Online courses and programs have been highly successful and has become a popular choice for students who don’t mind taking classes online. Many universities are making their classes available online even after their campus’ have opened up and live classes have returned. Due to numerous universities venturing into the online education market, it has become overflooded with amateur, below par online programs. Choosing a university to attend live is straightforward. You can view the classrooms you will be attending classes in, look at the list of professors you will be taught by, and the quality of life around the campus. But for an online university program, it is much more difficult to get a grasp of the educational experience you will be receiving.   [caption id="attachment_355" align="alignnone" width="714"] (How would you compare the instruction of your college-level online learning experiences with your college-level classroom experiences?) Most people don't notice a difference in quality if the course is taught online. Source : Statista[/caption]

Online Program Services

While attending a university online, your interaction with the university will predominantly be online. Due to the communication between you and the university being online, it is crucial to make sure the university has a streamlined online communication platform. Some universities hire teams just for interacting with online students and you should always look universities that have these dedicated teams.

Live or Recorded Lectures?

There are predominantly two types of online programs; recorded lectures and live online lectures. Making sure you find out if the online program the university offers are recorded lectures or live online lectures is crucial to understanding what your educational experience will be like in those programs. Having live online lectures requires you to attend classes on time and possibly interact with the professors. Recorded lectures, on the other hand, tend to have a more relaxed attendance period and little to no interactivity with the professors. In summary, live online lectures offer a more of a traditional class experience online, while the recorded lectures are leaning into the full online education experience.

Part time or Full-time education

One of the options when attending an online university program is the considerable availability in part-time programs. Especially if you are currently employed but want a graduate degree to progress your professional career, a part-time online program is ideal. On the contrary, if you are out of a job and are left with a year of free time, a full-time one-year program could help you secure a higher job position. In summary, choosing either a full-time or part-time online program entirely depends on your time availability.

Conclusion

Choosing the correct program and university for an online education is no simple endeavor. Thorough research of the university’s online program is key to ensuring you pick the correct online program for you. These are some of the important questions you should ask yourself about the online programs of your choice.

• Do they offer high-quality online support?
• Are the classes live lectures or recorded lectures?
• Do they offer part-time education or is full-time the only option?

Read more: Australia's Effort to bring in more International Students in 2022  

International student numbers worldwide plummeted when the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020. It is reported that international student numbers in US colleges declined by 15% and new international student enrollment fell by an astonishing 46%.  Australia also suffered a massive decline of overseas students with strict Covid-19 lockdowns and completely closing its borders during the height of the pandemic. Australia's international student population is down by 21% in 2022 compared to 2021. But with its country’s borders opened and universities beginning offline classes due to relaxed covid restrictions, universities and the Australian government are scrambling to regain their international student population.  

What the Australian Government is doing to boost its international student population

The Australian Government’s Department of Education, Skills, and Employment has released a plan to help international students in 2021, the Australian Strategy for International Education, for 2021-2030. In the Australian Strategy for International Education, they acknowledge that international students “[B]rings many economic, cultural, and social benefits” to the Australian people and businesses. [caption id="attachment_345" align="aligncenter" width="543"] Australian Department of Education have released the Australian Strategy for International Education, looking to boost international student numbers after the steep decline.[/caption] The four main goals of the Australian Strategy for International education are the following: Diversification -Diversifying student cohorts, source countries, and offering to capitalize on digital and offshore opportunities Meeting Australia’s skills needs -Delivering international education that meets Australia’s skills needs and fostering quality partnerships for research and collaboration Students at the centre -Strengthening connections between international students and Australian students and communities, enhancing people-to-people links through international education mobility, and student experience and wellbeing Growth and global competitiveness -Maintaining a strong quality framework to ensure continued growth and ensuring global competitiveness

