A recent statistics shard by data analytics and services company AON with The Economic Times projects a 6.4% annual increase in the compensation that will be offered to students at Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other top tier colleges for 2022. The same stat stood at 4.9 percent in 2021 and close to no movement happened in 2020. This has come as a welcome sign for MBA graduates and as businesses are shifting towards newer business models post-pandemic, job opportunities for MBA graduates are set to increase in the tech, healthcare, and consulting industry. This has increased the popularity of MBA programs among students.  

The shift from on-campus to online  

While the demand for top-notch MBA programs isn’t new, a rather surprising trend for educators and students alike is the rapid penetration of online MBA programs across the world. In the US, for the first time ever, students who opted for online MBA programs outnumbered students who chose on-campus, full-time MBA programs in the 2020-2021 academic year.  There are multiple factors accelerating this change and in this article, we will analyze these trends and see why online MBAs are a great option for the learners.      

Flexibility and Networking at the Same Time 

One of the most notable perks of doing an online MBA program is that it offers better flexibility when compared to conventional on-campus MBA programs. Online MBA programs allow the learner to pursue an MBA program from anywhere in the world and a typical online MBA coursework will include watching video sessions, joining forum discussions with classmates and answering online quizzes. The convenience flexible learning hours can offer will allow the learners to acquire an MBA degree without having to compromise their other personal or professional commitments.  Warwick Business School, England is just one of many educational institutions that offer their online MBA learners the option to customize almost every aspect of their curriculum. This allows the learners to study and complete the MBA program at their own pace which is a luxury that most conventional MBA programs cannot offer.

This flexibility has also helped many professionals to pursue MBA to further advance their career while still working.  David Lefevre who holds the office of Director at the Edtech Lab at Imperial College Business School in London said that the average age of their students in the online MBA program is 35. This further highlight the fact that online MBA programs are gaining more popularity among working professionals who want to earn an MBA degree without having to sacrifice their career.   

Aside from the flexibility aspect, online MBA programs encourage peer-to-peer learning and this is a great platform for a person to start networking. Having the opportunity to interact with people having similar interests and career aspirations will help students to not only learn more but it will also make learning a more fun and engaging aspect. While some might believe that the virtual aspect of online learning will hinder one’s opportunity to build their professional network, The Economist identified that having live conversations, even every once in awhile, will allow the students to build a better communication channel amongst each other.  Also, online MBA programs are able to better replicate the present day management scenario where business executives are expected co-ordinate with teams across the globe using technology. Adding more on this, Lefevre says, “At a multinational, working across geographies is very normal, and they have software which enables them to do that. For those people, online study is perfectly natural. They can’t imagine why a course would ever have to be face-to-face.”    

Cost efficiency and Increasing Learning Options 

On average, the cost of a regular full-time MBA program from a reputed educational institution can fall between 5 to 25 lakh per annum in India. Compared to that, in most scenarios, online MBA program fees ranges between 60,000 to 4 lakh. Even though online MBA holders don’t get similar salary packages as their on-campus counterparts, the ROI for online MBA programs are much better. And this is predominantly owing to the significant gap between the fee structures between online and full-time MBA programs in India. Owing to this, online MBA programs are not only a cheaper option but a much better value for money alternative as well.    

Aside from this, the credibility for online MBA programs has significantly improved over the years with more and more premium educational institutions starting to offer online programs. Some of the most reputed institutions offering online MBA programs in India include: Amity University, Bangalore University, Jain University Online Learning, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), DY Patil University Online, and Manipal University Online. Aside from that, online learning platforms such as Coursera, and upGrad, offer MBA programs in association with reputed business schools across the globe and this is an appealing option for learners who want to get an international MBA degree at a fraction of the cost.        

Combining extreme levels of personalization with affordable pricing, online MBA programs across the world have seen a rise in popularity over the last couple of years. The pandemic has accelerated this trend as shown by the fact- in 2019 and 2020, online MBA applications has seen a growth of 50 percent and 84 percent respectively. And going forward, this trend is likely to continue as many more, especially working professionals have started to see how online MBA programs can improve their careers without them having to sacrifice their jobs or other commitments.