Is The MBA On The Decline?

The MBA program, launched about 119 years ago by Harvard Business School, has since then spread all over the world, evolving over the decades in different formats and durations to meet the requirements of the market and the students. Every now and then, questions are raised about its relevance and whether it has a future.        

Well, it is way too early to write an obituary for the MBA as according to education marketing specialist CarringtonCrisp, the data from their annual ‘Tomorrow’s MBA study’, it continues to be in strong demand, especially in Asia.

Flexible Delivery

There is also a demand for flexible delivery that could be online or blended. With the millennial generation demand for quicker returns and almost instant gratification,  the one-year full-time MBA is more popular globally than the two-year full-time degree for the first time since the study began in 2010.

The Study found that 46% of the students were in favour of paying more for high-quality teaching staff); a school attracting top employers (38%); better career services (38%); and a higher ranking (36%).

The Study that sought the opinion of 1,463 students from 75 countries, found that that 27% prefer a full-time one-year MBA over a two-year one (25%). The findings are in line with a report from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) that only one-third (32%) of two-year programs in the US reported increased application volumes.

Andrew Crisp, who jointly founded CarringtonCrisp in 2003 with Mary Lou Carrington, in a blog post titled ‘Evolution or revolution – the future of the MBA?’ attributes it to the “ever more rapidly changing demands for skills from employers and a desire for quicker, cheaper study to get a better return on investment makes sense for a prospective student.”

1-year or 2-years?

The Study also found that while students from the UK, Canada and Nigeria preferred the one-year format, the two-year program was favoured by those in the US, Germany, India and Indonesia.

Harvard Business School, where more than half of the 900 MBA students are stated to receive funding, has slashed tuition to $35,000 from $72,000 a year, says the Wall Street Journal.

MBA aspirants find the 1-year format attractive mainly due to the fact that they could hope to recoup the tuition more quickly by getting back into to workforce. A two-year MBA at a top school can cost upwards of $200,000 and the longer duration means having to stay away from work for a longer period.

Meanwhile, schools with the 2-year programs are coming up with more scholarship options and funds. GMAC says about 61% of students are receiving scholarships based on merit or financial need, or both, in 2018, up from 41% in 2014.

Harvard Business School, where more than half of the 900 MBA students are stated to receive funding, has slashed tuition to $35,000 from $72,000 a year, says the Wall Street Journal.

ESADE Business School says it has worked towards raising funds to provide more scholarships and financial aid to students.

Meanwhile, 51% of the respondents to the CarringtonCrisp study had stated that they would enrol for the MBA only on getting a scholarship, 54% wanted a loan to cover some of the costs and 42% stated that their employers should at least partially meet the expenses.

However, with a steep drop in employer funding for MBAs, just 8% of students could expect to get such support.

The Study found that 46% of the students were in favour of paying more for high-quality teaching staff); a school attracting top employers (38%); better career services (38%); and a higher ranking (36%).

While 40% of male respondents indicated they would pay more for a higher ranked school in the case of females, it dropped to 31%.

Future of the MBA

MBA programs are increasingly in competition with the Master’s degree that in most cases is more specialised and of a lesser duration, not to speak of being much more cheaper.

Under such circumstances, B-schools have started offering various specialisations in the MBA program options.

New ways of working and demand for new skills leads to a situation where MBA graduates need to undergo training and skill development throughout their career.  This is where flexibility comes in.

Programs need to have more options to personalise content, study remotely or in other locations. This is where the schools need to rethink their delivery and financial models.