远程MBA的诱惑

These are good times for distance learning. The technology is better, applications are on the increase and even the global economic uncertainty seems to be helping the sector. Furthermore, the technique is likely to become even more popular when today's teenagers – already familiar with multimedia delivery – move into the workplace and want an MBA. There are signs that distance learning, once merely one option among many, is becoming some students' first choice.

The cost of a full-time MBA – little change from $100,000 – might prompt a would-be student to think again about leaving the workplace in an economic recession to study full-time. But for online delivery, such considerations do not come into play. Many schools in recent months have reported increased enquiries for distance-learning programmes.

Technological advances mean more content can now be delivered online rapidly, flexibly and most importantly – cheaply. Meanwhile the growth of online social networking has led to virtual communities of MBA students able to interact from all over the globe.

This has enhanced not only the kudos of distance learning but also its familiarity. Once considered a viable alternative, now a distance learning MBA or a programme with a significant part of its delivery online is often a student's first choice.

Warwick Business School in the UK has offered distance learning for 20 years. Its MBA programme can be delivered full-time, part-time or via distance learning. Dean Howard Thomas says the school has seen applications soar for the distance learning option and currently has 2,000 online students.

Steve Allison, a technical evangelist at Adobe, the software company, predicts significant changes in online learning. With employees increasingly mobile and working in remote locations, individuals will rely far more on e-learning.

“With on-demand learning and instant access, the technology will allow you to push out all the information and it is then that you will get a change in the habit of learning,” he says.

He says Adobe has found one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the acceptance of new technology is a traditional mentality, with older people reluctant to use the latest IT. To counter this, Adobe tries to ensure its products are easy to use. A further barrier that can dissuade schools from fully embracing new technology is the expense, but Mr Allison says an outlay of £100,000 would ensure that a school is able to hold its own in online delivery.

For the end-user the cost of new technology is negligible. Clive Holtham, professor of information management at Cass Business School, London, is a strong proponent of online delivery.

“It is reliable, ubiquitous and incredibly cheap for the end-user, but what we have to consider is, ‘are we using [technology] in ways that enhance the student experience?'”

Prof Holtham believes this is certainly the case at Cass, where the latest technology enhances the learning experience of both the school's EMBA and modular MBA students. He says Cass has a policy to ensure it is at the leading edge of new technology. “The real pressure comes from students, if they want something they are very vocal.”

Students' use of online technology extends far beyond educational delivery. The MBA Tour, which provides educational events to MBA schools, has recently launched MBA Networking on Facebook, the social networking site.

MBA Networking was initially set up as a forum for would-be MBAs where they would be able to ask questions and receive advice, but the site has proved so popular that it has grown well beyond original expectations and includes discussions ranging from international education to internships and specialised programmes.

“MBA Network can reach out to people in professions who might not necessarily think there is something in an MBA for them,” says Peter Von Loesecke, chief executive officer of the MBA Tour.

With increased use of technology has come the demand for benchmarking. EFMD – the Brussels-based European Foundation for Management Development – and the Swiss Centre for Innovations in Learning jointly established the EFMD CEL quality scheme for management-development programme accreditation in 2004.

It focuses specifically on technology-enhanced learning and aims to disseminate good practice. So far it has accredited seven programmes, the most recent at the University of Liverpool in the UK. Universitas 21 Global, the online graduate school based in Singapore, has also been accredited.

At U21Global, applications have been rising year-on-year, says Helen Lange, dean of business management programmes. Established in 2001, the school has the backing of 20 research universities across 12 countries.

Ms Lange attributes the success of online courses to changes in the style of education, with a move away from teacher-centric to learner-centric study. As time management issues become more pressing, online delivery becomes increasingly viable. U21Global has seen rapid growth in Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines and is actively marketing in both India and the Middle East.

U21 also has its eyes on China, where Ms Lange expects a surge in interest over the next few years.

She believes distance learning numbers will continue to grow. “Traditional face-to-face education cannot meet the growing demand. Good-quality education is not able to get to a lot of places that need it. The demand is there now.”

One of the perennial criticisms of distance learning is that students miss out on social interaction, regarded as an essential component of the MBA experience. However, Ms Lange believes that this disadvantage is offset by the development of global management skills through online interaction.

“At U21Global, students from as many as 65 different countries have to interact virtually with each other,” says Ms Lange. “They are learning to deal with different cultures and languages, mentoring other members of the class. These virtual management skills are ... the development of soft skills in the virtual world.”

For Prof Holtham, online learning has a bright future, not only for teaching and learning, but also research.

