Dear Friends,

We have had a few scattered posts in the forum about the Henley Business School. But I think this school deserves a little more discussion having obtained a EIU 2009 global ranking of 21. In 2007 this school was ranked 9th globally.
The average salary post MBA is pretty high - $110K and so is the tuition fees - 33,000 GBP.
It offers business consultancy projects in 3 different continents and has a small cohort size with average exp of students being 7-10 years.
It is accreditated by AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS and got the triple accreditation back in 2002.
Negative:
The course has fewer face-to-face contact hours compared to University based MBA courses and is more suitable for practising managers. This along with the small intake for full time MBA and the high fees are the main reasons why it is not so much popular amongst students.
I'm curious if there are more reaons.
I am eager to read about your take on the school- things you find positive and especially why you think it's not such a good choice. Go ahead and post.

Thanks
-Anirban

Henley's ICMA centre helped it to rise...though not a top tier but the Henley had solid reputation from the very beginning...good place to be in...well known in UK/Europe.

Cheers!

_Nes

Thanks Nes.

I'm counting on more insights into the Henley MBA. Please share your thoughts and help me deicde.

Thanks in advance.

-Anirban

Thanks Nes.

I'm counting on more insights into the Henley MBA. Please share your thoughts and help me deicde.

Thanks in advance.

-Anirban

Thanks Nes.

I'm counting on more insights into the Henley MBA. Please share your thoughts and help me deicde.

Thanks in advance.

-Anirban

I think the OP is right... I'm actually surprised at how well Henley has been doing in the rankings (I don't judge everything by the rankings, but they do come in handy.) And with its accreditations and low cost (17k pounds vs. 50k pounds for LBS,) I think it's turning out to be an affordable UK option. And it seems like more and more, people are aware of the program, which comes in handy when you're looking for jobs...

Thanks for your comments Ralph.
If you are thinking of low fees then Henley doesn't have that option for a full time course. The course fees are high - 33K GBP.
As far as I can see, here are the main disadvantages -
1) Not linked with a top university. It has recently tied up with the University of Reading which is definitely not in the top slots.
2) Very small cohort size. Taught in a facility away from the University and hence can turn out to be a pretty lonely experience. Won't be of much importance if one can gel in well with the class.
3) High fees - 33K. High cost of living compared to university towns like Lancaster or Durham.
4) Low availability of scholarships.

I am hoping to learn if there are some very strong aspects - like excellent employability post MBA, reputation amongst recruiters etc. that can overwhelm the negatives.

Thanks
Anirban

Anirban

I think some of your information is out of date.

The fulltime cohort size at Henley is and has been greater than 40 for the last 3 years. There were a number of years before that when the cohort size did drop below 20.

Most of the UK business school even those that take in cohorts of 90+ look to divide them into groups of 40-50 therefore I wouldn't say class size is a negative differentiator anymore.

I agree with you regarding the high cost of living in Henley, although living costs can be reduced through living in Reading.

Views of Reading University are mixed, it does have an excellent reputation for its research and its School of Real Estate, though outside of its core specialisms doesn't have the public awareness of Warwick etc.

Costs for the fulltime programme at £33k are high although this does include the cost of overseas study visits, lunches, books and study materials and more face to face lecture time than all the schools I checked that had fees around 20k.

Russ

I intend to do my full time MBA from Henley. I have 16+ yrs of exp. presently working in India as GM. I do not need to quit my job for full time MBA, once I complete it I would continue in the same company with more responsibilities and better designation. Can you suggest me if Henley suits my profile or I shall try for some other business schools too. I am not interested in executive or part time MBA it does not benefit me. I am also looking at Durham, Aston, Ashridge etc... Please suggest. I am more inclined to Henley due to its high rankings and it is close to London.

If you have 16+ years of Experience then you must look for universities like LBS, City Univ, Warwick, Cranfield etc as these universities will provide you will good opportunities for networking. which i believe would be important for you at this level.

Thanks Mamit for your reply, LBS, Cranfield and city Univ. have average age of the students 29-30 with 4-7 yrs of experience where as avg. work exp. of Henley students is 13 -15 years and avg. age is 38. I am 40 yrs and found that Henley will suit me since they look for senior experienced managers. LBS MBA is 18 months and needs high GMAT score as well. I am interested in 1 yr. MBA. and as I said I will continue with the present employment even after my MBA atleast for couple of years.

Thanks Mamit for your reply, LBS, Cranfield and city Univ. have average age of the students 29-30 with 4-7 yrs of experience where as avg. work exp. of Henley students is 13 -15 years and avg. age is 38. I am 40 yrs and found that Henley will suit me since they look for senior experienced managers. LBS MBA is 18 months and needs high GMAT score as well. I am interested in 1 yr. MBA. and as I said I will continue with the present employment even after my MBA atleast for couple of years.

hi guys you might even check this link out.. this program seems to be very interesting to me for experienced people..


http://www.business.smu.edu.sg/eMBA/index.asp

Hi, This is gaju1869 again, I have an offer from Henley and Durham Business School for its full time MBA can anybody suggest which one is better I am little confused. I have more than 13 years of experience.

Hi,
does someone have placement/salary stats about Henley full-time program? I can't find any

Gaju, I think Henley and Durham are so different that you could chose between the programmes. At Durham you will be much more experienced, but you'll have a 'real' university experience with classes spread across the week and lots of life on campus. The Henley MBA is like an executive MBA in one year, with around 90 workshop days, leaving you free to hunt for work or do project work in high-performance teams on other days.

As people have pointed out Henley grads get high salaries, but that's also because they have long work histories and high salaries on the way in and can be confidently entrusted with senior roles.

I think the Henley full-time programme's emphasis on high-level project work is great training for senior general managers. If you want a more typical MBA-level role, or need the greater range of electives at Durham, then DBS is a better choice.

Dear Duncan,
Thanks for sharing your views on comparing between both MBA. I am already working at senior level as GM having good management experience.and expecting more challenging roles in future. Henley Curriculum looks better for senior managerial roles as compared to other schools in the same league.

Just talked with the Henley admission manager: program will change a lot starting from 2012 intake.
It's going to become more similar to other uk mbas... GMAT required and cost down to 25000pounds (8000 less than this year)

Minimum Gmat 640 and they expect 100 alumni... Ambitious

100? Are they moving the programme to Reading? Or will they have two streams?