The Focus on Chinese International Students

Although this is the right direction for Australia, it will take time to return to the peak numbers of international students of 2019. One of the major reasons for the decrease of international students are the steep decline of Chinese international students. In 2019, Australia had over 200,000 Chinese international students, accounting for 28 percent of the international student population in Australian universities. Currently, in 2022, the number of Chinese international student has halved; with 104,334 Chinese international students attending Australian universities. This significant drop can be attributed towards the pandemic, but there are far more factors to consider when looking at the relationship with China and Australia. In 2020, the trade war between China and Australia hit its peak. With China accusing Australia of siding with the US on the "anti-China campaign", they hit Australia with crippling trade sanctions. One of these sanctions were on the coal exports and before the sanctions, 58% of Australia's coal exports were sold to China. This worsened the Australian economy which was already being affected by the pandemic and fostered animosity between China and Australia. With political tensions and rampant racism due to the pandemic, Australian universities has become an unattractive place for Chinese students. [caption id="attachment_958" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Australian coal exports has been banned by China since 2020[/caption] It is hard to say how much this strategy will affect future international student numbers. Even though this strategy was in use since late 2021, Australia’s borders only opened in late February of 2022. It is yet to be seen if the relaxed covid restrictions, opened borders, and the effort of the government will raise their international student population to pre-pandemic numbers. And with Chinese overseas students at an all time low globally, it may never recover. If you want to read the official document released by the Australian government on their Australian Strategy for International Educaiton, you can download it in the link below. Link: Australian Strategy for International Education Official Document Read More: How the Russian Invasion of Ukraine is Effecting its Education  

Despite the type of colleges, all colleges have experienced numerous declines in student numbers. The standard four-year undergraduate program offered by the colleges and universities experienced a loss, but the community school hit the most considerable hardship. Their group of students consists of a diverse range of people from students with financial difficulty, mature students, and students with different ethnic backgrounds. Due to this nature, they experienced over 13% of enrollment diminished in the past two years.

What’s happening in U.S. universities?

Fewer people applying to attend universities in the U.S. are not limited to certain demographic or regions. According to the data released by the non-profit news organization Bridge Michigan, Michigan state received less than 17,500 high school graduates from their expected predictions into their state colleges.

Pandemic was a decisive factor, but it was not the starting cause of the reduction. Oakland University experienced a fall in enrollment in 2019 with a decrease of 2,100 students. With active students of 12,500 students, the numbers are comparably lower when compared with the peak number in 2016. It is added on top of the decrease in the retention rate of students regardless of the demographic group. Dawn Aubry, a vice president for admission management, stated that students with minority backgrounds or other underrepresented backgrounds showed fewer retention rates notably.

There is also a rising issue of students choosing to not attend college even with their acceptance in the fall of 2021. Its significance is noticeable when looked at in numbers, with an over 48% increase of students choosing not to attend. Aubry explains, “It is important to reconcile with the students who are not currently studying with us even though they have accepted our offer. Our role is to assist students in understanding what the university can offer to them and its benefits.”

Effect of a university degree in the future

Despite the prospective students deciding to enter the career market as high school graduates, research conducted by Georgetown University opposed the advantage of commencing a job over an undergraduate degree. According to the data, the median wage of high school graduates earns 75% less than those with a bachelor’s degree during their lifetime career. Aside from the difference in pay, having a bachelor’s degree holds two significant advantages over a high school graduate. Firstly, they will likely have more career paths with higher satisfaction, and they are likely to be more flexible in the job market by finding a new job quicker even if they lose one.

Sarah Sattelmever, project director of education, opportunity, and mobility at New America, a think tank at Washing D.C., agreed on the benefit of gaining an undergraduate degree over the entering job market after high school. “University degree will become more powerful if people are not deciding to take it. It might not be the best life decision to enter the university, but it is undoubtedly to say it will provide the most stable path for financial advantage. At a time like this, it could become an opportunity in the future.”

Money to pay for meals before the tuition fee

Numerous causes can explain universities suffering from a lack of enrollment in the U.S. The biggest reason is the high tuition fee. The high tuition fee was a long-time dilemma for U.S. schools. While it was initially considered an expense with a burden, the pandemic has driven people to be more financially cautious. It could be prospective students deciding to work with financial hardship, or the degree’s value has become less attractive when the course is taught online due to the Covid restrictions. Covid also impacted the recruiters from visiting the high school for active promotions from the corresponding school.

