Columbus Business School or UCLA Anderson School of Management?

[Life Long Learning]

I have the opportunity to attend one 4-month Live Online executive education program this Fall.  Which one would you?
 
Certificate in Business Excellence (CIBE)
Columbia University – Columbia Business School
Program Fee: $26,800
M7 Business School
Ivy League
Ranked 8th
https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/execed/certificates
 
Certificate in Advanced Leadership and Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management
Program Fee: $20,000
PAC-12
Ranked 16th
https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/executive-...ve-program
 

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-sch...a-rankings
 
 

[ThatBankDude]

I have the opportunity to attend one 4-month Live Online executive education program this Fall.  Which one would you?
 
Certificate in Business Excellence (CIBE)
Columbia University – Columbia Business School
Program Fee: $26,800
M7 Business School
Ivy League
Ranked 8th
https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/execed/certificates
 
Certificate in Advanced Leadership and Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management
Program Fee: $20,000
PAC-12
Ranked 16th
https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/executive-...ve-program
 

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-sch...a-rankings
 
 

Columbia is a tier above Anderson. This coming from a Duke Fuqua admit. ?

[ss20ts]

Depends who's paying for it. If I'm paying, then neither. There are better ways to spend $20,000. If work is paying, then I'm going with Columbia. 1) It's Ivy League so that impresses hiring type folks. 2) The school is older than the nation. 3) It's reputation.

[innen_oda]

Depends who's paying for it. If I'm paying, then neither. There are better ways to spend $20,000. If work is paying, then I'm going with Columbia. 1) It's Ivy League so that impresses hiring type folks. 2) The school is older than the nation. 3) It's reputation.

I would assume work is not paying, as otherwise there'd be no reason to mention the pricetag.

Agreed that there is no reason I would fork out 20 000USD for a certificate, unless the course material and networking opportunities were guaranteed to provide some incredible (and immediate) salary increase.

For certificate courses, the value is almost entirely based on the information containing within the course itself, as well as the networking opportunities. A Certificate in Business Excellence tells me nothing about the course itself (are these like centres of excellence? Making lots of money? Being ethical?), whereas at least the Advanced Leadership and Management cert has instant appeal on a resume or CV, because I know what that means.

[ss20ts]

Depends who's paying for it. If I'm paying, then neither. There are better ways to spend $20,000. If work is paying, then I'm going with Columbia. 1) It's Ivy League so that impresses hiring type folks. 2) The school is older than the nation. 3) It's reputation.

I would assume work is not paying, as otherwise there'd be no reason to mention the pricetag.

Agreed that there is no reason I would fork out 20 000USD for a certificate, unless the course material and networking opportunities were guaranteed to provide some incredible (and immediate) salary increase.

For certificate courses, the value is almost entirely based on the information containing within the course itself, as well as the networking opportunities. A Certificate in Business Excellence tells me nothing about the course itself (are these like centres of excellence? Making lots of money? Being ethical?), whereas at least the Advanced Leadership and Management cert has instant appeal on a resume or CV, because I know what that means.

If I"m paying, I'm looking at ecertificates from Harvard or Cornell. Why? MUCH cheaper. I know I could complete 3 of them at Cornell for this price and it's also Ivy League.

Guessing based on the spelling that you're British or Canadian or Australian possibly....Maybe somewhere else. In the US, Ivy League is a HUGE deal in the business world. Columbia University is one of the top ten universities in the US and they're world renowned. UCLA isn't nearly as impressive.

[Life Long Learning]

Work is not paying it.  The GI Bill will (my benefit for 36-mos in Afghan/Iraq).

UCLA would be 100% free and my cost for Columbia is $1,637.86 (minor). GI Bill limits private schools. Cost is really not a factor.

[bjcheung77]

If work is not paying for it and you're using your GI Bill, I would recommend going for a Masters program (if you don't already have a Masters). Go for something that you're interested in, instead of an undergraduate or graduate executive certificate. I think the current and future ROI on a Masters will be much better, even though you may not need it now. There are plenty of Masters available from the usual providers such as Coursera, Edx, with "Brand Name" Masters degrees, you may be better of with the $24K MBA from Boston University.

[innen_oda]

If I"m paying, I'm looking at ecertificates from Harvard or Cornell. Why? MUCH cheaper. I know I could complete 3 of them at Cornell for this price and it's also Ivy League.

Guessing based on the spelling that you're British or Canadian or Australian possibly....Maybe somewhere else. In the US, Ivy League is a HUGE deal in the business world. Columbia University is one of the top ten universities in the US and they're world renowned. UCLA isn't nearly as impressive.

I'm well aware of the American adoration of their own Ivy League schools. I'm speaking as a hiring manager, and unless I've also gone to your same Ivy League uni, I'm looking at what your professional focus is, and how that can benefit me when I hire you. A cert of business excellence is like . . . what? What does that mean? Leadership and Management is much more illustrative, and tells me that this CV belongs to someone who most probably wants to enter into a leadership position, or at least a position of some influence. And if it's buttressing other leadership-related experience, and I have a leadership position, then this CV has moved up in the pile. A great combo of work and study.

A certificate in Business Excellence must mean something special to someone, because to me, it sounds a bit hollow and throwaway. The school name is the only plus to this cert, because everything else about that cert would have me unimpressed. I'd have to ask about it during the interview to understand it's value - and if you're relying on the interview stage to justify something on your resume, then you're better off saving the space for something else.

So yes, I would agree that the Cornell certificates (I have one of these myself) would hold a lot more value here, if all a person is after is a good school name.
In fact, you could get a Cornell cert in Leadership, and for around 2000USD - a much better deal all around.

[ss20ts]

OP,

Since you're using GI Bill funds why not take ecertificates at Cornell or elsewhere where they are SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper. Seriously, you'd be able to complete 3 ecertificates from Cornell for this amount of money - possibly more. If you don't already have a master's degree, I'd seriously consider that because $20,000 goes quite far at many schools when it comes to grad schools. You can get a MBA at LSU and still have over $5K leftover for example.

[Life Long Learning]

These two programs get you official alumni status and listed in their alumni directory.  Does eCornell? I hate that name.