How the Coronavirus Is Accelerating the Shift to Online MBAs

COVID-19 accelerated the shift to online MBAs. Discover how top schools adapted, student satisfaction, and the growing appeal of flexible online programs over traditional campus-based degrees.

How the coronavirus is accelerating the shift to online MBAs

The offerings of online courses are increasing, while at the same time the future of campus-based qualifications is being questioned.

The closure of university campuses to contain coronavirus outbreaks is driving the shift to online teaching of business master's programs. For example, MIP Politecnico di Milano not only canceled all in-person classes after being forced to suspend classes on its campus due to the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy. However, faculty and students were able to continue as usual, as in-person classes were moved to the school's online learning platform.

A similar scenario occurred nearby at Bocconi University. There, students were able to log on to the internet and follow lectures for core MBA courses online within 24 hours of the announcement that all campus classes would be suspended.

"At first I was a little worried, but then I saw that it worked well and so we kept the chosen path," said Federico Frattini, the dean of MIP. "The students were very happy." MIP is among the top 10 schools listed in the Financial Times' list of leading online education providers published in early March. MIP shows a vibrant market for online education with class sizes much larger than those of campus-based courses, and with high returns for graduates.

Warwick Business School also holds a top position in the FT ranking, and students of the distance learning MBA can look forward to a 40 percent salary increase three years after completing the course. A survey of students found that 80 percent of participants in the Warwick program felt they had achieved their personal goals after completing the MBA course. The average salary of this group three years after course completion was $204,799.

After applications for full-time postgraduate programs in the US had been declining for four years, the future of campus-based MBA programs was already being questioned. In addition, most of the providers mentioned in the FT ranking for online education have also been offering digital versions of their MBA programs for a long time. And it can also be observed that student numbers for online courses are growing more strongly than those for campus-based programs.

A decade ago, the full-time MBA program at Kelley School of Business still received enough applications to fill 300 places. Last year, however, there were only 150 places. No wonder, after all, the Kelley Direct course has been steadily developed and currently 454 students are enrolled in the program, whereas in the academic year 2014/15 there were only 276.