Schools Where MBAs Get The Most Jobs

Is An Online MBA For Me?

“Will I learn as much?” “Would my cohort have the same credentials as I do?” “Will employers take my degree seriously? “Do I have the discipline to learn and study from home?”

These are all questions that online MBAs have asked themselves at one point. And who wouldn’t? The model is still in flux, edging towards a hybrid model that has the same content, expectations, and resources as their full-time cousins. Like any change, quality and execution – not to mention perception – slow and inconsistent.

Recently, the Financial Times hosted a live Q&A on online MBAs, where readers could submit questions to several leading administrators. They included: Michael Malefakis, associate dean of executive education at Columbia; David Kilgour, director of the Global MBA at Durham University Business School; Michael Cummings, faculty director of the blended learning MBA at Babson College; and Jon Reast, dean of Bradford University School of Management.

During this townhall, they tackled issues ranging from getting employers to support their MBAs to whether an online MBA is considered an equal to full-time degrees. Here are some of their thoughts related to the biggest questions surrounding online MBAs:

How many years of experience do you recommend before applying, if for a change of career?

Malefakis: “Years of experience depend on the school’s policies. Online works particularly well for managers and executives who have demanding work schedules but also want to pursue education at the same time. A key component to ask oneself considering an online degree or program is “am I ready?” Basically, that means do I have the commitment to stay focused and motivated while engaging in online education. It is not for everyone but can be very rewarding for those who can carve out time to focus during several blocks time a week to engage and collaborate online.”

Networking is often considered important in MBA programmes. How do you tackle this in an online MBA?

Malefakis: “Online actually expands networking possibilities. We design our online programs to encourage collaborative work among learners. For example, we break down programs into sections and workgroups. At the level of workgroup there is deep sharing of ideas, comments and critiques. For example students comment and edit each other’s posts. The sections are clusters of work groups that come together to engage with professors in live or synchronous sessions. We are embedding many aspects of social media to facilitate social learning while online. We are even working on developing mobile apps to keep the social part of learning very easy to access. We encourage video responses as well as text responses to build a sense of connection.”

What is the market perception of online MBAs? What if an MBA graduate and an online MBA graduate from the same institution are shortlisted for the same position?

 

Reast: “I guess that is a difficult one to answer, but based on the opportunities which our distance learning MBA students are accessing, and the salary increases they are gaining, this does not appear to be an issue. I think that attitudes have changed towards online MBAs and other programmes over the last 10 years in particular.”

Malefakis: “We conducted a study regarding this question two years ago and found that recruiters and hiring managers were divided on this question. Some saw the online degree as a sign of a very motivated person who is smart about balancing their demands and who is a self-directed learner and worker.

Others felt that the degree was less rigorous than the on-campus equivalent. They felt that certain aspects of learning were missing when all learning happened via remote connectivity. If that was the view in 2013, I sense that it will quickly evolve toward a more favorable acceptance of the online MBA.”

Given that signing up for online MBA would signal to my existing employer that I am staying around, how do I convince them of the value and advantages of the MBA?

 

Reast: “The value of an MBA for the individual is in terms of enhanced skills and capabilities, the ability to appreciate all of the different aspects of the organisation, to problem solve, apply critical thinking etc. All of these things enable individuals to present a better CV (resume!) to prospective employers, and have the confidence to develop their career.

For employers, a person with an MBA tends to develop a more strategic way of working, is more able to operate across an organisation and is more able to add value to the organisation through challenging existing strategies and processes and developing new ones.”

Malefakis: “If you are enrolling in an online MBA and paying for it yourself, I would think you could frame this to your employer as a big positive. You are someone who believes in investing in knowledge and continuous improvement. You are taking a proactive stance on the future, I think you might even be able to leverage that in the next round of salary talks.

Here’s another take on demonstrating the value of an online degree. Most forward looking companies realise that digital literacy is key to future success. Digital literacy is going to be a core competency that all executives will need to master. It will be as essential as understanding basic finance and accounting. I think you could frame the online MBA as a demonstration that you are committed to mastering digital literacy.”

I would like to ask the panel if they think the advances in online learning technology will undermine the value of the MBA. Will the skills and knowledge taught on Moocs and online executive courses replace the traditional degree

 

Cummings: “Great question. Moocs seem to be a technology in search of a business model. I do not see Moocs replacing existing programs. However higher ed is one of the last large sectors that has not faced massive disruption due to technology. I believe that will change as societal resources become more constrained.

Technology mediated learning however is likely to expand dramatically to meet the educational needs in a less munificent environment. Students are exposed to technology aided learning at early ages. As they approach the age for higher education they are likely to be better prepared to thrive in an online environment.”

Malefakis: “As long as traditional degree programs can teach managers how to make better decisions, how to process information more quickly in an age of information overload and how to work more collaboratively across cultures, markets and time zones then the online alternative has a very high mark to reach. So the availability of online alternatives will definitely help the traditional MBA evolve but it will not undermine the value of world class MBAs such as Columbia’s.”

We recently had two guest experts predict online learning in 2020. What are your predictions?

 

Malefakis: “By 2020 we will no longer make such a delineation between “online” and “traditional” education. Online will just be one of the central ways in which all of us learn. This will be as true for school children as well as MBAs and the huge group of aging baby boomers who might look forward to reengaging in learning again from the comfort of their own home.

Simply put, we will just be speaking about education. It will encompass F2F, online, digital, mobile, etc Blended solutions will provide the most powerful learning opportunities by 2020.”

Kilgour: “Courses will be blended in nature and the advances in technology will mean that the course will be available to any point e.g online device. Courses will be taught in many countries and the range of materials available will increase in nature and content.

The areas of high population (China and India) will become an opportunity for the online courses.”

To read the entire transcript, click on the Financial Times link below.

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Source: Financial Times