Rushmore's advantage over conventional business schools

. 6 min read

At Rushmore, over two-thirds of our Professors are published authors. Over 90% have terminal degrees, including PhD and DBA degrees.  Contrast that with most conventional business schools, where, on the average, only one professor in five is a published author, and less than 45% have terminal degrees. At many conventional schools, the principal mode of interaction between students and the faculty consists of lectures—often not even delivered by the Professor, but by a Graduate Assistant–and discussion sessions. Contrast that with the Rushmore approach, where our Professors use our version of the Oxford Tutorial Method to work with you on a one-to-one basis.  That’s right.  You work one on one with the Professor.  You’re never subjected to a class, or a group but you find full input from your individual Professor on any question or concern you have in development of your topics and papers. Your Curriculum If you attend a conventional business school, as little as five per cent of your curriculum will be relevant to achieving success in your career. In other words, 95 % of your curriculum can be considered irrelevant. Whether you elect to attend the Rushmore Open Enrollment Programme, or the CMI-Certified Learning Centre Programme, at Rushmore your entire curriculum is relevant because you design your personalized curriculum with the help of our Faculty, or you choose the Programme you wish to study. In other words, 100 % of the time you spend studying will be on material that will help you succeed in your career. In the Open Programme, you need not study subjects that you already know or do not need to know to progress within your career. You will spend all your time on subjects that will help you reach your career goals.  In the CMI-Certified Programme, you will follow the prescribed curricula, which is based upon the actual foci required for functional businesses. Most business schools limit your choices for majors or concentrations. Many of them have as many as 13 required courses. Consequently, there is little opportunity to specialize in your particular areas of interest. In our Open Rushmore Programme, there are no required courses. You have total flexibility to customize your major or even to have more than one major. Recognition by Business Graduates of Rushmore are hired, promoted and earn raises at Fortune 500 and other organizations because of what they learn and learn to apply  within their programmes. Their courses of study are 100% relevant to their goals and to the needs of their employers. Rushmore students and alumni are employed by hundreds of Fortune 500 companies, governments and international organizations.  Even in a worldwide financial downturn, many of these organizations pay the tuition fees at Rushmore for their employees. Contact your employer today to arrange for tuition reimbursement.  Please contact us for supporting information to provide to your employer. Time Considerations An MBA from a conventional business school requires at least 1500 hours of study, while a Doctorate requires at least 2500 hours. Contrast that with the efficiency of the Rushmore program, where an average of 600 hours of study are required for a MBA and an average of 1200 hours for a Doctorate. At most conventional schools, there are minimum and maximum time limits for completing your program. This means you are not allowed to work at your own pace and finish quickly or take breaks from your studies. At Rushmore there are no time limits for finishing any type of a degree. If you need to take a break from your studies at any time, there is no problem. The credits you earn never expire. Emphasis on Writing Most conventional business schools require very little writing at the MBA level. They seldom offer a writing lab or editing services. Consequently, many of their graduates cannot present their views in writing with the polish that one would expect of an MBA graduate.  At Rushmore we will help you develop and improve your written communication skills. Our expert editors will assist you in communicating in a polished, formal style that will be acceptable in both social and work situations. Alternative to Doctoral Dissertations In our program, instead of a dissertation, you may choose to write one or more articles that are accepted for publication (in an academic or professional journal or other significant publication), to write a book or to complete a major project. Only a few other business schools offer such options.  Creating a book as an alternative to a Doctoral Dissertation can be immensely rewarding and can bring both recognition and honor to the student fulfilling this option. Evaluation of Your Work Almost all conventional business schools rely on examinations as the principal method of evaluating your work and assigning grades. In essence, this means that you have to spend time memorizing facts for examinations. At Rushmore your grades are based solely on your course papers, projects, and assessments in either the Open Programme or the CMI-Certified Programme. You are not required to take examinations. Transfer of Credits It is frequently difficult to transfer MBA credits you have earned from one conventional business school to another. It is almost impossible to transfer credit from one Doctoral program to another. Rushmore accepts credits earned from conventional business schools into any of our programs. We also accept graduate credit from some non-business schools. We also accept for credit major projects such as books or written work that you have completed or have in progress. Cost An MBA from a conventional business school costs from $20,000 to $100,000. Doctoral programs are commensurately higher. The tuition at Rushmore is a fraction of that. A more important consideration is the cost of your time. In fact, the cost of tuition is a minor consideration when compared to the opportunity cost, viz., and the value of the time that you would spend studying material that will be of little value to you in your chosen field of endeavour. Financing Most students at conventional business schools finance their tuition and fees with student loans that they have to pay back after they complete their programs. Since our tuition is substantially lower, no student loan is necessary. You may use our payment plans with affordable monthly payments and you may pay by credit card. The Oxford Tutorial Method Founded in 1096 in Oxford, England, Oxford University is the oldest English-speaking University in the world. Over the nine centuries since then, Oxford has graduated five kings, 40 Nobel Prize winners, 25 British Prime Ministers, nine current holders of the Order of Merit, three Saints, 18 Cardinals and 85 Archbishops. The Tutorial Method has been used at Oxford for more than 500 years. It is a rigorous, individualized method of teaching and learning. Each Oxford student has an academic tutor (an Advisor or Professor). An Oxford education emphasizes learning to think through research and writing. Oxford students are responsible for planning their own time and ensuring that the requisite work is accomplished. Oxford has characteristics not usually seen at American universities, among them: Students are treated as  individuals. It is easy to meet with faculty members, even senior ones. Independent learning is emphasized as opposed to teaching by the faculty. Learning is accomplished through research and writing. Students are expected to discuss their written work with their tutors one-on-one. Degree programs are more  specialized. In contrast, most American universities offer their programs and courses with: Large lecture classes Standardized courses Negligible writing  assignments Little one-on-one contact with faculty Little customization of an individual student’s program Negligible attention to the individual student At Rushmore, we have adapted the Oxford Tutorial Method to the online environment of the Internet and email. You communicate with your Professor by email or telephone as often as you need to. If you happen to live near a Faculty member, you may arrange to meet with him or her in person. This personal approach to learning, featuring frequent interaction with your Professor, affords the Rushmore student greater flexibility and support than at conventional schools. Oxford students must be able to present and defend their own opinions and to accept constructive criticism and advice. Tackling topics in depth and defending the arguments in their written work sharpens their thinking. As a student at Rushmore, you will have the benefit of the Oxford Tutorial Method. Our online adaptation of the Oxford approach will help you to develop such skills as: Time management: the ability to organize your own work schedule rather than have it imposed on you Argumentation: the ability to present a point of view Critical assessment: the ability to understand, evaluate and respond to the ideas of others As with the Oxford student, your success with the tutorial approach depends upon your ability to study independently under the guidance of your Professor. The primary purpose of the Oxford Tutorial Method is to teach you how to teach yourself. This is the most important academic lesson you will ever learn.