Case study

You are convinced that getting an MBA for individuals like yourself makes monetary sense in the long run. However, many of your friends and colleagues are not convinced of that. For the benefit of your friends and colleagues you are interested in presenting a data driven defense of your position. To do that, define the problem clearly, and present a data driven defense for your position.

Problem Definition:

Obtaining an MBA makes monetary sense, in the long run, when you compare the total amount of money that was paid for the program to the raise that an individual with an MBA will receive in their employment trajectory, after obtaining the MBA.

Data Required:

Independent Variable: MBA program graduates. This variable is required because we need to be sure that the information is being collected from only MBA program graduates and not any otherhigher education college graduates.

-15 graduates per cohort class per year, from 2000-2019

Dependent Variable-Ratio Scale: Amount of money that was spent on the MBA program, overall.This variable is required because we need to know how much the MBA graduate paid for the program.

Dependent Variable-Ratio Scale: The starting salary and raise that the MBA graduate receives at work, after receiving the degree.This variable is required because we need to record any and all raises that the MBA graduate receives as a result of completing the program. We also need to know what their starting salary was with the firm in order to compare the growth after the program was completed. This will be used to identify if the raise pays off of the program, in the long run.

Data Collection:

• Obtain a list from the University of Redlands for the MBA cohort class which graduated in each of the following years: 2000-2019. We will look at the last 19 years of MBA graduates for an in depth evaluation.
• Track the graduates and ask them to give you monetary value on how much they paid for their MBA, while attending the University of Redlands.
• Have the participants also give you a record of the raises that they received at work, after they graduated from the MBA program.
• Run analysis on the cost to attend the MBA program
• Run analysis on the average raise than each graduate received
• Run analysis on whether their raise was sufficient to pay off the program
• Run analysis on how long it takes the average graduate to be fully compensated back for the cost of the program
• Compare graduates who have been in the industry the longest and find out if the different cohorts have different advantages

(Example: Does a graduate who received their MBA in 2000 differ in the time span that it took them to pay off their program versus a graduate who received their MBA in 2010?)

Justification:

According to my research question, the information that I want to collect will ultimately measure what I want to look at. Because I want to see if completing an MBA program pays off, through raises at work after obtaining the degree, I am collecting financial data from MBA program graduates. I am looking to collect information from MBA program graduates dating back from 2000 through 2019. I want to get a historical data base and be able to compare the results with recent graduates as well. This will help me also take a look into whether there was a better a time to have an MBA, from 20 years ago versus relatively new graduates. By asking all of the graduates how much they paid for their program, I will know the baseline number of their debt that I need to compare with their salary and raise. By asking the graduates for their starting salary with their firm and for their raises after graduation from their MBA program, I will be able to see if they have received enough raises during their employment time to pay off the program, and I will also be able to see how long it took them to pay off the program.