BGA | BUSINESS IMPACT
Nicola Dandridge, concluded that while online learning provides some benefits, face-to-face teaching is equally, and if not more, important for students. Dissatisfaction is noticeably more pronounced in the UK, where tuition fees for university education are now the highest among the world’s most influential countries. However, students elsewhere in Europe also believe that the value for money at their universities has decreased over the course of the pandemic, to date. One business administration student in Germany described, on EDUopinions, how their course content has decreased because of the pandemic, adding to other issues including a lack of communication and disorganised staff. How can institutions adapt? From these trends, it’s clear that demands are shifting. Students want greater access to education through technology, to be better prepared for the jobs market, and to get more out of their tuition fees. But what does this all mean for universities and Business Schools? While we’re not yet at the stage where universities are set to decrease tuition fees for courses that mainly take place online, it’s true that more needs to be done to improve the value for money of bachelor’s degrees. We don’t yet know the future disruption that Covid-19 could bring, and universities need to be prepared for future bouts of online learning. This is especially true for business degrees, in which elements of in-person networking and group learning that often rely on a campus presence are crucial. Investment in more advanced education technology that can allow Business Schools to come closer to replicating real-world events online is therefore important. Outside the trends investigated here, students are also increasingly seeing the value in having diverse voices in the classroom – and online learning is a valuable tool to accelerate diversity in the classroom. While the switch to digital tools over the pandemic has had some teething issues, many students have welcomed the greater access to education that this has brought. In particular, disabled students have applauded long-awaited progress in flexibility and online learning. Now, many are hoping that digital tools remain a permanent feature of university life. For those who struggle to make it to on-campus lessons – because of health concerns or other constraints on their time, like work or caring responsibilities – online learning has been a blessing. To further improve access to education, it’s clear that universities should continue investing in online tools, and improving the flexibility of their bachelor’s degrees. This could mean introducing more part-time programmes, or simply broadening course availability so that some modules can be taken online while others remain tied to in-person teaching. However, improving accessibility is useless without also improving student support. In one EDUopinions review, a student in the Netherlands lamented that attendance policies did not accommodate those who felt uncomfortable returning to campus, yet at the same time it was impossible to obtain disability support or reasonable accommodation. As long as universities continue with a hybrid learning model but fail to support students who need more access to online resources, they won’t be offering students exactly what they want and need.
In terms of course content, it’s also obvious that bachelor’s degrees need to do more to encourage soft skills acquisition, as well as the technical skills required. Universities and Business Schools have always had a duty to prepare students for the outside world, but this has never before been tested in such a volatile economic period. Improved employability resources could encompass an increase in compulsory careers sessions starting from the first year of every bachelor’s degree, plus an increase in recruitment fairs, both on-campus and online. However, it may also be that bachelor’s degrees introduce additional modules on employability in the form, perhaps, of employment workshops and additional activities to improve soft skills. This level of preparing for employment is already available on many MBA courses, where students often complete a mandatory leadership or soft skills module. Introducing this to more programmes at the undergraduate level would go some way to preparing students for the future jobs market, no matter how unpredictable the economy might be when they graduate. The future of bachelor’s degrees in business In the future, it’s clear that bachelor’s degrees are more likely to occupy a hybrid space – partly on-campus, and partly online. Tools like online discussion boards could help to keep students up to date even where they’re not at university, while the increased use of videoconferencing tools will also improve access to global conferences and other international opportunities, meaning a student’s experiences are no longer limited to the country they are in. Bachelor’s degrees may also feature additional courses on employability to secure job prospects. The changes in student demands also represent an opportunity for Business Schools to become more accessible and make university education more egalitarian. Make online learning a mainstay of bachelor’s degrees and you also offer opportunities to students who would otherwise not be able to make it onto a full-time campus programme, further diversifying the classroom. Introducing more mandatory employability sessions can also contribute to boosting social mobility by helping disadvantaged students into high-earning careers. A change in student priorities does not need to be seen as the death of the traditional bachelor’s degree, but as an opportunity for innovation and change.
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Jordi Robert-Ribes is CEO at EDUopinions. He created EDUopinions, the verified reviews platform, to help students find the higher education institution that best fits their needs. Jordi has lectured at various Business Schools and universities and holds a PhD in telecommunications engineering as well as a graduate diploma in finance management.
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