How Business Education is Transforming

Academic business education has been stirred but not broken by the ongoing impacts of the pandemic.

The reason for this stems from how business schools who teach executive MBAs have been sensitive to the need to adapt to new modes of teaching and learning for several years now. Thankfully, progress on these have enabled these institutions to absorb some of the effects of the pandemic.

For example, when my organisation, the Executive MBA Council surveyed universities and business schools between May and August 2020, almost three in four offered distance learning. While this was an increase attributable to the pandemic, the rise was building on the already healthy 2019 result of over a half leveraging some form of distance learning to enhance the learning experience.

Clearly, like other sectors, the pandemic is accelerating existing trends, which in this case are relatively positive as students like how remote learning can be integrated with their full-time job. More than nine out of 10 EMBA programmes are now utilising electronic delivery of course materials, and more than three out of four programmes purchase cases electronically, an increase of more than seven percentage points since 2016.

Remote teaching and learning are characteristics that will continue to be integrated into components of EMBA programmes as we look towards 2021 and beyond. But, like other students, people who enrol in EMBA programmes desire the opportunity for face-to-face learning and how they can immerse themselves in being part of a cohort comprised of other working professionals who can share their knowledge and experience. To answer this demand, hybrid programmes are already being trialled and, subject to how institutions can reduce the risks of COVID-19, may become a feature of how programmes operate for classes in 2022 and maybe sooner.

While working professional education programmes have certainly been impacted by the coronavirus, the amount of inquiries, completed applications received, and applications accepted have trended slightly upward since 2016, showing continued demand for such programmes even during these exceptionally challenging times.

There are trends that appear uninterrupted by the pandemic. The closing of the gender gap in EMBA programmes continues with another year on year increase, 2020 sees women representing almost one in three of newly enrolled EMBA students – the highest ever recorded to date in our survey.

Executive MBAs offer business leaders and other senior working professionals academic challenges that can develop and expand critical thinking. Being able to adapt to change and uncertainty has become an essential skill in 2020 as the pandemic has so severely affected economies worldwide.