Although part-time MBA programs in the US remain popular among applicants and recruiters alike and do not appear to struggle the way their full-time counterparts do, they haven’t been growing in demand for many years, which does give cause for concern, according to the recent GMAC report.
After a sharp decrease in application in 2008, the year of the global financial crisis, many programs have not recovered and even last year, almost half of them said they were going to cut the number of students in the following round of admission, P&Q reports. There are a number of problems contributing to the doldrums part-time MBA currently finds itself in; in fact, there are three, which are explored below.
Millennials Ruin Everything
People born between the early 80s and mid-90s have become the go-to demographic to explain any drastic changes in any given market segment, from the increased role social media have come to play in our daily lives to many companies going out of their way to make their services as convenient as possible to stay afloat. As the percentage of Generation Y applicants grows, part-time MBA programs feel the impact more acutely. Millennials want their curriculum to be flexible and their alma mater to facilitate their breaking into a new role or field. They want a shared studying experience and many opportunities to learn from others. Lastly, this cohort is concerned about tuition, which is likely to increase their debts, especially as employers are becoming more reluctant to support them.
Gross Underrepresentation
Part-time MBA programs are clearly not doing enough to increase diversity. Although women, for instance, make up half of the US population and obtain more than half of undergraduate degrees, they are barely over a third of all part-time MBA students. The numbers of African and Hispanic Americans are even less than that (6% and 7%, according to GMAC). Greater effort is necessary to make it easier for underrepresented minorities to enter business schools, but less than half of part-time MBA programs in the US are doing anything to reach these demographic cohorts.
The Threat of Online Learning
In the last ten years, online platforms have cut out a significant portion of the market for themselves, forcing other, more traditional forms of education to scramble for an adequate response. The demand for online courses has decreased after reaching its highest point in 2012, but the planforms that have made their mark in the sector (like Coursera and edX) are still going strong. The problems is that MOOCs and part-time MBA programs have much in common in terms of convenience and benefits, but as the former cost much less, they are more likely to be chosen by candidates who are considering both options. To blur the line still more, many business schools are now offering online versions of their own MBA programs.
What’s to Be Done?
The problems are widespread, but focused efforts can make a difference. Reaching out to employers and negotiating financial support for students might help schools counterbalance the high tuition that drives many applicants away. Meaningful marketing will go a long way towards making a program more attractive to women and minorities. It is necessary to show what part-time MBA can offer that full-time and online programs cannot.
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