Review of University of Maryland

Review of University of Maryland

University of Maryland
  • Ranking: 4.37 from 29 reviews
  • Latest review: Jan 26, 2011
  • Programs: 8 programs
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University of Maryland

UMUC Overview

Founded in 1947, UMUC is one of 11 accredited, degree-granting institutions in the University System of Maryland (USM). Offering a broad range of cutting-edge classes, UMUC has earned a global reputation for excellence. Headquartered in Adelphi, Maryland, UMUC has classroom locations in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, Europe and Asia, and provides award-winning online classes to students worldwide. Select a link below to learn more about why more students and faculty are making UMUC their choice for higher learning.

MBA Program Objectives

The objectives of the MBA program are to explore the evolving nature of corporations, blend leadership with change management, learn to better measure an organization’s intellectual assets, examine how product development merges with entrepreneurship, and foster new approaches to measuring the economic performance of organizations.

MBA Program Description

Management responsibilities in today’s complex multi-national business organizations transcend a single functional specialty and require a broad array of specialized knowledge.

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is designed for mid-career professionals whose careers and management responsibilities transcend a single functional specialty and require a broad array of specialized knowledge and skills. The emphasis of this interdisciplinary, integrated, and applied degree program is on the significant organizational and management processes that take place in the context of large public or private institutions doing business on a global scale.

The goal is to prepare students for upper management and executive-level positions by developing key managerial competencies - including critical thinking, systems thinking, team building, decision making, and ethical leadership - that can be applied in any type of business enterprise.

Graduates of this program will be able to
  • Analyze the evolving nature of corporations.
  • Practice leadership with change management.
  • Measure an organization’s intellectual assets.
  • Identify how product development merges with entrepreneurship.
  • Foster new approaches to measuring the economic performance of organizations.

Program Details

Enrolled online MBA students: 2,272
Intakes per year: 4
Accreditation: Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Time limit for study: 5
Avg. time to complete: 2
Completed in 5 years: 93%
Examinations required: yes
Online examinations: yes
Teaching materials online: 50%
Online coursework: 100%
Teamwork with other students: yes
Has local study centers: yes
Required to study in local study centers: no
Required to study on campus: no
International students: 2.4%
Regions where MBA is supported: all

Estimated Cost

Semester hours required: 42
Cost per semester hour: $694
Fees: $340
Total program cost (estimated): $29,148

8 MBA Programs from University of Maryland

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Ranking 4.37 from 29 comments

  • Cullen at Corona, California, United States 5 Star Jan 26, 2011
    UMUC Grad Student
    I am a current UMUC Grad student (online only) and I must say that I am impressed with their program. The coursework is very rigorous, in retrospect to my counterparts who attend other colleges. The faculty is knowledgeable and supportive. UMUC definitely lives up to the University of Maryland system standards. My degree earned will be well worth it.
    There are 8 of 9 people like it!
  • Parson at Washington, District of Columbia, United States 4 Star Jan 18, 2011
    no direction
    Has no real direction should just be called a M.S in Management.
    There are 9 of 12 people like it!
  • Dottie at Wilmington, Delaware, United States 5 Star Dec 30, 2010
    Biotechnology, focus: Security and Defense
    I have had very good experiences with this graduate program. The professors are true professionals and many teach only part-time. A number of professors work for the private or federal sector and are therefore able to convey the most up-to-date trends in biotech to their students. The interface for the online courses is called webtycho and is a great tool overall. I am very satisfied with this university and the degree in particular.
    There are 8 of 12 people like it!
  • Elmo at Columbus, Ohio, United States 4 Star Dec 30, 2010
    Experience as an MBA grad from UMUC
    I graduated from University of Maryland, University College in August 2005 after completing the part-timeMBA graduate program. Overall, the greatest value of the UMUC graduate degree is the program's affiliation with the University of Maryland college system. Unlike other for profit higher education institutions, the state of Maryland has a tradition of providing a high quality education and graduates of the UMUC program stand to benefit from that reputation. With that said the UMUC MBA program is geared towards working professionals who are already established in their careers and searching for opportunities to advance within their respective companies or a designed field in which they already have considerable experience.

