Design of Online MBA Programs G. Anand Anandalingam Former Dean Imperial College Business School, London, UK Smith School of Business, U of Maryland, USA

The Impact of Online Business Programs on Business Schools History University of Phoenix University of Maryland University College The Challenge Declining base of MBA students Change of educational culture The Dilemma How does one maintain brand equity while launching online programs

The Real Question Should top-ranked Business Schools start launching online programs? Debate at Harvard Business School What are Tier-2 B-Schools to Do? How should top-ranked Business Schools use modern technology and social media to pursue their strategy and vision? Programs only? What about Research? What about organizational design and communication?

Some Thoughts on Program Design and Development MOOCs vs Other Offerings MOOCs Very little revenue potential (truly open?) Too many drop-outs (over 90%) Challenge of branding for 2nd tier institutions Market Segmentation Friction of full-time vs part-time vs global Cost/Revenue Sharing How much of cost/revenue to share? Control vs Outsourcing recruitment Choice of vendor

Why an online MBA? A strategic decision Delivering online programs helps address the following key strategic challenges: Innovate programme delivery – Need to adapt to changing market demand and expectations Increase global footprint – Online programmes promote brand awareness and impact at a global level Solve space constraints – Online programmes enable to grow the B-School without the need for additional physical space Increase revenue– Online programmes provide the opportunity to develop additional revenue streams

Decision at Imperial College Run our own Online MBA Program Call is Global Online MBA to reflect distribution of students Student Choice Full-Time, Week-End, Global Online Tuition and Fees comparable across programs Marketing done by ICBS and criteria set by ICBS Recruitment done by Study Group for the most part Admissions done by ICBS Partner with EdX for some MOOCS Very low fees/tuition Specific offerings (pre-MBA, mini-MBA, intro to Finance Mostly as a Marketing Tool

Conceptual Design Inspiration High Tech High Engagement © Imperial College Business School

Inspiration

High tech Technology works “Out of the box” Example: Give students the latest tablet device pre-configured with course content, including materials, e-mail, access to live classes etc. OR Require students to have the latest devices and software

High Tech The online classroom Students experience live online classes with course leaders via the best-in-class tools including: Google Hangout Mimio Teach Personify

High tech Fast content Use fast development techniques that enable courses to be updated rapidly in order to maintain links to an ever changing research base.

High tech Rich content We will also include rich content that promotes an active learning approach.

High tech Social media integration Integration with common social media platforms

High tech Learning analytics Learning analytics provide Students (and their instructors) with summary and comparative performance indicators. For example: Task lists Course completion Scores in tests Activity levels Communication levels Badging

High tech Support software Use Software will to provide excellent levels of service support. And provide data for service improvements.

High engagement One Model: Use of Live Sessions and Tutors Students attend short course introductions by course leaders during the on-campus sessions Students attend live classes with course leaders every 2-3 weeks during term times. Students received feedback on assessed work from course leaders during their course. Online tutors log-on to the Hub daily Monday to Friday. They respond to student questions, hold office hours. Online tutors deliver regular live revision sessions focused on topics selected by the students. Online tutors monitor student progress in the activities and give feedback on performance. Note on experience from GEMBA Online tutors need to be tightly integrated: Force interaction Software needs to be compatible with iPads Quality of tutors - Ability to deliver lice session Check knowledge of material through academic interview

High engagement Use a Cohort Model Divide Students into Sensible Cohorts: Programme = all students on programme Cohort = all students starting on a particular date (around 100) Stream = each cohort divided into streams (max 30 students) Syndicate groups = each stream divided into syndicate groups (6 students)

High engagement Use Active Teaching Assistants Teaching assistants. For example PhD students and Post-Docs) ) log on to course sites daily, respond to messages, hold office hours, track progress and produce summary reports. Administration staff should be engaged in actively monitoring student progress and identifying any potential issues before they happen.

High engagement Peer-to-peer interaction The use of syndicate groups, group activities and interest groups promote peer-to-peer interaction.

High engagement Face-to-face work Students given opportunities each year to meet face-to-face through: Orientation session Global Study Tours On-campus electives Regional networking event (lectures and networking) (Minimum three weeks of F2F compulsory over the programme)

Some key working decisions How many intakes: Imperial: 2 intakes per year: Jan/July Smith: 4 intakes, every quarter Number of students: Imperial target: 100 per cohort Smith target: 30-40 per cohort Price: Imperial: £30,000 - £35,000 Smith: $76,000 Students: Entry requirements as per EMBA/WEMBA. Cohort drawn from a wider geographical area. Curriculum: To initially follow EMBA/WEMBA programs

Any Questions?