The Rise Of Online & Part-Time MBAs

The popularity of online MBA programs is increasing, while many business schools give less priority to their full-time programs.

A new Biz Journals report shows how higher educational institutions change their program scale, while online and part-time programs are becoming more prominent than ever.

While full-time programs are decreasing, they are not disappearing, just become more niche, as online and part-time programs grow in popularity, Poets&Quants reports.

Full-time MBA programs are getting closed

As the Wall Street Journal informs, there have been fewer applications to full-time MBA programs in the last three years than ever. As applications go down, business schools are considering giving more prominence to part-time and online programs.

Such educational institutions as Wake Forest University, Simmons College, the University of Iowa and others have closed their full-time MBAs, as applications have dropped below the viable rate. Last year, Poets & Quants reported that University of Wisconsin at Madison is considering shutting down its full-time MBA program, too. The reasons they gave were the advance of technology and globalization, as well as changing demands of students; to stay with the times, it’s quite possible they’ll have to get rid of their full-time program.

Increasing popularity of online and part-time MBA programs

Some business schools, like UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management, decided to become more flexible to continue attracting students. So they started an online program that allows even full-time students to finish their education online, and vice versa: online program students may switch to the full-time version.

There is a considerable number of students who started getting their MBA online and then switched to the full-time program, as their priorities changed. They wanted to use all the advantages of on-campus residence and education. Such an opportunity allows students to obtain a degree without the need to make a gap in their career advancement.

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