These B-Schools Could Risk Closure Amidst COVID-19

Back in June, Purdue University announced that it would be temporarily shutting down its residential MBA program.

There are several reasons why the program shut its doors: Declining enrollment, hefty budget cuts, and a global pandemic, to name a few.

COVID-19 has placed a huge pressure on b-schools to adapt and survive. But just how many can?

In his latest piece, Seb Murray, of Find MBA, discusses what b-schools are at risk and what fears surround b-schools during this time.

MULTIPLE CLOSURES

Purdue certainty wasn’t the only school that shuttered its MBA amidst the pandemic.  Both the University of Missouri and the Opus College of Business in Minnesota announced that they were stopping their full-time MBA programs.

At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, plans were announced to disband both the full-time and part-time MBA programs with an increased focus on its online MBA.

“A move to remote work has piqued the interest of those who never considered online education – and now they are seeking it out,” Brooke Elliott, associate dean at Illinois’ Gies College of Business, tells Find MBA.

WHO’S AT RISK?

While no business school is immune during this time, experts say lower-ranked b-schools are at greater risk.

With the pandemic pushing many classrooms online, applicants are left to compete over the brand name of an education.

“There is more trust in a top program that ensures academic rigor and a great experience, even when forced to go digital,” Benoit Banchereau, executive director of admissions at HEC Paris, tells Find MBA.

And while big-name schools – such as Harvard, Wharton, and Stanford – have the budget to lower fees in compensation for online-only classes, lower-ranked b-schools aren’t as fortunate.

“More MBA programs that are outside the top ranks will be forced to shut down their traditional full-time programs,” Chioma Isiadinso, chief executive of the Expartus admissions agency in New York, tells Find MBA. “I won’t be surprised to see significant closures in this range. Top programs are less likely to face this predicament, given the endowments.”

Sources: Find MBA, Poets & Quants