My employer (a large UK public transportation organisation) has offered me the opportunity to undertake a MBA at the Open University. My question is what do you lot think of the Open Universty MBA?! I have a MA (management) from Durham University and a MSc (e-Business) From Liverpool University, so i must admit my initial response was of "errmm i'll think about it". I am aware of LBS, Warwick, Cranfield MBA's however is the OU MBA worth doing, or am i being an elitist ass?

If it were me, I'd skip the MBA unless I could do it at one of the top institutions. All MBAs are not created equal, and if you want one that opens doors, it needs to be from a good school.A Skoda has more prestige than the OU.

From an employer perspective one Masters degree might be career enhancing; two might be seen as a little over the top; three might be seen as eccentric. Really you are only doing the third one for your personal enjoyment. It will do nothing for your image/career. In fact it is rather odd to me that your employer would sponsor it. If like the content and are happy to study distance learning then OU is as good as anybody.

It's supposed to be quite a good course... although different from the LBS, Warwick, etc full-time ones. But as the previous poster said, you seem pretty well qualified and I wouldn't be too sure it would add that much to your MA. Also bear in mind that it is sh1t loads of work and unless you are getting study days your partner/family (if any) won't like it or your social life will suffer! You have to be seriously committed to want to do this sort of thing; it sounds like it might not be for you.

Sponsoring an academic jolly like this ? No wonder our train fares are so high

If you've nothing useful to say....

Forget your train fares, at least you can claim them back. It's your taxes you should worry about. Mine cover off the cost of a full civil servant's salary. And what has that civil servant ever done for me? They haven't even called me to say "hello" or "thank you"!

Do it if you are interested in the content - you would probably be learning material above and beyond the qualifications you already hold. However, I agree that a third Masters won't add much to the immediate impact of your CV - consider for example if devoting the study time to overtime in your current role, or taking on extra projects, might enhance your CV more.The OU is about the best in the world in terms of distance learning and the content of the MBA is pretty good compared to most business schools. However, although there are face-to-face tutorials, the course has less cachet and there are not the same networking opportunities as you would get with a fulltime MBA at a top business school like LBS, Warwick, etc.

As this is anonymous, I'll be direct: if your qualifications are the management MA from Durham and e-business MSc from Liverpool, and you work in public transport, then I don't think you can afford to be "elitist" or picky. If you can get onto the OU MBA then I'd take it.

Spot The Snob - given that both Durham and Liverpool are good universities

Durham is a good university, but for those who have more than a superficial understanding of business education, the MA in Management is run by "Queen's Campus, Stockton" i.e. Stockton-on-Tees adult ed college rather than Durham University proper. Standards for the MA are diluted even further by the number of people who abuse the distance learning options e.g. live in the UK but apply to the version of the course which is run by the British Council in India without academic involvement in the marking of students' work.Liverpool may be Russell Group, but the business school doesn't rate well. Online-only MBA's and MBA's in Football are the school's more (in)famous products.