Which MBA?

[Jazlyn10]

The admin staff did informed me that she quit Times and wont be joining YMCA too.Heard that there is a talk this coming 20th Jan at YMCA, anyone going??

 

[infocard9886]

Strathclyde MBA is a good programme but unfortunately the people administering it is not ( YMCA). Service level used to be excellent in times.

I am doing my last semester and looking forward to attending my electives ( in KL and UK). Ever since the admin staff left, the system is severely screwed up. Now, YMCA tells me that there is no slot when I had registered for the elective long time ago ! I had also purchased my flight tickets and arranged for my accomodation. The YMCA people don't reply to emails and do not even have the courtesy to inform me in advance. I had to storm into their office and demand an answer .

I am glad that I am in my last semester so I do not have to put up with this nonsense for long !!

 

[whitesquire]

The admin staff did informed me that she quit Times and wont be joining YMCA too.Heard that there is a talk this coming 20th Jan at YMCA, anyone going??

Preview talk or complain ( aka feedback) session? The complain session for current strathclyde students is also on 20th Jan. I will be going for the complain session . YMCA service level sucks big time.

 

[Jazlyn10]

Preview talk or complain ( aka feedback) session? The complain session for current strathclyde students is also on 20th Jan. I will be going for the complain session . YMCA service level sucks big time.

Really so jialat?
Anyway, the person told me that it is a information evening..
That is wad stated in the email itself..

Date/ Time : 20th Jan 2009 ( Tues), 7 pm
Venue: YMCA

 

[infocard9886]

Really so jialat?
Anyway, the person told me that it is a information evening..
That is wad stated in the email itself..

Date/ Time : 20th Jan 2009 ( Tues), 7 pm
Venue: YMCA

The complain sessions are on 19th and 20th Jan 2009 . One day is not enough to resolve the issues. I still hope that I am able to do my overseas elective. Heartpain my air tix and hotel exp.

 

[smartfish]

Well, from all those feedback in the forum, i guess even the 20th Jan so called "complain session" also cant solve.. As they don't reply emails, whats make us think that during the session, once your post your question, they will settle it, and with promise?

whats the point of going down to the the "complain session"? Just wasting our time!

If anyone out there intend to go, think of a tough question, see what they will answer you. I My friend who is still doing the programme, saying the service is SUCKS! The staff there don't anything, he asked a qusestion, the administrator can say "I DON"T KNOW"!!!


I guess after all these matter, their student rate of the MBA programme will dropped to ZERO.

The complain sessions are on 19th and 20th Jan 2009 . One day is not enough to resolve the issues. I still hope that I am able to do my overseas elective. Heartpain my air tix and hotel exp.

 

[smartfish]

Hey infocard,

Have u try show them any proof that you have communicate with the preious administrator abt your elective matter? And is there any proof to say it is confirm from the ex administartor? Well, if you have the proof, u can stomp in and make a fuss and ask them pay for the losses. Let them wake up for what they have done.. I read the story of u, i also feels so pissed off on their handling of matters.

I wonder what they are smart and expert in?

The complain sessions are on 19th and 20th Jan 2009 . One day is not enough to resolve the issues. I still hope that I am able to do my overseas elective. Heartpain my air tix and hotel exp.

 

[lincoln_wang]

Its very sad to see that the conduct of the Strathclyde MBA has dropped to such a level when previously everyone including myself was raving about the support that the administrator was providing and now its a totally different story. Makes one wonder why would Strathclyde make such a move.

So has there been any result from the complain session?

 

[studyhard]

most Mba are offered by australia universities. personally i believe uk and american mba is much more recognized. australia mba are cheaper but might not be as good. when u study mba, u are lookinng at 2 key factors. quality of faculty , professors and the networking potential to help you build ur professoional network
saw this website , has got goodinformation on mba studies. www.edupoll.org

 

[PostCountWarrior[+1]]

v good thread!

pcw +1

 

[PartitionX]

Totally agree with you ... Australia MBA might not be recognised but rather you should look at the class demographics to determine the value of the MBA ... on top of the name that influence your choice or rather your employer's perception ...

Finsihing my mba with uni of adel but i never doubt the things i learnt in class ... If you really wanna get on with a good career maybe you can consider insead or chicago ... ntu n nus are quite popular with foreigners and probably has one of the better demo mix in the class ...