Relationship between the school and the economic market

Another factor in choosing a job over labor is the alluring job market. Employers are offering higher payments with the shortage of labor, especially in the hospitality and low-skilled career industry. Therefore, workers in this industry do not need to obtain a university degree. Sattelmevever proposed an opinion on the relationship between the economy and the school. “When we look at the economy at a certain time, it has an opposite influence on the school. People will decide to study more during the recession as it's harder to find a job. People will decide to work rather than study if there is an economic boom.”

Although the relationship between the economy and the school was genuine in the past years, it was passive during the pandemic. Despite the contracted economy, students have decided not to study. According to Sattelmever, the pandemic has changed the environment of the study to online, and lack of access to fast internet and technology is prevalent. She continued, “Many schools have received financial support from their local and state governments. However, the problem is still underlined, and it is time to consider a long-term solution for the school’s sustainability.

Attempting to lure students back to campus

If there are no students in the school, it harms society long term. Michigan is experiencing a lack of graduates with skills obtained explicitly from college. A shared problem in the U.S. is that there is a demand but a shortage for many specialists in areas like I.T. experts and engineers for higher economic growth.
To help with this drought of graduates, schools attempt to gain students’ interest back in school. It is done through offering scholarships programs, consulting individual students who have decided to drop out, and organizing recruiting campaigns.
The admission team at Oakland University is tackling this issue by changing its method of approaching prospective students. They are running a campaign called Golden Grizzlies Graduates, where they provide better explanations to people to start a degree at the current time. They highlight the benefits of gaining an undergraduate degree and the financial grants with resources that the students can gain from the school.

Read More: U.S. Gap Year Statistics

This year, the University of California received 249,855 applications for at least one of its campuses, a 0.5 percent increase from that of last year. The percentage of applications from underrepresented populations, among the applicants from California, increased a little by 0.4 percent from 45.1 percent to 45.5 percent. Specifically, the number of African American applicants rose by 2.8 percent (235 more applicants) while Latinx applications increased by 4.1 percent (1,989 more applicants). However, the increasing trend in application numbers is not limited to schools in California. For instance, Florida State University has received more than 74,000 applications, breaking the last year’s unprecedented application number of 66,033. Such a sharp increase in application numbers may be due to large increases in applications from underrepresented minority (URM) and first-generation students. The number of applications from URM was up by 17 percent compared to the 2019–20 admission cycle while the number of first-generation applicants rose by 21 percent. It is especially stark to see that the number of first-gen applicants increased almost twice as quickly as that of the other applicants did during the same time frame. One of the breakdowns provided by the Common Application is particularly interesting: by college selectivity. Most public and private institutions with selective admissions experienced an increase in enrollments, not simply applications. On the other hand, many other colleges saw a drop in enrollment. According to the Common App, highly selective institutions accept fewer than 50 percent of applicants, more selective colleges admit somewhere between 50 and 74 percent of applicants, and less-selective colleges offer admissions to 75 percent or more of applicants. The most significant gains were seen in the most prestigious universities, with a 25 percent increase in two years. During the same period, both more selective and less-selective colleges increased by 17 percent.   Read More: Covid Brings All-time Low Acceptance Rates

For the first time since 2010, the number of Chinese international students in the US have dropped. According to Statista, the number of Chinese students attending US universities dropped from 372,532 to 317,299 students. More Chinese international students left the US or graduated than the ones that enrolled to US universities in 2021. This is troubling universities across the US who highly rely on international students to finance their university budget. [caption id="attachment_311" align="alignnone" width="715"] We can see the significant decline of international Chinese students in the US in 2020/21 in a graph by Statista[/caption]

