Will online MBAs replace traditional two-year programs? Most experts in a recent poll say no
Us at Poets & Quants has been asking the question for years: Are online MBAs an existential threat to traditional two-year residential MBA programs? The answers differ depending on the respondent – and where and in what capacity they work. However, it is clear that the coronavirus pandemic was a boon for online MBA programs, as it was for all virtual communication and learning methods.
Now another group of experts has weighed in to address the big question about online MBAs, namely whether they will sooner or later replace traditional MBAs as business schools’ flagship degree programs. In its monthly survey of a panel of academics that includes B-school professors from around the world, MIT Sloan Manage review found strong opposition to the idea that online MBAs would remove two-year residential programs.
Most – 52% – of the experts on MIT’s Strategy Forum panel disagreed with the statement that “Online education and specialized degrees will replace the traditional two-year full-time MBA,” and another 28% strongly disagreed. Only 12% agreed, and 4% strongly agreed.
Source: MIT Sloan Management Review
MOST ONLINE OFFERS ARE ‘WETTIME SUBSTITUTES’ FOR AN MBA
Wharton’s Rosenkopf: “The traditional two-year full-time MBA is likely to survive at elite schools as a loss leader”
“In practice, the general nature of the traditional MBA serves many people well – especially those interested in being executives,” says Melissa Schilling, the Duke Family Professor of Management at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
“Two years of full-time MBA degrees, for better or worse, have gained some legitimacy as the service provider for future business leaders,” adds Jin Li, professor of management and strategy at Hong Kong University Business School. “In other words, this degree is ‘the signal’ to send to business communities. It is challenging to change that. ”
Meanwhile, a total of 16% of panelists agreed that, yes, specialized and online programs would replace the traditional MBA experience.
“Two years of full-time MBA degrees taken at a specific point in someone’s career are incompatible with the idea and ambition of lifelong learning and careers that do not follow an established linear trajectory,” says Tobias Kretschmer, head of the Institute of Strategy, Technology and Organization at the Munich School of Management.
In terms of career trajectory and resources, the traditional MBA may not suit many people. “Students who are more sensitive to cost and opportunity costs, or who are looking for skills without changing employers, will find these new formats and options attractive,” says Timothy Simcoe, professor of strategy and innovation at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. Such alternative programs do bring value, says Anita McGahan, professor of strategic management at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
“The vast majority of online and specialized offers are legal substitutes that offer some of the main benefits of the MBA, often for lower tuition and fees. There is no doubt that online education and specialized degrees bring many MBA programs to the forefront. ”
FULL-TIME MBA APPS ARE ON, NOTES ONE PROF
Even the panelists who agreed that online and specialized master’s programs have a lot to offer have rushed to add that certain MBA programs will remain desirable – for some.
“The traditional two-year full-time MBA is likely to survive at elite schools as a loss leader – with ample financial help to attract top students, polish those elite brands and scale for their online / specialized offerings,” writes Lori Rosenkopf , the Simon and Midge Palley professor of management at Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. “Consequently, lower-level schools can expect increasing financial pressure, which suffers in the competition for students as capacity scales.”
“The death of the MBA has been predicted for years. While it’s easy to think that the knowledge learned goes online, the credentials and the cohort effects are a different matter, ”said Joshua Gans, chair of technical innovation and entrepreneurship at Toronto’s Rotman School.
The evidence is in the data, says Andrea Fosfuri, professor of management and technology at Italy’s Bocconi University: “After many years of decline, MBA applications worldwide have recently increased.”
DON’T MISS: IN OURSELVES ONLINE MBA STUDENTS NOW EXCEED FULL-TIME MBAs OR THE BIG QUESTION ABOUT ONLINE MBA DEGREES: DO EMPLOYERS RESPECT THEM?
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