Heskett Column - Do MBA Programs Face Sum UP

The Online MBA Program: Disruptive or Complementary Technology?

The verdict of those responding to the column on the threat of the "disruptive technology" represented by online distance learning for in-class, onsite MBA programs is in. In your opinion, the trend represents an opportunity, not a threat. The greatest opportunity is for those to whom the traditional in-residence MBA might not otherwise be accessible. But it extends also, in the eyes of respondents, to those onsite programs with the foresight to take advantage of the unique capabilities inherent in their online counterparts.

First, a number of you argued that the two are not directly competitive. They offer different products that provide different results for different markets. Alan Carswell points out that online programs are ideal for adult learners with "less need for the social role of college," but that "there will always be a place for in-situ MBA education that has socialization as a pedagogical function." His view is seconded by a respondent who currently is in the last semester of an online graduate program and says that "virtual education is one more way to eliminate the great divide between those who have and those who do not." As Joshua Doherty puts it, online programs "offer convenience, but not unique knowledge or opportunities to network."

Isn't 'adapting to change' almost a synonym for learning?

—Jed Bullard

Second, distance learning offers a great opportunity to purveyors of more traditional forms of education. This is particularly true of those with "strong brands." Describing the new virtual schools as "intermediaries," Ilyas Naibov-Aylisli suggests that schools with highly regarded and recognized names (or "trustmarks") "create a wealth of their own content ... [with] aggregation and interpretation of knowledge [as] ... their core competency," all of which gives them significant competitive advantages in the educational market.

However, this doesn't mean that onsite programs can ignore their online counterparts. In fact, several of you argued that the emergence of the latter offers a great learning opportunity. For example, Jed Bullard maintains that "[onsite] MBA programs MUST study, embrace, and implement their own versions of e-learning programs, if only to remain current in their curriculum offerings to their 'traditional' students." In his words, this behavior should characterize well-respected programs. He asks, "Isn't 'adapting to change' almost a synonym for learning?"

Little attention was given to the influence of alumni in shaping current educational strategies. Alone in his concern about the brand "dilution" resulting from the introduction of an online MBA by a highly regarded onsite program, Joshua Doherty questioned the futures of top-tier schools that may lose their ability "to exploit the market power of exclusivity." How would alumni react? What effect would it have on sources of support, both financial and nonfinancial, for such institutions? And aren't these some of the very dilemmas faced by organizations encountering the "innovator's dilemma"? What do you think?