Online degrees usually don't carry much weight in the business world, but one new program promises to be different.
At least, its creators are.
Newsweek magazine and test-preparation company Kaplan are teaming up to create what the organizations believe is the first Internet-based business program run by a magazine.
Called Kaplan University/Newsweek MBA, the two-year degree - which will cost $26,000 - is mostly targeted towards working adults who don't have the time to attend a regular university.
Although Wharton MBA students think this degree will unlikely prove any real competition, they think the Newsweek brand name will set it apart.
But how different will this degree really be from the myriad of online degrees currently available?
Very different, says Kaplan spokeswoman Caitrin Muldoon.
"Lots of business schools don't have a holistic approach to business," she said.
Kaplan aims use Newsweek's wide coverage of national and international issues to its advantage. Since the newsmagazine is always up-to-date with global events, the online MBA curriculum would also be updated constantly.
"We may use the recent HP scandal [in which the company allegedly electronically tracked a journalist] or the bird flu in Thailand as examples in our online classrooms," Muldoon said.
Students in the program are required to have a 3.0 cumulative GPA from their undergraduate degrees, Muldoon said. The number of seats per Internet class is limited to 15.
But while Kaplan is optimistic about the program, Penn students were less enthusiastic.
"I wouldn't consider an online degree even if Harvard was providing it," said Wharton junior Gani Diwan, pointing to the importance of face-to-face interactions.
And while many Wharton MBA students had similar views, some did pause to consider the appeal of the Newsweek and Kaplan brand names.
"If this sort of branded degree is recognized in today's business world, then I would have considered it," second-year Wharton MBA student Ashish Khemka said, adding that he thought the Kaplan/Newsweek degree couldn't replace top-tier business schools.