    One of the weakest aspects of the institution in general, is that there is little support in terms of career development or recruitment opportunities for individuals seeking to transition into a different career path after obtaining their MBA. To give you an example, while earning my MBA at UMUC, I was laid off from my job as a sales manager. I found that the university provided few career resources. The resources available were geared towards undergraduate, not graduate students. Also, with few exceptions, you also felt that you were simply a small number in a fairly successful program. I heard that with some other institutions, the graduate advisors take a more active approach and help the students reach their career goals through the graduate program. To its credit, I think the institution is able to attract top faculty due to its association with the University of Maryland’s higher education system.

    The MBA program at UMUC is structured into cohorts. Students progress through the program at the same pace, providing support for one another during the more strenuous parts of the program. I highly recommend the combination online and face-to-face MBA program format, particularly for the requisite study group sessions. Having a physical "face-to-face" point of reference helps for the study group cohesion, group interaction and group involvement - a huge benefit in subsequent courses.

    Overall, the UMUC MBA program is a great value compared to other MBA programs. The price per credit hour is the same regardless of residency status. Since I'm also pursuing another graduate degree at UMUC currently, I've noticed the University has taken great strides to leverage its alumni pool and have alumni serve as career mentors for recent graduates.
    There are 5 of 6 people like it!
  • Winona at United States 4 Star Dec 23, 2010
    The quality of my education is up to me
    I entered UMUC for two reasons: going to the University of Maryland was a childhood dream (I grew up in Annapolis) and because they accepted 42 credit hours of previous education (earned at AACC).

    My experiences are mixed. My initial contact with UMUC was with a student acting as a course advisor as part of the work study program. Red flag. I submitted my financial documents (tax returns etc) which they promptly loss. Red flag. I ended up resending those document two more times before losing my cool and demanding the name and address of a specific person who would then be required to sign a return receipt for the documents. This year wasn't any better. By contrast, you need something just short of a top secret security rating to get into "My UMUC" to track your academic progress, read course descriptions or register for classes. Too bad they don't use the same security measures to protect your financial documents...

    Professors are a mixed bag but you will have that at any institution at all levels of learning. That being said, there was a woman in my history class last semester (upper level course) who posted she was grateful for the ancient Greeks because "without them [she] would not have had [her] favorite cartoons: 'Hercules' and 'Xena.' " My point is, UMUC is a for-profit school and clearly profit is a priority over the quality of students accepted. There were 30+ student in that history class and only two other people besides the professor with whom I could, in good conscience, interact in the discussion forum.

    As for the academic and financial advisers....there would seem to be a space (or at least a title) for them but as for humans occupying those positions, it's anyone's guess. I haven't been able to speak with an adviser in either department other than my initial contact with the kid on work study at "intake advising." Clearly it is all about getting you signed up and qualified for financing, not unlike a used car salesman.

    All of that being said, whether I get a quality education or not is entirely up to me. I can do the work required to pass or I can exert the effort to submit my best work, ask questions, engage my class fellows and professors. It is up to me. An education takes effort no matter where you attend. If you are going to spend the money to go to school, why not get your money's worth...and I don't mean finding an explanation of the origin of your favorite cartoon.

    As I have always taught my sons, you get what you give. Just remember this: there is only one way to coast and that is downhill.
    There are 6 of 7 people like it!
  • Hinda at Herndon, Virginia, United States 4 Star Dec 01, 2010
    Great Teachers, Poor Support
    Overall, my experience at University of Maryland University College (UMUC) has been a good one. I earned my M.S. in Management (Accounting) there in 2005 and am currently working on my M.B.A. In terms of the quality of the teachers, materials, and student interaction, I would definitely recommend this school to my colleagues. The teachers are predominantly adjunct faculty, some of whom have a lot of real world business experience. As a good example, I had one professor, Richard Schmidt, who was the best finance professor I ever had. He was demanding, but he brought a lot of experience to the table, and his teaching has even impacted the way that I personally go about researching investments before laying my money down. The assignments are generally challenging and there are no on-campus/residential requirements.

