BGA | BUSINESS IMPACT
T he global Covid-19 pandemic has forced adapting teaching methods to meet diverse learner needs, and teaching faculty new skills to engage with their students in the 'new normal’ of hybrid learning. Unfortunately, the results of these efforts have been mixed. Accelerated responses Some leading Business Schools have been able to respond by leveraging long-established online offerings into new virtual spaces, such as HBR IdeaCast within the Harvard University ecosystem. many Business Schools to accelerate their response to trends in postgraduate education, from ramping up virtual delivery to redefining pricing models, Other, newer entrants, such as Coursera and Udacity, which also offer learning content for professionals, quickly accelerated their digital business during the pandemic to enhance content and access to their online offerings. These forward-looking institutions enjoyed a surge in enrolment and profits as campus-based learning became less practical (and less desirable). Other providers offering more general learning through MOOCs and podcasts also gained traction, although without equivalent certifications. But for most Business Schools – including London Business School (LBS), where I work – the pandemic forced us to accelerate change by adding new ‘digital assets’ to Zoom and Teams-based faculty sessions, layering in more intermodular coaching and application work, and increasing the frequency of virtual lectures to maintain the pace of learning. LSE, INSEAD and other global Business Schools made similar adjustments, but again student feedback has been mixed. A case in point appeared in the lawsuits filed against dozens of Business Schools, including Harvard, in 2020 as students sought refunds for the shift to online teaching. As an article on these lawsuits in Forbes surmised, much of the perceived value of Business Schools lay in live interactions with faculty, access to School resources, learning that occurs with peers both inside and outside the classroom, and valuable networking. But a significant and unexpected consequence of the pandemic was also a hiatus that gave students an opportunity to revise their expectations of what Business Schools really offer.
The outcome is creating a direct challenge to traditional educational models. What is changing? The new normal has prompted many of us to question fundamentals about our personal lives, professional choices and business models. For Business Schools and postgraduate education, this acted as an accelerator to educational megatrends that had bubbled in the background for years. Recent demands for change by students at one such institution (LBS) include those in the table below.
The types of change demanded by today’s students
• ‘Customised solutions’ for education content and style, with less classroom time
• ‘Smart hybrid’ that more directly optimises mixed physical and virtual learning
• ‘Digital assets’ that leverage technology via self-directed learning and platforms
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• ‘Flex-learning’ that adds dialogue, group-work and application to traditional lessons
• ‘Cross-learning’ that mixes learner cohorts for greater sharing and impact
• ‘Strategic ROI’ requiring development dollars to now drive real business outcomes
Surveying our networks in other Business Schools, from Harvard to INSEAD and Singapore Management University, as well as learning organisations like Korn Ferry, the Center for Creative Leadership or the NTL Institute, this familiar pattern is being echoed everywhere. This is sending a clear message to Business Schools to ‘up their game’, despite their historical legitimacy and reputations. Educators ignore these demands at their peril. Implications for Business School leaders and faculty But what does this mean for educators and how can they meet these emerging needs in practice? It starts with Business Schools redefining their value
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