Report: Covid-19 Accelerated MBA Programs’ Online Migration

APPLICATIONS SOARED AND ENROLLMENTS COASTED

Around the world, applications increased at both the whole school and individual program level. The average number of applications by school rose from 576 to 637 in 2020, a 10.6% increase. At the individual programs, the average number rose from 153 to 167, a 9.2% increase. 

Enrollments remained largely consistent with 2019, falling by just a fraction from a global average of 54 students per program to 53 per program in 2020; Enrollments fell from 203 per business school to 202 in 2020. 

FEMALE ENROLLMENTS HOLD STEADY

Around the world, the average proportion of women enrolling in MBA programs rose by one percentage point between 2019 and 2020, from 38% to 39%. About 40% of total applicants and 39% of total enrollments in 2020 were female. While any rise is a move in the right direction, women continue to lag men in business school education, particularly at the graduate level, according to a recent study by the Graduate Management Admission Council.

Meanwhile, the female conversion rate – the percentage of applicants who actually enroll in an MBA program – dropped from 36% to 34% in 2020, AMBA found.  

China (including Hong Kong, China) was the only country/region with 50% of female and male enrollments, according to AMBA. Oceania was the next closest region to achieving a gender balance with female students representing 45% of enrollment. 

India, on the other hand, had the most unequal cohorts for gender. Women represented only 27% of applicants and 24% of enrollees in 2020.   

IN THE UK, MORE INTERNATIONAL B-STUDENTS THAN DOMESTIC

Numbers for international applicants and students also held relatively steady from 2019. While international MBA applications rose 1%, the number of enrollments decreased 1%. 

However, that largest change from 2019 was in North America and the Caribbean where applications and enrollments for international students were down 7% and 8% respectively. While the percentage of American schools that are AMBA members is low (only about 3%), the findings seem to reflect a pattern first recognized after the election of Donald Trump in which international student applications fell noticeably at American business schools.

On the other side of the spectrum, international students to the United Kingdom outnumbered their domestic counterparts representing 54% of all enrollments, according to the AMBA. It was the only country where the average proportion of international students enrolled was more than 50%. 

The conversion rate for domestic students dropped from 41% to 38% in 2020, on average, and the international conversion rate dropped from 31% to 27%. 

“Although these declines hint at the turbulence caused by Covid-19, the figures present a remarkably stable picture of international admissions to MBA programmes at AMBA-accredited Business Schools, given the circumstances,” the report says. “However, it should be noted that the reporting period includes programmes that commenced early in 2020 and before much of Covid-19’s disruption had taken hold.”

APPS SWELL IN AFRICA, DEFLATE IN ASIA

Overall, the 7% increase in applications per school and 9% increase to individual programs suggests that demand for MBAs is strong across AMBA’s network. In fact, application volume surged the highest in Africa with 45% more applications than 2019, the report found. India had the second highest surge with 22% followed by the United Kingdom with 22%. 

The largest drop in demand was in Asia and the Middle East, where the volume of applications fell by 15%. 

Read AMBA’s full report here.

DON’T MISS: IN GMAC’S FIRST-EVER GLOBAL REPORT ON DIVERSITY, SOME SURPRISING DISCOVERIES and GMAC DATA SHOWS COMPLICATED PATH FOR WOMEN’S B-SCHOOL ENROLLMENT