With an MBA seen as very much a vocational course, it is often seen as beneficial to do an MBA alongside a full time management or executive role; often an employer will subsidise this or allow you to have time off to complete studies e.g. a day release. Others may need to complete a part-time course in order to care for children or to enable it to be paid over a longer period of time. And I will be blatantly honest, for those that do not already know, an MBA will typically cost you about 3 times the amount of money of a standard Masters degree in the UK. This hub intends to give you a quick talk through some of the best online or distance learning MBA courses, their characteristics, their reputation and how much the course fees will cost you.

Perhaps it is useful for some if I provide details of the rankings for MBA courses in the UK, these institutions do not necessarily offer distance learning courses; but some do and this will be explained later in this article. According to the 'Whitefield Consulting Worldwide Global MBA Ranking 2009' there are 6 institutions in the UK which fall within the World's top 25 list. These are as follows (with UK rank):-

1. London Business School

2. University of Cambridge

3. University of Oxford

4. Manchester Business School

5. Lancaster University Management School

6. Warwick Business School

You should be open minded with regards to these rankings however as there are many other organisations that post their own rankings with varying results. In addition, distance learning courses are often ranked separately from full time courses. I will attempt to explain the status of the institutions as this articles progresses....

Recent technological advances, specifically the manipulation of Web 2.0 technologies to provide e-Learning capabilities, have seen an increase in the number of institutions that offer an online MBA. This section of the hub will take a look at the cheapest online MBA courses within the UK only, and it only takes into consideration those institutions with a good reputation.

Manchester Business School:- By far the most credible university on this list, the Online MBA at Manchester Business School is certainly not the cheapest or fastest way to get the qualification on your CV; it is however the most respected online MBA that you will get from a UK organisation, and is the third most respected online MBA you can obtain in the world. The course lasts 2 years and will set you back a total of:- £19,200 Tuition Fees (For 2 Years)

Warwick Business School:- The next most credible institution to offer an Online MBA is Warwick which is considered the 6th best MBA school in the UK and, like Manchester, is considered to be within the top 25 MBA institutions globally. The Warwick distance learning MBA is split over 3 years, so is a part time course, and is split into 3 parts; meaning that most will do 1 part per year. It is however possible to stretch this over a period of 8 years for those that wish. The Warwick distance learning MBA will set you back:- £15,500 Tuition Fees (For 3 Years)

Open University (OU):-The Open University is the UK's largest provider of distance learning and has a good reputation for the quality of it's online MBA courses, frequently appearing in global top 10 rankings of Online MBA courses. The Open University MBA is intended only for those that are already working within management and wish to complete the course part time whilst working, the length of time that you get to complete the course is flexible but most people will take 2.5, 3, or 3.5 years to completion. Unlike the other MBA's on this list, the fees differ substantially depending on which modules you choose to complete, it is however the cheapest MBA that I will feature and possibly the cheapest of all UK distance learning MBA courses (but only if you choose the cheapest available modules, see Bradford). The cost of the Open University MBA is:- £15,140 Maximum, £10,770 Minimum (Typically 2.5 - 3.5 Years)

Henley:- Gaining an MBA from Henley would be a real accolade, with its Distance Learning MBA ranked at number 2 in the UK and at number 6 in the world. It has an intake three times per year in February, May, and September and is completed over a 2 year period. The price of the MBA from Henley falls within a similar range to the others on this list:- Tuition Fees £16,795 (For 2 Years)

Bradford:- The Bradford Distance Learning MBA starts four times a year in January, April, July and September and can be taken over a period of between 2-6 years depending on how much work you wish to take on. It is rated as the 10th best Distance Learning MBA course in the world. The best thing is that it is also the cheapest MBA on this list, although places are very limited at just 30 per year from the UK - other places are available via Hong Kong and Singapore administrative offices. Tuition Fees:- £10,950 (2-6 years)