This is the Secret Benefit of an Online MBA

The majority of adults have been working from home since the COVID-19 outbreak started. Now, with most executives planning for a future hybrid work option, remote work—for the most part—is here to stay.

For MBAs, the COVID-19 pandemic had a similar effect with online education seeing an increase in popularity. Fortune recently examined how B-schools have adapted the online MBA education since COVID-19 started and how online learning will look in the future.

THE REAL BENEFIT OF AN ONLINE MBA

One of the biggest benefits of learning about business in an online MBA setting, according to experts, is that the courses are designed to teach students how think, lead, and collaborate using technology.

“We’re taking a magnifying glass to the real impact of COVID on workplace dynamics,” Miriam Burgos, an associate professor of clinical marketing at the University of Southern California’s Marshall Business School, tells Fortune. “The added benefit of the online MBA is that you get all of the traditional curriculum of an MBA program, but—layered on top of that—you get this ability to incorporate technology into your leadership style, into your communication style.”

Experts say that’s important because with the future of employment focuses on remote working, online MBA grads will already have mastered the skill of collaborating and leading using technology.

“You need this skill nowadays,” Phil Griego, USC Marshall’s assistant dean for online learning and online MBA program director, tells Fortune. “You need to be able to lead a virtual team. You need to be able to collaborate, operate, communicate with employees and clients around the world.”

THE FUTURE: FLEXIBILITY, CONVENIENCE, SPEED

As popularity behind online education increased in recent years, business schools are strategizing how best to serve their students. Among some of the key factors cited: flexibility, convenience, and speed of learning.

“People won’t have to wait for an elective or a class that they need to graduate,” Amy Kristof-Brown, Dean of the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, tells P&Q. “That was often an issue in teaching face-to-face in three different locations. “Now electives are offered every single semester not just once every three semesters. We are really trying to make it as easy as possible for students to get all the content they want while still having that interaction with faculty.”

Sources: Fortune, Pew Research, PwC, Forbes, P&Q