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The online revolution in business education
The digital revolution is omnipresent and is affecting all aspects of our daily lives as well as how business is done. Since business education is the first step towards a career in the business world, it is not untouched by the far-reaching effects of the digital revolution, literally. Increase of digital access has meant that information is now easily available in even the most remote locations. People can now educate themselves on any topic with the use of internet.
Increased digital access gave birth to the massive open online courses or MOOCs. Available for various disciplines, the availability of MOOCs for business education has made attaining business education cheaper and more convenient, using the internet. The craze for MOOCs among the young and old generation alike has led many top universities and business colleges to provide distance learning programs for students.
MOOCs are not a new concept but the proliferation of digital technology has enabled delivery of full fledged programs or courses online. This has brought online learning head-to-head with the classroom learning experience for business education. Though, as of yet, the online courses are not seen with as much dignity as the revered on-campus courses. The key reason for this is that most of these online courses are either provided by lesser known universities or colleges or exclusively online platforms which have lower admission criteria or bigger class sizes.
The prominent universities and colleges have had to join the movement because of the traction it is drawing from the crowds. However, this has not yet happened in complete measure as the top colleges have still had some amount of reservation towards online learning and an inclination towards their campus courses. In fact, several of the online programs run by bigger universities and colleges try to bring the students to their campus at some stage. A complete degree program which can be completed online is yet to be developed by these colleges.
MOOCs offered by online platforms such as FutureLearn, Coursera, Udemy etc. have taken business education by storm. The short courses from various management disciplines such as data analysis, innovation and enterprise have found a lot of takers. Even so, there was an air of uncertainty as to whether employers will accept these as legitimate. However, the proliferation of these courses and their acceptance among the millennials have led employers to accept these courses.
The acceptance of online programs by employers has led top colleges to prepare online courses either in partnership with online platforms or through their own website. Colleges such as HEC Paris, MIT etc. have created their own full fledged online programs to expand their reach to a global audience. The Online Master’s in Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a flagship course in the online business education sphere by HEC Paris. It brings the 140 years of legacy of the college in innovation and entrepreneurship to the digital world.
Bringing degree courses to the digital education ecosphere will benefit a very large number of employees and students. It is extremely common for people to not be able to take campus based degree courses due to distance, financial constraints or responsibilities. Since the online courses are cheaper than their campus variants they are cost effective and affordable for a larger audience. Similarly, online programs offer the anytime-anywhere flexibility. Hence, people who are already employed part time or even full time can take up these courses at their convenience. Moreover, online courses do not require one to shirk their responsibilities, instead for those really determined to learn, online courses bring in a lot of time management and multi-tasking skills which are necessary in the world of business.
The global reach online programs offer is not huge. However, with a large number of students, managing quality in education is an even bigger task. Top colleges entering this sphere have built their reputations over more than hundred years. Anything that can dilute their brand image would be detrimental to their future. Hence, a lot of care is taken in selecting faculty and managers who manage these online education programs. The best teachers are given the mandate to conduct online lectures. The process of giving assignments and grading students also follows due rigor.
Since online degrees are still in the nascent stages, the processes are likely to get better with more digital technology being integrated with the programs. The online education sphere is like a playfield where even renowned colleges are learning on the go. Innovation in this field will be key to its success. Learning will happen from all stakeholders such as academicians, students, digital specialists and even creatives. Digital education is the future and all who want to survive in that future need to comply.
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