Essential Revenue from Chinese International students

[caption id="attachment_313" align="alignnone" width="813"] 2010, when Chinese students started attending US universities in large numbers, the education budget started declining. Education Data[/caption] US universities are expense, even for US citizens. The average yearly tuition for public universities is around $10,000 and $38,000 for private universities in 2022. Unlike international students however, most US citizens receive scholarships and financial aid. In the end, they only pay fraction of the total costs. International students, on the other hand, lack government funding and have to contest with highly competitive public scholarships to cover their tuition. Those without financial aid and scholarships pay north of $100,000 annual when attending a private university. This doesn’t account for their meal plans, dorm costs, and living expenses. To understand why international student revenue is important, you have to understand how US universities are funded. US universities are funded by the US government with its education budget. And that education has been on the decline since 2010, reaching an all-time low in 2020. Although the funding from the government declined, the cost to maintain and operate universities have increased. Meanwhile, students expect better facilities and services. To raise enough funding to stay relevant, universities rely heavily on international student tuition to cover the costs of the university. And Chinese international students make up 50% of the international student population studying in universities in the US. The main reason for this decline is because of the covid-19 pandemic. Not only because of the closed borders and the pandemic lockdowns, but also the negative resentment towards Chinese people. News about cases of violence and racism towards Chinese people have gone viral in China. Chinese media spread the news of these cases quite frequently in China, making Chinese citizens to reconsider going to the US. It seems unlikely that Chinese international students will rise over the next few years. Since Chinese international students make up majority of the international student population, universities need more funding to run their universities. They cannot rely on Chinese international students because of the declining admissions. This might’ve effected the US government’s decision to up their education budget. As of 2022, the US Department of Education received a 41% increase in their education budget, to 104 billion dollars. It is a temporary solution to the lack of international students but another alternative is marketing their universities towards India. Indian international student population in the US is second only to China. We will see soon if Indian international students will be able to supersede the number of Chinese International students in 2022.     Read more about China: Hong Kong's Internet Freedom 

Thousands of accepted students could have been denied from entering UC Berkeley after the state Supreme Court ordered the university earlier this month to freeze student enrollment at 42,347. The ruling came as an initial result of an ongoing legal fight between UC Berkeley and a local community organization over the environmental impact of a proposed expansion plan by the school. However, a bill was passed on Monday to give the school some time to comply with the law, allowing the students to enter the campus as planned. Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods, a group of Berkeley residents, has accused the university of failing to provide enough on-campus housing while admitting a large number of students, many of whom are from out of state or other countries. However, stopping enrollment at that level means the university—already one of the nation’s most selective—would have 3,050 fewer seats for incoming first-year and transfer students than originally planned for fall 2022. Typically, UC Berkeley said, it offers admission to about 21,000 first-year and transfer students and about 9,500 of them enroll. Berkeley’s examination of the environmental implications of increased enrollment was determined to be incorrect in August. The court ordered the university to maintain enrollment at the same level as the 2020–21 school year, which was lower due to the Covid pandemic, according to the institution. The study was carried out as a part of the university’s Upper Hearst Project, which aimed to expand academic facilities and provide housing for faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. Assemblymember Phil Ting, a UC Berkeley alum who co-sponsored the bill with state Sen. Nancy Skinner of Berkeley, blamed the university in part for failing to properly plan for campus growth. “I don’t think the students should really pay the price for bad bureaucratic decisions and a very poor lawyer,” Ting said on Monday. The bill’s authors hoped it would put an end to the debate. However, the president of the group Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods, Phil Bokovoy, says that the newly approved legislation is badly designed, which would cause more litigation. “UC Berkeley does not have the capacity to handle more students,” Bokovoy says as a UC Berkeley alumnus living near its campus, “we don’t want new students to have to live in their cars.” Despite the fact that the law was written to address a specific issue at UC Berkeley, it applies to all state higher education institutions. It does not, however, incorporate larger reforms that both parties have advocated for. Democratic Senator Scott Wiener from San Francisco said the environmental protection law has been “distorted beyond recognition.” He said that anyone with enough money to hire a lawyer can now delay or block even the environmentally sustainable projects, such as bike lanes, public transportation, and clean energy projects. Although there is a growing interest in the reform from both political parties, the question of whether there is the political will to make the change remains.   Read More: UC’s Highest Number of Applicants With Noticeable Increase in Diversity

Although it falls under the Chinese administrative region, the city of Hong Kong operates quite differently than China due to the “one country, two systems” policy. Such disparity in operations, ranging from internet access to the education system, led the city to have an uncommon relationship with the mainland. However, the policy seems to be nearing its expiration date, and that deeply worries Hong Kong citizens who are not used to China’s strict censorship.

