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Could the part time MBA be the best investment of 2010?
Matt Symonds - 10.07.2009
The general wisdom is that an economic slowdown coincides with increased applications to business school. Sure enough, the latest GMAC Application Trends Survey confirms this correlation, with two-thirds of full-time MBA programs reporting a year on year applicant increase.
The survey also points to mixed results for part-time and executive MBA programs, showing that almost half of schools globally have witnessed a drop in applications for such courses. Executive MBA programs have been hardest hit, because the weak economy makes it more difficult for potential students to secure funding through employers.
But the part-time MBA may soon come to be identified as 2010’s smart MBA choice, for young professionals who feel uncertain about a future global economic recovery and associated job market. They may also hesitate to take out loans for their studies. The ability to work as you gain your MBA, maintain your salary, and boost your career make the part-time MBA an increasingly attractive alternative.
At HEC Paris, a leading European business school, part-time applications have risen sharply in the last 12 months. “In times where employees may not be willing to leave their jobs to pursue business education, the part-time option provides a compelling solution,” explains development manager Marie-Laurence Lemaire. “And, because you continue earning a salary throughout the course, the return on investment compares very favourably with that of a full-time MBA.”
Return on Investment (ROI) is, of course, one of the main factors when deciding where to study and which type of course to enroll in. And the figures appear to back up Lemaire’s claim. In the most recent GMAC comparison the part time MBA provided a return of 680% over a ten year period against 147% for the full-time option. This figure can mainly be attributed to part-time MBA students continued earnings through the entirety of their program. Despite being over two years old, the GMAC figures also showed that average salaries upon graduation were marginally higher than those for full-time MBA grads.
For these reasons the part-time MBA has long been a favourite study format in the United States. Indeed business schools such as NYU and the University of Chicago graduate more part-time MBA students than any other. Typically these programs are offered on weeknights and weekends, though the weekend format often restricts the student pool to people living close to the business school.
To overcome this geographic limitation, HEC Paris is re-thinking the part-time format, proposing a modular format of at least 9 full weeks of study spread over a 24 month period. Consequently students are able to travel in from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. In the current class there is even a student from San Francisco, who uses the flight time to keep up with homework assignments.
Often confused with the senior manager focused Executive MBA, the part-time MBA is accessible to younger professionals who want the benefits of the full-time MBA curriculum and career development with a flexible course design. Lemaire confirms the distinction. “This is not an Executive MBA. The part-time program has been designed and is taught to match participants who have less managerial responsibility, but want an MBA from one of the world’s top business schools. Both the students and the companies investing in them benefit from course material and consultancy projects that are directly applicable to their own work.”
It also works well for employers, who welcome the newly acquired skills that students bring to their professional environment. For Alan Doyle, the Part-Time MBA Program at HEC fit both his and his company’s needs perfectly. “I had wanted to do an MBA for a long time but could not afford to take time out of my career. This program fits my schedule while also allowing me to apply classroom concepts to real-world experiences.”
One concern habitually raised about part-time programs is that it can be difficult to network effectively when a portion of the studying is conducted off campus. This is an issue a number of European business schools have been working on in different ways.
Warwick Business School in the UK, a major player in distance learning, has developed WBSLive, an online classroom where students can work together wherever they happen to be. Students can interact in virtual workgroups, discuss issues and modify documents in real-time. Vin Hammersley, communications director from Warwick says, “It’s working very well. Not only does it allow us to bring lectures and seminars straight to students desk tops, but it gives students the ability to communicate, network and share ideas as well as if they were in the same room together.”
One final number that made compelling reading from the GMAC study. The payback period for the full-time MBA was a little over 5 years. The payback period for the part-time MBA? Only 1.6 years.
So perhaps 2010 will be the year of the part-time MBA. Because even before you learn to calculate ROI at business school, the numbers that support a part-time MBA speak for themselves.
Matt Symonds is co-author of Getting the M.B.A. Admissions Edge, a B-school admissions best seller sponsored by Goldman Sachs and McKinsey. His new individual school guides will be available in the fall. You can follow more of his business education coverage on Twitter and his blog.
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