 

[dewydog]

Totally agree with you ... Australia MBA might not be recognised but rather you should look at the class demographics to determine the value of the MBA ... on top of the name that influence your choice or rather your employer's perception ...

Finsihing my mba with uni of adel but i never doubt the things i learnt in class ... If you really wanna get on with a good career maybe you can consider insead or chicago ... ntu n nus are quite popular with foreigners and probably has one of the better demo mix in the class ...

If you want to do Full-time MBA in Singapore, go for Insead or Chicago instead of NUS/NTU for the branding. But of course Insead/Chicago will be harder to get in.

Unfortunately, I think NUS/NTU demo mix is not so ideal: 40% Indians, 30% Chinese (from China), 30% others.

If you can afford it, aim for the more recognised business schools overseas. It will help open more doors.

 

[infocard9886]

Its very sad to see that the conduct of the Strathclyde MBA has dropped to such a level when previously everyone including myself was raving about the support that the administrator was providing and now its a totally different story. Makes one wonder why would Strathclyde make such a move.

So has there been any result from the complain session?

yup, manage to get a place on the elective after a very tough fight. very tiring, I just hope to finish the course asap.

I also wonder why strathclyde which is such a reputable school will choose ymca as their provider.

I miss the previous staff also as things will not be screwed up under her care.

 

[smartfish]

yup, manage to get a place on the elective after a very tough fight. very tiring, I just hope to finish the course asap.

I also wonder why strathclyde which is such a reputable school will choose ymca as their provider.

I miss the previous staff also as things will not be screwed up under her care.

hey, by the way, anyone been to the so call complain aka info session yet? share ur view here...

 

[dolfin]

Also, check to ensure that the MBA program you're planning to enrole is AACSB and/or EQUIS accredited. Hope this helped.

 

[ramyaarun]

contemplating Strath MBA

Hey thx a lot for that info, little bit about myself, I am an engineer with 8 years exp and engineering degree from the US and am taking a break now to be a part time at home mommy & pursue part time strath MBA. My concern right now though I am fairly sure after reading all your feedback that strath MBA must be a good venture for me (i want cost effectiveness also since I need to fund myself) but the concern is how good YMCA will deliver this and whether the degree can be completed on time or will they create some issues with administration there that will cause delays. What do you folks think ...I know that the value of this degree should not be hampered in anyway whoever handles this here but I am new to Singapore and your feedback on this will alliviate my concern and will be well appreciated folks !! Thx a bunch

Hope the below helps.

Strathclyde MBA

1) One semester is 6 months, 4-5 subjects per 6 months . 6 exams during first year. No exams for second year. for subjects with no exams, fully based on assignments. first year foundation subjects like finance, HR, accounting, marketing. Second year on strategy. average one assignment per month. 16 subjects altogether ( including 3 electives)

2) Strategy MBA with no specific specialisations. Intensive seminars and workshops conducted by strathclyde people ( one intensive seminar per month). local counselling sessions by local lecturers ( average twice a week).

3) No minimum attendance requirement to take the examinations. Option to choose the no. of subjects to be taken per semester.

4) can be completed in 2 years . Max is 6 years.

5) flexibility to transfer to Glasgow or any other centres at any stage .

6) Can do the electives in Glasgow or any other centres ( bahrian, dubai, oman, switzerland, greece , hongkong and etc) at no extra cost.

7) ranked no. 30 in 2008 FT ranking.
http://rankings.ft.com/global-mba-rankings

8) Local partner is times management, minus point is location is not accessible for people who dun drive.

 

[whitesquire]

Hey thx a lot for that info, little bit about myself, I am an engineer with 8 years exp and engineering degree from the US and am taking a break now to be a part time at home mommy & pursue part time strath MBA. My concern right now though I am fairly sure after reading all your feedback that strath MBA must be a good venture for me (i want cost effectiveness also since I need to fund myself) but the concern is how good YMCA will deliver this and whether the degree can be completed on time or will they create some issues with administration there that will cause delays. What do you folks think ...I know that the value of this degree should not be hampered in anyway whoever handles this here but I am new to Singapore and your feedback on this will alliviate my concern and will be well appreciated folks !! Thx a bunch

You need to be very very patient with ymca admin team, cause most of the times they are very slow and will not catch wat u want. If you have the time in the world to chase them for the things you need and do not mind extremely lousy service , then u can consider the strath mba.