The Great Firewall

[caption id="attachment_986" align="alignnone" width="2560"] Just as the Great Wall of China kept foreign invaders out of its land, the Great Firewall keeps many foreign websites out of its country.[/caption] China’s strict internet censorship is known as the Great Firewall, a wordplay of the famous Great Wall of China. The firewall blocks access to a number of major Western websites, such as Google and YouTube. However, it is not just the online destinations of its citizens the Chinese government tightly controls; content on the allowed websites is also constantly monitored. Specifically, any negative information about the government, be it criticism of the regime or facts about the Tiananmen Square protests, is not permitted. For instance, content on Baidu and Youku — the Chinese version of Google and YouTube, respectively — are highly censored even though both companies are based in China. If the content control of a website is deemed difficult, the government conveniently bans the website for arbitrary reasons, including but not limited to “harmful information” or “disrupting online communication order.” The most recent shut down of a major online platform was that of the app Clubhouse in early 2021 after a large number of users in China discussed detention camps located in Xinjiang province. The people of Hong Kong, on the other hand, have enjoyed more internet freedom than the mainlanders. The list of blocked websites in the city has been significantly shorter than that of the mainland, allowing Hongkongers to search on Google and watch YouTube videos.

Freedom of Speech

Along with internet freedom, citizens of Hong Kong have also enjoyed more freedom of speech. People could leave critical comments online about the government without having serious concerns about their safety. However, the situation took a quick turn for the worse in 2019 when an amendment to the existing extradition law was proposed. [caption id="attachment_300" align="aligncenter" width="696"] The regime's control looms over the city, slowly silencing the people's voices.[/caption] In detail, the original law explicitly states that the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) agreements for extraditing criminals are applicable to governments outside Hong Kong, but exclude “the government of any other part of the People’s Republic of China.” On the contrary, the proposed amendment would have allowed the city government to extradite criminal suspects to any country, including mainland China. The city’s citizens interpreted, and rightly so, the bill as an attempt to crack down on dissidents in Hong Kong. In order to protect the city’s autonomy and their freedom of speech, the people of Hong Kong started the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests, one of the largest series of demonstrations in Hong Kong’s history. After 20 weeks of protests, the city legislature eventually withdrew the bill. Unfortunately, however, Beijing came up with another—in fact, stronger—way to control the city and limit Hongkongers’ freedom of speech. The national security law (NSL) provides the government with legal grounds for surveillance and criminalization based on a vague and broad definition of acts of “secession,” “subversion,” “terrorism,” and “collusion with foreign forces.” Hong Kong’s media has already suffered under the NSL; local newsrooms were raided and a foreign journalist has been forced out by visa denial. The regime’s crackdown on media freedom started with shutting down Apple Daily in June 2021. As it was the largest pro-democracy newspaper company in the city, trusted by many as a reliable media institute, its closure sent a chilling message to Hong Kong’s press. Yuen Chan, a veteran journalist who now lectures at the City, University of London says, “Press freedom has been diminishing over a number of years, but since 2020 especially that has been turbocharged.” [caption id="attachment_1678" align="aligncenter" width="695"] University students actively participated in the protests. Now, the regime pushes for more "patriotic" education. Photo: Studio Incendo / Licensed under CC BY 2.0[/caption]

