Last month the Wall Street Journal announced that a number of prominent MBA programs will not offer hybrid learning this fall; the programs, including Columbia University, Stanford University, New York University, University of California-Berkeley, and Boston University will instead bring students to campus for in-person learning full-time.
The decision is a nod to the importance of relationship-building within MBA programs, as well as an acknowledgment that recreating enriching networking opportunities online is almost impossible. Just last week, Jay Bhatti, a VC firm co-founder and Wharton School guest speaker, told Business Insider that, in a rapidly changing world, “The real thing that the MBA schools come down to is, hey, can I give relationships that are meaningful and for a lifetime?” Noting that major companies are relaxing degree requirements and the internet is democratizing access to knowledge, the MBA’s value predominantly stems from the relationships and networks that are cemented within their programs. J.P. Eggers, Vice Dean of MBA and Graduate Programs at NYU’s Stern School of Business, summed it up succinctly in the Wall Street Journal when he said, “Building new relationships online is hard.”
Within hybrid programs, which many speculated would “emerge as a viable alternative to traditional two-year programs,” administrators speaking with the Wall Street Journal acknowledged the struggle that professors faced trying to meaningfully engage both online and in-person audiences. In fact, Eggers called blended learning models the “worst of both worlds” saying that, “Any time a faculty member is trying to split their attention between one set of students in-person and one online, it gets hard.” However, some schools, including Harvard Business School, plan to continue to offer online options for students who need them, such as international students who are not able to obtain the necessary visas. And other schools believe the technology used to support hybrid learning models can still be integrated for the benefit of students, for example, as a way to bring in guest speakers.
Despite commitments from many schools to bring back the full MBA experience, this year will still bring a dearth of virtual company recruiting events. As many companies continue to grapple with restricted travel and how and when to bring employees back to the office, the companies have forewarned MBA programs that they will not be sending teams to campus. This, according to some, has been positive. “It actually made recruiting more accessible,” said Kristen Fitzpatrick, Harvard Business School’s Managing Director of Alumni and MBA Career and Professional Development, to Fortune Education. “By eliminating the cost and time required to travel for recruiting, it was easier for our partners to access our students,” she said. The use of online meetings for recruiting allowed companies to meet with a greater number of business schools than before. For example, while University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School usually hosts 140 companies on campus in the fall, 175 companies were able to host virtual events with students.
While it is expected that some companies will continue to value the cost-savings and expanded reach of virtual events, Fitzpatrick did acknowledge the likelihood that some recruiters will eventually return to campus, “As the impact of the pandemic starts to lessen and we go back to some forms of travel, we do expect a few of our partners to return to campus when it is safe to do so.”