• 54% of employers consider graduates of online and in-person degrees as equally valuable
• Employers from the US were least likely to view graduates from both degrees as equal
• These findings come from Graduate Management Admission Council’s (GMAC’s) Corporate Recruiters Survey.

The shift to working – and learning – from home, partly due to COVID, our changing work practices, and the technological boom we have seen in recent years, has made global business education much more accessible to the masses.

More and more business schools see the value of online education, and therefore, more are providing online courses. In fact, you’d find a business school without any online (or at least hybrid) programmes difficult to come by nowadays. These programmes allow more applicants from all around the world, likely with greater commitments and responsibilities, to have the chance to gain a business education. Accessibility has drastically increased.

During the year of 2020, the only way to secure an MBA was online, but a few years on we now see a balancing act of online vs in-person when it comes to business programmes.

Online vs in-person MBA programmes

Today, many schools offer both online and in-person MBA programmes, and some offer hybrid programmes. Though there may be differences in networking, the location you live, and whether or not you meet colleagues and professors in-person, the content of a programme does not vastly differ between online vs in-person.

Therefore, if online and in-person MBA graduates are consuming the same content and developing the same skill sets, then surely graduates of either programme are viewed equally in the careers market post-study? Well, that does not appear to be the case according to research by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

The reseach found that just 54% of employers consider graduates of online and in-person programmes to be equally valuable, as part of their Corporate Recruiters survey.

The Corporate Recruiters Survey provides annual insights on hiring trends and skill demands, with the latest report focusing on future workplace skills employers see as growing in importance, as well as how current global trends are affecting hiring decisions worldwide. The report surveys leading global firms, with over half of the sample of employers coming from Fortune 500 companies.

Employers prefer in-person MBAs

Employers worldwide are showing a growing preference towards graduates of in-person MBAs over online MBAs. The study found that, compared to last year, employers are actually less likely to view graduates of online and in-person programmes equally in their organisation. 

Indeed, nearly two-thirds of employers (66%) also reported talent from in-person programmes to have stronger leadership, communication, and technical skills than those from online programmes. This comes as more and more universities and schools are offering hybrid or online alternatives to in-person teaching.

“As time moves further and further away from the Covid and lockdown era, we’re seeing a small increase in favour of in-person programmes by employers worldwide, especially in the US”, says Europe Regional Director at GMAC, Nalisha Patel.

She said: “It’s not that a vast majority of employers see online programmes as a worse education experience for graduates, the preference overall is only slightly higher in favour of in-person programmes.

“But employers have a perception of graduates, one where the in-person candidate has stronger business acumen than the online candidate where they know the delivery format. Of course, there is a significant portion of people who have graduated from traditional in-person programmes having studied all or some of that online because of the pandemic, and that’s a nuance to remember here.”

How do employer views differ around the world?

Employers from Asia and the United States differ from the global average in several aspects. Central or South Asian employers (90%) and East and Southeast Asian employers (71%) believe that online and in-person degrees hold equal value.

However, approximately 75% of employers from both regions place higher value on in-person graduates’ leadership, communication, and technical skills compared to online graduates.

In contrast, only 27% of U.S. employers value both types of degrees equally, which is 2% lower than last year. Although U.S. employers generally prioritise in-person degrees, only 43% believe that in-person graduates have better technical skills than online graduates.

Consulting firms tend to have a similar perception to the US. Only 32% of consulting employers view online and in-person degrees equally, and fewer than half say in-person graduates bring more technical skills to their work than online graduates.

Other findings in the report highlight communication, data analysis, and strategy expertise as the most essential skills for graduates according to surveyed employers. They anticipate that these proficiencies will gain even greater significance in the future, which is characterised by increased global connectivity through even more diverse mediums than at present.

As a result, multilingualism, active listening, and cross-cultural competence are also underlined by surveyed employers to become increasingly indispensable over the next five years.

The report highlights an opportunity for business schools and graduates to convey their transferable skills to employers, and address where employers may have doubts regarding online programmes.

By, Peter Remon

Interested in this topic? You might also like this…