| |19 NOVEMBER 2020HIGHERReviewIf a B-school holds one or more international accreditation then candidates will flock as they will see it as a sign of recognition and qualityis a very valid method in a research-based university program. It is a disaster if candidates are looking for a job in management or want to become entrepreneurs. As a result, the vast majority of corporations do not trust business schools to prepare efficient employees. And it is a vicious circle; the less efficient business schools are, the more they try to prove their worth with more accreditations.· Most state recognitions (the ones a candidate actually needs), focus on employability: an institution's ability to produce graduates who get the right job, quickly, with an appropriate level of income and career bumps. This is, in my opinion, the only valid recognition of a business school and a student need. Many chose to provide their candidates with a series of online options to try and adapt to a mutating market. But between the lazy option of posting a few PowerPoint presentations, simply integrating open-source material from an online courses provider into an existing program, filming an actual class and posting it, or wasting money on a MOOC because everyone else is doing it, I have yet to see a proper offer designed by a brick and mortar institution. A recent study shows that 70 percent of students are unhappy with the online options provided by their school.Sure online options are great and necessary. But you wouldn't expect a baker to be able to make a great internet site on his own, would you? In very much the same way, online education requires specific know-how and processes. Rather than building poor imitations on their own, schools would be best advised to form partnerships with those who do it well, so as to provide actual benefits to students. Everyone is looking for international students and almost everyone is using the wrong approach. Yes, obviously, higher education growth is in developing countries. But the three methods I see most often are insufficient:· A few, the rich institutions, open their own campuses in China, India or Africa and basically end up sending their own western students there since few locals can actually afford their tuition fees.· Many are convinced that candidates will fly across the world to study in Paris, London or New York. Some do, of course, but it's at best a drop of water in the ocean as the vast majority cannot benefit from study abroad options due to costs or visa restrictions.· Almost everyone has a pile of `international partnerships' on their desks and their brochures: most often symbolic agreements for student mobility and faculty exchange, providing in reality a minimal number of free mover options.Why don't they look at the McDonald's way of conquering the planet? Yes, franchising. Don't move the school or the students, move the program. Duplicate exactly a program and a degree through a franchise agreement with a renowned local institution, set up an efficient quality control process, build a proper information system, and actually offer a western degree in developing countries at an affordable price by producing it at local costs.The degree is the Alpha and the OmegaWrong! Hundreds of thousands of students graduate each year with a good degree. So how does one make a difference?A few select schools offer enough brand recognition, but what happens if one does not graduate from Harvard or LSE and simply holds a Master's Degree equivalent to most others?The answer is in front of us. If the mission of a business school is to provide excellence in employability, then turn to the employers. Dozens of professional certifications exist and can be integrated with Bachelor or Master Programs to make a difference both on the CV of a candidate and in this candidate's professional abilities. Providing students with the option to take for example, a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification as part of their program would fundamentally improve things.
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