If u r the impatient type and has high expectations of things, then i recommend u find some providers with better service.

 

[jimmypage33]

Hey Guys,

I will be undertaking my MBA at DStrathclyde in Apr 09, and yes, it will be with YMCA. Despite being dissapointed at the switch from TES to YMCA, I still went ahead with my application for several reasons.

1) Strathclyde MBA has been conducted in Singapore for close to 20 years, they undertsand the system, the culture and there exist a huge pool of alumni to network

2) Decent rankings, and overall interesting modules and electives offered. It is one of the few places offering a Strategy based MBA

3) Decent price

4) Loads of good feedback from former students.

5) Reasonably strict selection process, so you know your cohorts are decent

During my interview, my interviewer did acknowledge that the move to YMCA was not something that Strathclyde particularly liked, but due the business, the move was inevitable. Singapore breweries, which owned TES, had decided to sell their stake to YMCA. He assured me that its still a Strathclyde MBA, wich has been around these parts for nearly 2 decades. He was very honest and open, and did acknowledge that there will be some teething problems in transitioning, but gave me every assuarance that the University will see to it that quality is not compromised. Here is an offficial response from Ron Bradfield of Strathclyde in response to some of the questions I posted,

1) How will this affect the teaching staff. From what I gather, classes are conducted by mainly faculty staff of Strathclyde at the moment. Will there be a change in policy upon transition to YMCA?

No there will be no change in policy at all and therefore there should be no effect on the teaching staff, neither the Strathclyde Academics nor the Local Counsellors

2) How do the facilities at YMCA compare to TES?

From the TES website, it states "that the Institute has 7 classrooms and a computer laboratory with a seating capacity of 350 people. Each classroom is equipped with an internet-enabled lecturer terminal, which is linked to a LCD projector. Students have free access TO our state-of-the-art computer-cum-language laboratory with more than 30 internet-enabled workstations, as well as our resource library with a wide selection of academic and professional reference books. "

Perhaps the best answer I can give here is that you should take the opportunity to visit the premises and see for yourself – I am sure that Lynette will be happy to show you around them. While renovations are not yet completed, the major advantage of the YMCA premises is that we now have a substantial size lecture hall which can seat 100+ students – we did not unfortunately have this at TES. All materials from the resource library will be transferred to the YMCA resource room and internet-enabled workstations are also being installed, and the lecture hall and lecture rooms will be wifi enabled.

3) The helpful staff at TES was a one of the main criteria used in selecting the MBA program. Current students have often praised the helpful and personalized approach provided by the TES staff. How does YMCA intend to continue this level of service? How many full time staff do you have to facilitate providing support to students pursuing their MBA.

Neither of the two staff (Soek Hui and Debby Lim) are transfering to the programme but Lynette is currently sourcing two new staff. As with all change, it should be expected that there will be some teething problems with the new staff, but Lynette and the YMCA have given us every assurance that they will maintain the same, if not better, service level our students experienced at TES. At the same time Susan (and I) will visit Singapore periodically as we have always done, to monitor the programme and service levels, and to meet with students to discuss issues.


It is with these considerations that I applied, and truth be told, I am excited to undertake my course. Of course, I am bracing myself for some administrative problems with YMCA, but I believe that they will improve soon enough. There is no way that Strathclyde, which has such a high reputation here, will allow their standards to drop. I expect them to conduct quality checks and meet with students on a regular basis, and yes, if I am not happy, I will voice my concerns, and I hope that the current will do the same.

Hope this helps

Cheers!

 

[whitesquire]

Jimmy,

They seem to be sourcing for the two new staff forever. Seriously, they should buck up the service level. I am not convinced of their mere talking .Actions still speak louder than words.I simply hope they screw up my studies lesser.But since u have made up your mind, do brace up for the rocky road ahead. One more year of torture for me......good luck to both of us.

 

[jezzmatezz]

hi all, i know that SMU's MBA cost like 54K,
how much does the MBA for NUS and INSEAD cost?

I have a 2nd lower degree in banking and finance (UOL external programme), do u think i will be able to qualify?
please advice.
Thanks,