Traditional MBA: one course at a time, weekly clusters, letter grades against the 3.0 graduate floor, our letter desk carrying discussions, case analyses, and quantitative work in 24 to 48 hours, revised free to the A range. CBE MBA: authentic assessments marked MA, ME, or NM, up to five concurrent courses, your real employer as the case material, drafted to Mastered from your context via the CBE method, at the reduced program rate that makes its under-a-year design target honest. Both versions get business writers only, exhibits that reconcile, and decisions committed with numbers.
Choosing between the two, if you have not yet
| Traditional MBA | CBE MBA | |
|---|---|---|
| Pace | One course per 5-6 week block, calendar-fixed | Self-paced assessments, up to 5 courses at once |
| Grades | Letters, 3.0 cumulative floor | MA / ME / NM, majority rule per course |
| Best for | Structured weeks, external deadlines wanted | Real workplace material + self-direction |
| Risk profile | Retake blocks at ~$2,289 a course | Drift; freedom without a map stalls |
| Our playbook | Weekly clusters, first-attempt clearance | Dated assessment maps, Mastered targets |
Send your last two months' calendar honesty and we will tell you plainly which version your life supports; the three-systems manual holds the deeper mechanics.
What MBA rubrics reward at Phoenix
Both versions grade the same underlying craft: commitment. Case analyses want an option chosen, quantified, and defended against alternatives; CBE assessments want the competency genuinely applied to your employer's situation, a real SWOT with real implications, not a textbook tour. Executive vagueness stalls in both systems. Our business writers commit with numbers, keep spreadsheets consistent with prose, and, on CBE work, build from the two paragraphs of context you send, which is why the drafts read like a working manager thinking rather than a student performing.
The finish-line economics
The traditional stack runs roughly $2,289 per course at the locked rate, which prices retakes as the enemy; the CBE version's reduced rate plus throughput pricing makes speed itself the discount. Either way the degree's true cost is the salary delay of every extra month, which is the number the expedite page actually optimizes. Capstones in both versions, the strategy finale or the culminating assessment, run on the staged method, and finishing the MBA with the same team that started it is the quiet reason our finals assemble cleanly.
Whichever MBA, the desk is fluent
Send your version, current course, and the week's load. The playbook and first draft quote come back same-day.