Brown’s online master’s footing bill at expense of reputation

[smartdegree]

Nice article written by a Brown student.  

I think it is fair to say that most elite universities treat their online masters as "cash cows". 

https://www.browndailyherald.com/article...reputation

[Kjnova]

The article makes some good points. Maybe this isn't an area where Brown has much to offer, other than reputation, since they apparently don't offer many business degrees in general. And, the price is higher than some options. For instance, at $7,500/class, 8 classes, Brown's MiM is $60K. UIUC's MSM is about $13K and its MBA is about $26K.

What Brown has to sell here is reputation, and they are selling it. That could be a fair deal for some students.

This student who wrote the article is invested in the traditional aspects that have built Brown's reputation, and doesn't want those things undercut, so that the full strength of Brown's reputation applies to her (or his? Batisse) on-campus degree. That is understandable. But, it results in the student making an essentially elitist argument against broader access.

I disagree with the concept that flexible delivery methods are inferior. I think each has its place, and for a program like MiM, flexible is probably overall better. Certainly more accessible. For me, had this been available when I was picking, or maybe it was and I just wasn't aware of it, but either way, the main blocker would have probably been that there is not a path to an MBA. While I'd love to have an Ivy League master's, I would not like it to be capped at the MiM level with no stacking path toward more. That said, it's good to have options, and for some people, this may be a great option.

Note also, Brown has a MOL (organizational leadership) for $45K.

[bjcheung77]

Most programs from non public state system institutions (yes, the recognized private institutions or near Ivy League status) are cash cows. It doesn't matter if it's at the undergraduate level or graduate level. If one of these are offered with Coursera or EdX, that would be amazing, it'll be more affordable and the learning system would be familiar for those who have used these MOOC's before...