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全球經(jīng)濟危機的沖擊波使許多商學院進入了困難時期，盡管如此，在線MBA課程的數(shù)量卻在增加中。

Since 2009-10, the number of schools offering onlineMBAs has increased by a quarter, according tofigures from AACSB International, the accreditationbody. By 2013-14, online degrees accounted for 11per cent of the total.

根據(jù)認證機構(gòu)國際商學院促進協(xié)會(AACSB International)的數(shù)據(jù)，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(shù)量占總MBA課程數(shù)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(yè)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，是為了兼顧他們的工作生活和學業(yè)。”

Robert Monroe, director of the online MBA at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie MellonUniversity (CMU), says there is only one fundamental difference between its online andcampus-based students. The former are “working professionals”, many have families.

卡內(nèi)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(qū)別，那就是前者為“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 withoutit being excessive.”

門羅說：“對于學校來說，必須了解職場人士能應付多少課程，而不覺得課業(yè)過于繁重。”

Advances in technology allow some courses to recreate interactive campus learning through livevideo classroom sessions. CMU’s online MBA and the MBA@UNC from the University of NorthCarolina’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(xiàn)校園學習的互動氛圍?？▋?nèi)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(yōu)秀在線課程所提供的互動氛圍，吸引著與在校MBA學生同等素質(zhì)的學員，而且這兩類學生現(xiàn)在“驚人相似”。

This view is echoed by Professor Idalene Kesner, dean of Indiana University’s Kelley School ofBusiness. 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(IdaleneKesner)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里獲得升職的、較為年長的學生，但現(xiàn)在“我們開始看到(學生的)年齡以及職業(yè)經(jīng)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，就讀于凱萊商學院全日制MBA的學生平均有四到五年的工作經(jīng)驗，而那些在線學生則為六到七年。

Caroline Bussenius, a student on the Kelley online masters of strategic management, runs astart-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(zhàn)略管理碩士在線課程的一名學生，她運營著一家初創(chuàng)企業(yè)，需要彈性的學習時間。她說：“我意識到傳統(tǒng)的在校課程不適合我。”

While the Kelley MBA includes live online sessions, they are not mandatory, and can beaccessed 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，而且可以過后再上。

Despite the global reach of online MBAs, figures from the Graduate Management AdmissionCouncil, which runs the standard entry GMAT exam, show 87 per cent of test-takers sendingscores to online and distance MBA degrees in 2014 were from the US.

盡管在線MBA課程能夠覆蓋全球，但根據(jù)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(shù)據(jù)，2014年向在線及遠程MBA學位課程發(fā)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(qū)阻礙，無法進行常規(guī)課程互動，但他補充道：“隨著縮小時差技術(shù)的提高，我們可以開啟全球課堂。”

Financial barriers can remain. Fees for an online MBA at a top school are often comparable withcampus costs. Tuition fees for CMU’s online MBA, for example, are $45,000 in 2015-16, whilefull-time campus students will pay $60,000.

經(jīng)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(nèi)基梅隆大學在線MBA學費為4.5萬美元，而全日制在校生的學費則為6萬美元。

Scholarships are widely offered by leading schools, however, and online delivery of MBAs iswidening the potential catchment for sponsored students, says Gayle Allard, a professor at IEBusiness School in Spain.

不過名校會提供大量獎學金名額，西班牙企業(yè)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范圍。

Prof Allard says online delivery is having a democratising impact on the studentdemographic. “We can now offer scholarships to people who could never afford to live inMadrid.”

阿拉德表示，在線學位正對學生的人口分布產(chǎn)生民主化影響。他說：“對于那些可能永遠負擔不起馬德里生活成本的人，我們現(xiàn)在也能向他們提供獎學金了。”