Academic Freedom

Witnessing the government’s oppression of press freedom, the academic field in Hong Kong also sees the growing “climate of fear.” The Education Bureau of Hong Kong quickly followed Beijing’s order to instill more “patriotism” in students, sending instructions to educational institutions across the city. The guideline says the city government will take necessary measures to regulate “matters concerning national security, including those relating to school, universities, and social organizations,” citing parts of the NSL. The instructions also explicitly state that one of the fundamental goals of national security education is to develop an affection for the Chinese people and the nation. Upon receiving the instructions, some institutions started to censor their faculties. Agence France-Presse reported that the University of Hong Kong, the city’s highest-ranked university, sent emails to its employees in 2021 telling them to “remain neutral” in their lectures and “be mindful of the language [they] use.” The school went as far as to warn its faculties that it will show “zero-tolerance” against those who bring personal political views into class. A few months later in the same year, Lingnan University released two adjunct professors from contract without providing a specific reason. As the two professors, Hui Bo-keung and Lo Wing-sang, were both active supporters of the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests, many suspected the reason for their termination to be political. While the regime’s attempt to tighten its grip on Hong Kong’s education may have been working, it came with a heavy price; faculties are leaving the city looking for better academic freedom. Carsten Holz, an economics professor at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST), wrote in his article that his colleagues have already started to leave the city fearing censorship or retaliation. However, faculties escaping the city is not the only problem Beijing’s censorship has incited — students may also be leaving. Based on the statistics provided by the city’s University Grants Committee (UGC), the number of full-time undergraduate students who discontinued their studies has increased by 433 over one academic year from 2019-20 to 2020-21. Although the pandemic could have contributed to the increase, its impact has likely been marginal with the city successfully containing the spread of the virus to mostly below 100 new cases per day until early this year.

Hong Kong's Future

With the expiration date of the “one country, two systems” policy closing in on the city, the students and people of Hong Kong have resiliently fought back the regime’s attempt to gain further control. Although the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests succeeded in removing the extradition bill, they could not push back Beijing’s looming control entirely. As of early 2022, more than 150 people have been arrested under the NSL, many of them for speech crimes. In addition to the NSL, Covid-19 has given the Chinese government another convenient excuse to control Hong Kong citizens and violate their human rights. The future of Hong Kong’s internet freedom, freedom of speech, and academic freedom may appear gloomy. Yet, the will of the people has always prevailed, lasting longer than any regime in the history of mankind. May it be the case for Hong Kong.   Read more: Problems With Teaching Chinese Politics

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been the first large scale invasion of an entire European country since World War 2. Due to Russia’s invasion, US and NATO nations have currently imposed massive sanctions on the Russian government. Not only are the Russians suffering a massive shortage in supplies due to the sanctions, but also are being cut off from the rest of the world. Companies and businesses in US or NATO have ceased their operations in Russia. Companies like Nvida, Disney, and even McDonalds are currently not in service in Russia. And just like how companies are cutting ties, universities are doing the same. [caption id="attachment_273" align="aligncenter" width="2480"] MIT's statment on the suspendsion of their MIT-Russia and Eurasia program on their website[/caption] MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has suspended their MIT-Russia program and stated that they “will not be sending students, staff, or faculty to Russia”. That is only one of many universities that have stopped working or sending their staff and students to Russia. Dutch institutions froze scientific collaboration, Danish universities cut ties with Russia and Belarus, and the European University Association (EUA) has suspended 12 Russian members who backed Russia’s invasion.

Sanctions and their Effects

[caption id="attachment_280" align="alignnone" width="918"] Russian's attitude to the US according to public data published by the Levada Center[/caption] It is understandable why universities around the world are cutting ties with Russia. Being any way associated to Russia is not a good look. But this sanctioning could instead foster more hatred in Russian citizens, rather than discourage the Russian government. According to the data collected by the Levada Center, a non-governmental organization who conducts regular surveys in Russia, that more than 50% of its citizens have a negative view of the US. 60% of surveyed Russian citizens also believe the escalation in Ukraine was the US’s fault. With almost all western companies, businesses, and universities cutting ties with Russia, it isolates Russia physically and ideologically. Especially universities that pull out of Russia is a huge blow to the Russian students. Russian students attending or in programs that were suspended have their progress towards their degree halted. Not being able to continue their education or research just because they are Russian citizens or part of a Russian organization could be seen as discrimination. Its not difficult to see how this action can foster more hate in the US than their own government.

