Hi Sabine,
Like you I am on a career break as we relocated the family to California. I too gained chartered status, but wanted to continue my studies. I have opted to complete a fast track MBA with the open university. I have been incredibly impressed with the material, the speed of feedback from tutors, and really enjoyed a slightly broader range of business topics. Initially I worried the subject would be too broad, but I now feel really confident this enhanced knowledge will only add my career and ability to influence once back in the work place.
Lisa

In reply to Lisa:

Thank you very much for the feedback Lisa, having reviewed the Open University website, this seems to be most the sensible option. Just on another note, how long did it take you to complete the MBA?

In reply to Sabine:

I have opted to undertake the fast track MBA, which requires 25-30 hours studying a week (plus assignments), if I continue on the fast track route I can complete the course in 2 years.
You can take up to 7 years to complete the modules. Worth giving them a call and chatting through the options with them.

I can also recommend the OU, having just completed my HRM Masters in November through them. People from around the world participated on the course, which I feel made some of the discussions more interesting as a number of different perspectives were offered.

It took me three years to complete the course, as I took one module at a time, which is the norm, however I believe you can complete it quicker than that if you do some modules simultaneously. I suspect it may take two years at least though as the dissertation module takes a year - but I'd recommend giving them a call to check.

In reply to Sabine:

Hello Sabine

If you are up for the extra commitment of an MBA then there are a number of really good programmes in the UK that are delivered by DL. You probably want a flexible starting date. The OU has a very good format for delivering DL programmes.

There are also some other DL programmes that you might want to consider as well - Warwick; Manchester: Durham; Bradford and Strathclyde ALL have long established DL MBA programmes.

How long does it take to complete an MBA? The one year fulltime format can be completed in 2 years part time (executive / weekend format) or over 2+ years. I would think that a 3 year time frame for a DL MBA would be about right. It is a serious commitment. Some of the business schools that I have mentioned have complete interchangeability between the three modes of study - e.g. at Warwick it is possible to start as a DL student and complete the programme FT or PT.

I hope that this helps....
Jim

In reply to James:

Thank you very much for your input Jim, I think I will proceed with OE for DL options.