    In terms of support UMUC can be wildly uneven. Graduate Advising does a good job helping you navigate such issues as program changes and enrollments. However, Financial Aid and Student Accounts are often lacking in responsiveness, both in terms of time, as well as quality of response. Here is a good example: a student I know recently submitted a financial aid appeal for the Spring term and had it granted. However, the appeal was mistakenly entered for Fall. The student had his Spring aid cancelled because there was no appeal granted for Spring. When it became clear that this was a data entry error, the student was informed that they needed to resubmit the appeal. From personal experience, you can also give up on receiving written and/or e-mail correspondence when changes are made to your financial aid or student account.

    Again, I have to give UMUC a great deal of credit. However, if you enroll please be advised to check your financial aid and student account status weekly, if not daily, in order to catch any potentially damaging (and unannounced) changes to them.

    Take care and good luck!
    There are 5 of 5 people like it!
  • Laurie at Sicily Island, Louisiana, United States 2 Star Nov 07, 2010
    Don't go there if you are on FA
    Do NOT attend UMUC if you are relying on FA! Although most colleges post aid disbursement dates on their Web pages that are easily accessible, UMUC acts as if it is some kind of state secret. The only thing you can find is, "Aid is disbursed approximately ten (10) days prior to the start of classes." What? 10 business days? 10 days? It is now 9 days-not business days- before the start of Fall semester and no disbursement.

    Summer session FA was disbursed on the first day of class, and then I had to wait another 10-14 business days for the State of Maryland to send a check. What this does is force students on FA to make a choice between not having a textbook when classes start or paying the inflated MBS book vendor prices that I'm certain UMUC gets a kickback from! They will automatically allow you to take $300 from anticipated FA ONLY IF you order from MBS, that btw is being sued for kickbacks: http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/04/08/26235.htm. FA will respond quickly to emailed questions but with vague answers that need clarification over and over.

    The few times I have emailed my "advisor" AFTER I enrolled, it took weeks to get a response.

    WebTycho (online class platform) is anything but user friendly. Each prof can arrange and post materials however they see fit, with no consistency, forcing the student to figure out EACH time they access a class where to find what materials! In "conferences" it is not possible to view the comments of other students while you are writing your own and probably responding to one of them!

    If you want an online education you will get an average one and NO support, especially if you depend on FA.
    There are 7 of 7 people like it!
  • Kiet at Newark, New Jersey, United States 5 Star Oct 22, 2010
    Recent BS Graduate
    My experience at UMUC has been wonderful. My major was Computer and Information Science with a minor in Business Administration. The course format was great in that I took both online and face-to-face courses.

    The teams I was on during that time were great. It helped me to be a team player, meet deadlines and and work with many people, some in other countries.

    The cost of a UMUC education is quite reasonable. I work for a DoD contractor and I compel my co-workers, especially the military to work on their education.
    There are 5 of 8 people like it!
  • Gale at Schaumburg, Illinois, United States 5 Star Oct 21, 2010
    Master of Science in Computer Systems Management
    I originally attended the University of Maryland Asian Division while stationed aboard Okinawa and attended classes on site. It was towards the end of my bachelor degree program that I first tried online courses via Web Tycho. I found them to be more challenging in that one was required to read and write much more than a typical face to face course.
    The same can be said for my current master of science in computer systems management degree track. I am specializing in information assurance and have found all of the classes to be relevant, topical, and well worth the investment. The only sticking point that I have had with the university is support when I needed to clarify what I identified as mistakes in my tuition charges. Even so, I still find this university to be an outstanding value and their degree well worth the time and effort one puts into it.

    There are 7 of 9 people like it!
  • Wafa at Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, United States 4 Star Oct 14, 2010
    Great Option
    I started with UMUC while in the Marines and continued after separation. Great support, generally excellent professors, course-work is applicable. I took in the neighborhood of 20 classes with UMUC and am positive with respect to my experience with them. I am proud to say that I graduated from UMUC.
    There are 9 of 9 people like it!

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