Verdict

In conclusion, by stopping education programs to Russia could backfire. Russians with already negative feelings towards the US could feel discriminated. On the other hand, the lack of higher education choices, supplies, and amenities is putting pressure on Putin to take action. Hopefully this conflict will be resolved soon and the suspensions of these programs will only be a temporary measure.     Read more: College Rankings and the Shortage of Chinese International Students

Demand for shorter MBAs has grown to improve return on investment  Since prospective students prefer fast-track courses that concentrate on career development and pay less for their degree, MBA courses are changing to meet varying demands. The robust economy has strengthened the appeal of shorter MBA degrees, which provide a quick return on investment and allow students to make up for lost income. Fast-track programs are in great demand, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council, with 47% of prospective students enthusiastic about them, the strongest demand in a decade. [caption id="attachment_914" align="alignnone" width="1800"] joseph m. katz graduate school of business - located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[/caption] Associate dean Sara Moeller, Katz Graduate School of Business, finds that the popularity of one-year MBAs is students’ changing circumstances in which they want to upgrade their credentials in the short term. “Students who enroll in full-time programs take a break from professional positions, foregoing pay and benefits. They are driven to complete their graduate studies quickly in order to return to their successful careers.”  Since Katz began fast-track programs in 1963, the first school to offer a one-year option, it has run continuously. On the other hand, to meet students’ demand for more comprehensive learning and summer internship programs, last year, the Pittsburgh-based school launched an 18-month option.  Moeller says that the school now sees more demand for an 18-month program. For students who want to complete their degree in less than two years and prefer to have the summer internship experience, in fall 2021, Katz replaced the long-standing format of the two-year MBA with an 18-month Signature MBA.  Fast-track MBAs are evolving despite the limits  In the US, two-year courses are considered a better option to change careers since it includes the summer internship, which is the traditional way to experience a new profession and to land coveted roles in banking and consulting. In this circumstance, for career-changers, fast-track format options are limited.  However, in 1965, the one-year MBA program was launched at Kellogg School of Management in Illinois. In the belief that the MBA is not one-size-fits-all, it offers a shorter format that is designed to let students focus on their priorities, leveraging their prior academic knowledge and directly undertaking electives. For instance, students with undergraduate business degrees can move directly into their preferred electives rather than attending compulsory core courses.  [caption id="attachment_919" align="alignnone" width="1140"] Kellogg school of management - located in Evanston, Illinois[/caption] “One-year MBA students typically have strong clarity in their career goals and are using the MBA for career enhancement and acceleration rather than for a major career shift,” says Steve Thompson, senior director of full-time admissions at Kellogg. Therefore, the courses are structured to recruit students who have a focused career goal.  “You have the intimacy associated with a small program but benefit from the network and resources of a larger one,” Thompson says. Students in Kellogg’s 12-month course can still build a social network with those who are attending the two-year program. For instance, Kellogg Worldwide Exploration Student Trips - overseas study trips were taken before the MBA officially began – allow them to interact with the two-year cohort.  Are fast-track courses a more economical choice?    “When the return on investment components are considered, along with the fact that one-year MBAs are recruited for the same jobs and salaries as two-year MBAs, the shorter program is a very attractive option for those with fitting backgrounds,” says Brian Mitchell, associate dean of full-time MBAs at Goizueta Business School in Atlanta, Georgia. With shorter MAB degrees, students can lower tuition costs.  [caption id="attachment_920" align="alignnone" width="1748"] Goizueta Business School, Emory University - located in Atlanta, Georgia[/caption] “Understanding the fit is an important part of our evaluation process, and it should be an important part of the candidate’s approach as well,” says Mitchell. For example, the one-year course option would be a perfect fit for candidates who have previous work experience and thus see a summer internship experience as less important. Mitchell adds, “We look for students who are seeking to accelerate their trajectory in roles that leverage their previous experience in addition to what they learn throughout the MBA program.”  “The MBA degree in the US started in the two-year format, and the vast majority of business schools have remained with that model because of its history and success,” Mitchell points out the fact that in the US fast-track courses are still rare and that summer internships in a traditional two-year format yet have a high demand for career changers.  Mitchell also adds that one-year program options are not yet well known to prospective students. “Even when learning about such programs, some prospective students may believe incorrectly that one-year programs do not offer the full MBA experience. At Goizueta, we have worked hard to ensure that’s not the case.”  Whereas the industry experts have predicted that it will become more challenging for business schools to recruit applicants for a traditional format due to the competitive labor market, Mitchell remains positive about their two-year course, saying “high-quality MBA programs are going to remain attractive, regardless of the strength of the job market.   Mitchell points out that while application numbers fluctuate, the MBA degree's overall appeal stays constant, as it is one of the most sought-after graduate degrees worldwide. He adds “We have seen this through a number of economic cycles, for as long as MBA programs have been around”.  Read more: UC Berkeley Admissions Has Been Saved  

