Newswise — The MBA Roundtable, a nonprofit organization focused on MBA curricular design and innovation, has released the results of its 2012 MBA Curricular Innovation Study. The triennial study indicates that MBA curricular changes in the past three years have focused on adding more choices, in the form of new concentrations and electives, as well as program flexibility, such as accelerated degree completion options.
Among the findings:
• 94% made some change to their elective content in the past three years, with 63 percent indicating it was a moderate or greater change. o The most common elective additions were entrepreneurship (51 percent), international business (40 percent), leadership (39 percent), and corporate responsibility (36 percent). o Common additions to concentration offerings included healthcare, entrepreneurship, and business analytics. o Programs outside the U.S. were making deeper changes, with 26 percent making significant or greater changes and none reporting that no changes had been made.
• Action-based learning was the most common change to core or required content. o The most common type of change was increasing applied and action-based learning (60 percent). Other common changes included an increase in global content (48 percent), program flexibility (41 percent), and interdisciplinary courses (3 percent%). o The most common subject matter additions were corporate responsibility (63 percent), entrepreneurship (49 percent), geo-economical/geostrategy (47 percent), ethics (40 percent), and leadership (40 percent). The most significant subject matter reduction was in information technology (11 percent).
• Structural flexibility provided additional options for students. o Part-time programs were most likely to institute program structure changes, with 25 percent adopting a new delivery mode and 21 percent reducing the length of their program through such means as additional weekend and summer course delivery. o Executive MBA programs were most likely to remain a lock-step program (90 percent vs. 55 percent of all respondents), but were much more likely to deliver a blended (online and face-to-face) program (30 percent) than full-time MBA programs (8 percent).
“Three years ago we saw significant changes in many MBA programs,” said Sarah Gardial, president of the MBA Roundtable and dean of the University of Iowa's Henry B.Tippie College of Business. “It's not surprising that this year's survey shows fewer dramatic changes. This has been a period of implementing core changes and modifying the elective portfolio and other program areas to ensure our programs remain relevant and cover the subject areas most important to students and employers. The study showed that MBA programs have been successful at adding new topics and skills without reducing existing content. The primary means have been integration, more elective choices, and co-curricular additions, such as career development and consulting projects."
One of the primary objectives of the study was to provide MBA Roundtable members with a comparative assessment tool that would support their curricular management and change efforts. The study was sponsored in part by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville MBA Program and the George Mason University School of Management, where MBA Roundtable board member Roy Hinton serves as associate dean of executive programs and director of the Executive MBA program.
“It's imperative that MBA programs continually explore new content and delivery methods, or we risk our relevance in today's dynamic business environment,” said Hinton. “The MBA Curricular Innovation Study and the MBA Roundtable as a whole are invaluable resources for recognizing trends and sharing best practices. We were pleased to be able to support the research study and help contribute to that body of knowledge.”
About the study: The 2012 Curricular Innovation study, as well as the 2009 study, was developed and sponsored by the MBA Roundtable and administered by Percept Research of Charlotte, NC. The 2012 Web survey was fielded by Percept Research in February and March of 2012. Representatives from 710 MBA programs around the world were invited to participate, including members and non-members of the MBA Roundtable. A total of 232 full-time, part-time, and executive MBA programs completed the survey, a 36 percent response rate. The respondents represented 171 business schools worldwide, with 81 percent U.S.-based and 19 percent based outside the U.S. About The MBA Roundtable: Founded in 1995, the MBA Roundtable is a global association of business schools working together to inform and inspire MBA curricular and programmatic innovation. The MBA Roundtable seeks to improve MBA education and the practice of management by:
• Creating forums to challenge, debate, and shape the future of MBA curricular design;• Equipping business school faculty and administrators with the knowledge and resources needed to advance MBA curricular and programmatic innovation; and• Promoting and recognizing MBA curricular achievement, change, and innovation.
For more information, visit www.mbaroundtable.org.
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