Top business school encourages students from the region to prepare for the transition back to the classroom

Manchester Business School (MBS) Worldwide, which operates through a new Middle East Regional Centre in Dubai, has recognised the issue and is offering a special incentive for early registration, benefiting students financially and also helping them to prepare for their new life as a working MBA student.

"Time is a non replenishable resource and so blended learning, which combines self study with face-to-face workshops, is a very cost and time effective mode of learning for business managers in mid-career, but it is not an easy option," says Dr Alistair Benson, MBS Worldwide Academic Director and Senior Teaching Fellow. "Students enrolling onto post experience courses, such as our MBA programmes, have been working for several years and need to prepare themselves for study. In our experience, there is no doubt that students who commit to a study programme early and have the time to familiarise themselves with the materials, and to reorganise their lives around the demands of the programme, make a better start than late joiners; this translates into a more enjoyable and therefore ultimately a more successful experience."

Randa Bessiso, Middle East Director of Manchester Business School Worldwide, adds: "Since we started operating in the region, we have found that there is a tendency for students to rush to join our programmes just before the registration deadline, which can put them under a lot of pressure right from the start. An MBA programme is a major, life changing undertaking and by incentivising students to register early, we hope to encourage better preparation for the programmes and give them a flying start. From our experience of working with 150 students in the region, we know this will make a significant impact on the overall study experience for the student."

MBSW is offering all students registering on or before March 23rd for MBA programmes starting in July 2007, a 10 per cent reduction in tuition fees.