Although the case study method has received criticism for its shortcomings, numerous business schools still use it as a core part of their teaching for a reason

Harvard Business School (HBS) first adopted the case study method in 1921 to allow students to apply theories in practice as they delve into real-world cases. Ever since then, the method has been used as a dominant approach to teaching at a large number of business schools. In recent years, however, some critics have pointed out that the method is outdated, for it insufficiently represents minority leaders and focuses too heavily on highly theoretical cases. Nevertheless, business schools still celebrate the case studies as one of their pillars of teaching. Shameen Prashantham, MBA director at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, says that the teaching method allows courses to provide better experiential learning to students. She adds, “This is what sets the MBA apart from other graduate programs.” Prashantham believes, based on research results, that students absorb more knowledge when they actively participate in the course through case studies than they do in less involving traditional lectures. He underlines that the cases expose students to real business dilemmas and decisions, with which they learn how to apply theories in practice. “And, as all the case studies requires rigorous classroom discussions, the students learn not only from professors but from their peers who have very diverse backgrounds,” he says. As many MBA programs acknowledge that diversity in perspectives leads to a richer learning experience for students, the teaching method is even more valued by the schools. Moreover, the case method intentionally puts students in uncomfortable situations where they do not have enough information available on the case. The director at CEIBS says that training students to work in such circumstances is important because, in reality, business leaders often have to make decisions based on limited information. In the meantime, the method poses challenges for improvement to faculty as well. The field of business is highly dynamic, according to Prashantham, which in turn requires professors to maintain a close relationship with the industry in order to constantly update their lectures with relevant business principles. He says, “So in a way it is the case study method that allows business schools to stay relevant and justify their hype.”

The method has evolved over the years

Since numerous business schools adopted the case study, it has been modified to be more interactive. Recently, students are guided in class to use actual tools which they will use in the field after graduation. For example, students at INSEAD have opportunities to learn how to use analytics tools through group exercises in professor David Dubois’ class. The professor thinks that there have been a few positive changes to the case method brought about by the pandemic. He says, “Online settings offer other powerful tools [such as polling] that can augment learning and enrich the narrative of case conversations.” [caption id="attachment_1427" align="aligncenter" width="696"] New technologies can change the paradigm of learning experience. Photo: Justraveling.com / Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0[/caption] Brian Kenny, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at HBS, notes changes in the teaching method brought by technological advancements. For instance, applying artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to case research changes the paradigm of learning experience of students. While students discussed with their peers and professors to get different perspectives, they can now interact with chatbots online to get insights on a case. Likewise, virtual reality (VR) allows students to be immersed in the case study through realistic simulations—students can better see themselves as a protagonist in a given case scenario and make real-time decisions interacting with other participants. Kenny adds, “This technology will make it easier for students to immerse themselves in a case and understand the complexity of the problems the protagonist faces.” Brandon Kirby, senior director of admissions at Rotterdam School of Management in the Netherlands, welcomes the changes in case studies resulting from new technologies. Kirby says the capacity to visually present diverse scenarios and protagonists in cases can help bring more focus on underrepresented minorities. However, Kirby acknowledges that developing cases is an exceedingly complicated task as it requires getting buy-in and clearance from the participating firms.   Read More: The Return of International MBA Students