programs
With applications for executive MBA programs and part-time programs increasing 38 percent and 46 percent, respectively, in 2005, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council, business schools are designing accelerated executive training programs in finance and marketing for women and are offering more specialized support to fit their lifestyles. Here's a sampling:
Women as Leaders
In addition to a full-time program, The Simmons College School of Management boasts the nation's only part-time, two-year MBA designed just for women. It offers a gender-specific curriculum featuring case studies led by women and emphasizes the potential that women have as managers, says Dean Deborah Merrill-Sands.
Cost: About $48,000
Click: simmons.edu/som/mba
Life/Work Balance
The global executive program at Columbia University's School of Business helps women at work and at home by reducing the class meeting schedule to once a month for four days and eliminating weekend classes.
Cost: About $120,195
Click: gsb.columbia.edu/emba
Childcare
Stanford University's Graduate School of Business offers daycare options and referrals for students, who arrange class schedules to fit childcare needs.
Cost: $69,623 to $82,283
Click: gsb.stanford.edu/mba/faq/qa_family_life.html and gsb.stanford.edu/finaid/cost/index.html
Distance Learning
Schools such as the University of Illinois, Chicago, and Indiana University's Kelley School have started online MBA programs that allow students to continue to work while taking the school's regular business school courses via the Internet.
Cost: For 12 or more credit hours at UIC, in-state: $5,712; out-of-state: $10,903. At Indiana University, tuition is $850 per credit hour plus textbooks, course materials, meals, computers and other technology costs
Click: online.uillinois.edu and kd.iu.edu
Lifelong Exec Training
The Harvard Business School offers Charting Your Course, an executive training program open to alumni of its two-year MBA program. The two-day summer course is designed for executives returning to work and helps them polish technical skills, network, learn how to stay current, and take marketing and finance classes while exploring the next phase of their executive careers.
Cost: HBS Alumni Club members: $375; non-club HBS alumnae and non-HBS, affiliated business school alumnae: $400 and $500, respectively
Click: hbs.edu and alumni.hbs.edu/lifelong_learning/alumni_programs/cyc.html
MBA 101:
What You Should Know
Do the research. If you're thinking about graduate school, find info on the top business schools, scholarships, tuition assistance and programs for women. Click: fortefoundation.org or mba.com.
Avoid getting scammed. Investigate the certification and accreditation of academic institutions at uceadirectory.org, an online directory of certificate and degree programs offered by regionally accredited colleges and universities.
Stay debt-free. Enroll part time to keep the paychecks coming while you study. Ask your HR manager if your employer provides tuition assistance. PINK Tip: Some employers pick up 100 percent of the tab if you agree to stay with the company for a specified time period.
