Mark Robison

People have asked me why I went back to school for an MBA?  The answer is, I realized when I hit 40 that the vast majority of people I conducted business with, as well as a good number of the people below me, had MBA's.  Therefore to continue to be a player with upside potential within my industry an MBA was a necessity (this was not the case 18 years ago!).  The question then became, "how will I ever find the time?"  I travel extensively and the closest universities that offered fully accredited MBAs were at least an hour commute each way from my home.  Furthermore, my schedule did not contain the flexibility to take every other Friday off work to attend Friday and weekend classes at the various universities within my region that offered executive MBA programs.

I did some research and found Colorado State University offered a distance MBA program, which was fully accredited, unlike the vast number of online and distance MBA programs I had investigated.  However, I was apprehensive, I remember asking myself how good can a distance MBA really be?  Well, let me tell you from an academic point of view the CSU MBA distance program is excellent, although the workload with a career and family is grueling.  In order to succeed in a distance type environment, I believe the individual has to be extremely self-disciplined.  In other words, don't get behind in lectures or readings, the classes move fast, making it very difficult to play catch-up.

I must say looking back at my CSU MBA experience, I enjoyed meeting people from all facets of life, industries and nationalities, all seeking the same goal as myself, we became friends and comrades.  No one will understand what I mean by this until you have been through the program.  I highly recommend the CSU BA distance program for people that have inflexible work demands, as well as the number one demand of your family.  Although, as I mentioned earlier, it is not easy, you will have to earn your MBA!  In retrospect, I would have to say the last 2 1/2 years was a great adventure and the sense of accomplishment at the end is awesome!  By the way, I ended up getting into this school thing so much that I am now in the process of investigating schools for my doctorate.

Good luck to all of you in the program!  There is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Sincerely,

Mark Robison
MBA Class of 2000