在線MBA 學習工作兩不誤
The fallout of the global economic crisis has meant lean times for many business schools, but despite this the number of MBAs being delivered online is expanding.
Since 2009-10, the number of schools offering online MBAs has increased by a quarter, according to figures from AACSB International, the accreditation body. By 2013-14, online degrees accounted for 11 per cent of the total.
根據認證機構國際商學院促進協會(AACSB International)的數據，自2009-2010學年以來，提供在線MBA學位的學校增加了四分之一。至2013-2014學年，在線MBA學位課程的數量佔總MBA課程數量的11%。John Fernandes, president of AACSB, says the proliferation of online options reflects the changing needs of students and the growing number who are unable to put their careers on hold.
AACSB主席約翰•費爾南德斯(John Fernandes)表示，在線MBA課程的激增，既反映了學生們不斷變化的需求，也說明越來越多的學生無法擱置自己的職業生涯。
“Many students taking online degrees are doing so to converge their working lives and study,” he says
費爾南德斯說：“許多學生之所以選擇攻讀在線學位，是爲了兼顧他們的工作生活和學業。”Robert Monroe, director of the online MBA at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), says there is only one fundamental difference between its online and campus-based students. The former are “working professionals”, many have families.
卡內基梅隆大學(Carnegie Mellon University)泰珀商學院(Tepper School of Business)在線MBA學位負責人羅伯特•門羅(Robert Monroe)表示，在線學生與在校學生只存在一點根本區別，那就是前者爲“職場人士”，其中不少人都已成家。For schools, it’s imperative to figure out how much working professionals can handle without it being excessive.”
門羅說：“對於學校來說，必須瞭解職場人士能應付多少課程，而不覺得課業過於繁重。”Advances in technology allow some courses to recreate interactive campus learning through live video classroom sessions. CMU’s online MBA and the MBA@UNC from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler business school are two examples.
科技的進步令部分課程可以通過視頻直播課堂教學，再現校園學習的互動氛圍。卡內基梅隆大學的在線MBA和北卡羅來納大學(University of North Carolina)凱南-弗拉格勒商學院(Kenan-Flagler Business School)的MBA@UNC就是兩個例子。The interactivity provided by premium online programmes is attracting the same calibre of students as campus MBAs, says Prof Monroe and the groups are now “remarkably similar”.
門羅教授表示，優秀在線課程所提供的互動氛圍，吸引着與在校MBA學生同等素質的學員，而且這兩類學生現在“驚人相似”。This view is echoed by professor Idalene Kesner, dean of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. She says online courses were once taken by older students looking to move up within companies, but now “we are beginning to see convergence in [student] age and levels of professional experience”.
印地安納大學(Indiana University)凱萊商學院(Kelley School of Business)院長伊達萊妮•克斯納(Idalene Kesner)教授對上述觀點表示贊同。她說以前選擇在線課程的，都是一些希望在公司裏獲得升職的、較爲年長的學生，但現在“我們開始看到（學生的）年齡以及職業經驗水平正在趨同。”While those enrolled on Kelley’s full-time MBA have on average four to five years in the workplace behind them, those studying online will have six to seven years, she says.
克斯納表示，就讀於凱萊商學院全日制MBA的學生平均有四到五年的工作經驗，而那些在線學生則爲六到七年。Caroline Bussenius, a student on the Kelley online masters of strategic management, runs a start-up business and needs flexibility. “I realised that a traditional campus-based programme wouldn’t work for me,” she says.
卡羅琳•布塞紐斯(Caroline Bussenius)是凱萊商學院戰略管理碩士在線課程的一名學生，她運營着一家初創企業，需要彈性的學習時間。她說：“我意識到傳統的在校課程不適合我。”While the Kelley MBA includes live online sessions, they are not mandatory, and can be accessed later.
雖然凱萊商學院的MBA課程也有在線直播課程，但這些課程不是強制性的，而且可以過後再上。Despite the global reach of online MBAs, figures from the Graduate Management Admission Council, which runs the standard entry GMAT exam, show 87 per cent of test-takers sending scores to online and distance MBA degrees in 2014 were from the US.
儘管在線MBA課程能夠覆蓋全球，但根據美國管理學研究生招生理事會(Graduate Management Admission Council)——GMAT考試的主辦者——的數據，2014年向在線及遠程MBA學位課程發送成績的考生中，有87%來自美國。AACSB’s Mr Fernandes says some students’ time zones hinder regular interaction, but he adds: “As technology gets better at shrinking time differences, we can unlock the global classroom.”
AACSB的費爾南德斯說，一些學生受時區阻礙，無法進行常規課程互動，但他補充道：“隨着縮小時差技術的提高，我們可以開啓全球課堂。”Financial barriers can remain. Fees for an online MBA at a top school are often comparable with campus costs. Tuition fees for CMU’s online MBA, for example, are $45,000 in 2015-16, while full-time campus students will pay $60,000.
經濟方面的障礙依然存在。一流學校的在線MBA費用通常與在校費用不相上下。比如，2015-2016學年，卡內基梅隆大學在線MBA學費爲4.5萬美元，而全日制在校生的學費則爲6萬美元。Scholarships are widely offered by leading schools, however, and online delivery of MBAs is widening the potential catchment for sponsored students, says Gayle Allard, a professor at IE Business School in Spain.
不過名校會提供大量獎學金名額，西班牙企業商學院(IE Business School)教授蓋爾•阿拉德(Gayle Allard)表示，在線MBA學位擴大了獲資助學生的可能性範圍。Prof Allard says online delivery is having a democratising impact on the student demographic. “We can now offer scholarships to people who could never afford to live in Madrid.”
阿拉德表示，在線學位正對學生的人口分佈產生民主化影響。他說：“對於那些可能永遠負擔不起馬德里生活成本的人，我們現在也能向他們提供獎學金了。”
