Payout vs. payoff

Getting an MBA is not cheap. In fact, you can count on paying thousands of dollars at a minimum for this educational enhancement. To make matters more complicated, the cost of obtaining an MBA varies from school to school, with online and traditional options also having different price tags.

Here are three of the many options available, each carrying different price tags and payoffs.

Option One: Haute Etudes Commerciales (HEC) Montreal is the independent business school affiliated with the Universite de Montreal. Its MBA program fee varies depending on where you live, costing $7,100 for Quebec residents, $14,000 for Canadian residents, and $30,000 for international students. "These (prices) are approximate but close," said Michael Wybo, director of HEC Montreal's MBA program. "They are also all in: no additional fees or charges (except books and supplies) and they are for the whole MBA program, not just for one year."

Option Two: The Penn State iMBA program, an online program with some in-person training sessions, currently charges $7,294 U.S. per term for each of eight terms, or $58,352 for the entire two-year program. "The cost of the online MBA program covers all tuition, books, course materials, fees, and room and board during the residency experiences," said Ashutosh Deshmukh, Penn State iMBA program chair and professor of accounting and MIS. "The only cost not covered is the transportation to the residency experiences. There is no additional charge for non-Pennsylvania (or non-U. S.) residents."

Option Three: The Desautels MBA program at McGill University is a prestigious option with a price tag to match. "For full-time students entering the program next fall, tuition will be $34,750 a year," said Don Melville, director of MBA and master's programs at the Desautels Faculty of Management. Since this is a two-year program, the cost is "$69,500 total," he said, "including the cost of the international study trip." ...

Read full article: The Gazette, February 9, 2012