B-schools: Shifting the game plan

Whilst applications to full time MBAs have decreased, online degrees are a growing market for b-schools. Top schools have opened up their offers to online students and more and more second- and third-tier business schools are trying to grab a piece of the growing online degree market.

A recent survey of online students conducted by online educational consultants Learning House and Aslanian Market Research found that one-third of online students pursue business degrees making it the most popular field for online degrees. Most of these online business students seek degrees in administration/management, finance, and accounting.
The more crowded the market place becomes, the more distinguishing factors the schools have thought of to stand out from the crowd. Most of these try to battle the perceived disadvantage of online learning – the missing networking factor. Therefore sophisticated videoconferencing software, social media tools and obligatory residency components have become popular additions to the courses. One of the most recent offers on the market showcases this. It comes from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management in the U.S. The school has just recently launched a new two-year online MBA programme where students will be able to consult with other students, the faculty as well as companies in a virtual environment. Students will also need to spend a three-day residency on campus.
Other brand new online MBA degrees are offered by George Washington University’s School of Business, the University of Texas Pan-American’s College of Business Administration, University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics, and Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey for example.
Even the top ranked business schools seem to slowly open up to online learning despite the fact that most have been hesitant to enter the online market in recent years. Kenan-Flagler has started its online degree MBA@UNC for example. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the University of Virignia’s Darden School of Business will offer a few business courses online later this year. And Harvard University, University of California at Berkeley and Massachusetts Institute of Technology are planning classes on the platform edX, a not-for-profit online learning initiative from autumn onwards.
Stanford University, however, has taken a different approach. Whilst the Stanford Graduate School of Business does not offer an online degree, the University itself views the online game as a great field for experimentation. After introducing three free online computer sciences classes last year that drew more than 350,000 participants from around the world, the university has established another five free online classes in March 2012.
The online classes are part of a university initiative to creatively use new technology to improve education both on campus and off. The online classes are taught by regular Stanford faculty and are highly interactive. Participants view short interactive video clips that include live quizzes and instant feedback. At the same time, participants help each other through online discussions similar to a comment thread on a social networking site. Those enrolled in the free classes do not get Stanford credit for their work, but they do receive a statement of accomplishment if they successfully complete a course.