Manchester Business School Worldwide agrees. It has launched the Manchester Global MBA aimed at the more experienced executive. It reflects the corporate workplace, blending individual research with face-to-face learning, online collaborative learning and virtual learning technologies.

“It is a convergence of lifestyle, working and learning,” says Nigel Banister, chief executive officer of MBSW.

While many would agree that online learning is the future of education, Ms Lange goes even further.

Having taught in a traditional classroom format for many years she admits she was sceptical that online education could offer as much as face-to-face teaching. However, having experienced e-learning first hand she has changed her mind. “Distance learning – when the pedagogy is right – I think that it is superior.”

When schools are entrenched in the face-to-face model, there is often so much invested in that model that it is not easy to change, she says. By comparison, distance learning has a flexibility that is hard to match.

With global economic uncertainty ahead, online learning – cheap, flexible and ubiquitous – would appear to be the solution for those who wish to learn while remaining in the workplace.

现在是远程学习的繁荣时期。技术更为先进，申请数量有所增加，甚至全球经济的不确定性似乎也有利于该领域的发展。另外，当如今十几岁的孩子——已熟悉多媒体内容——走入工作岗位，希望攻读MBA时，远程教育这一方式可能会变得更受欢迎。有迹象表明，曾经只是多种选择之一的远程学习，正变成一些学员的首选。

节省传统MBA近10万美元的费用

全日制MBA课程的成本——接近10万美元——可能会让想攻读MBA的学员三思，自己是否要在经济衰退期间离开工作岗位，攻读全日制MBA。但对于在线授课而言，几乎不用考虑这种问题。最近数月，许多学校表示，询问远程教育课程的人数在增加。

科技进步意味着更多内容能够迅速、灵活，而且最重要的是廉价地在网上提供。同时，在线社交网络的发展，能够让世界范围内的MBA学员虚拟群组实现互动。

这不仅提高了远程教育的声誉，也让它被更多的人所熟悉。远程教育MBA课程或在线授课占很大比例的MBA课程，曾被人视为一个可行的替代选择，如今却常常成为学员的第一选择。

英国华威商学院(Warwick Business School)提供远程教育已有20年时间。该校的MBA课程分为全日制课程、在职MBA，以及远程教育课程。该校院长霍华德•托马斯(Howard Thomas)表示，该校发现，远程学习申请大幅增加，目前该校有2000名在线学员。

软件公司Adobe技术专员史蒂夫•阿利森(Steve Allison)预测，在线学习将发生重大变革。由于员工流动性越来越高，且越来越多的员工远程工作，人们将更多依赖于电子学习。

他表示：“这种学习方法具有随需应变的特点，且能即刻开始学习，因此它将让你接触到所有的信息，到那时，你会改变自己的学习习惯。”

他表示，Adobe发现，接受这一新方法的最大障碍之一是传统思维，年龄较大的人不愿利用最新的信息科技(IT)。为了应对这一问题，Adobe努力确保其产品使用起来简单方便。另一个让学校不能完全接受这一新方法的障碍是费用问题，但阿利森表示，10万英镑的投资，将确保学校能够顺利推出像样的在线授课。

对于终端用户而言，这一新方法的成本可以忽略。伦敦卡斯商学院(Cass Business School)信息管理教授克莱夫• 霍萨姆(Clive Holtham)是在线授课的有力支持者。

“对于终端用户而言，它可信、无处不在、费用便宜得不可思议，但我们不得不考虑的是，‘我们运用科技的方式，是否增强学员们的学习体验？'”

霍萨姆教授认为，在卡斯商学院，肯定如此。在这里，最新科技增强了该校高管工商管理硕士(EMBA)和模块式MBA课程学员的学习体验。他表示，卡斯商学院有一个确保其处于最新科技前沿的政策。“真正的压力来自学员，如果他们希望得到什么，他们会大声表达出来。”

利用社交网站

学员对在线技术的利用远远超越了教育领域。为MBA商学院组织教育会展活动的MBA Tour最近在社交网站Facebook上创建了MBA Networking论坛。

MBA Networking最初是作为想攻读MBA用户的一个平台，他们可以在那里提问并接受建议，但事实证明，这个网站很受欢迎，它的增长速度远远超出最初的预期，用户讨论的内容包括从海外教育到实习和专业课程。

MBA Tour首席执行官彼得•范•勒泽克(Peter Von Loesecke)表示：“MBA Network能够触及不同职业的人，他们本来未必认为MBA课程中有什么适合他们的内容。”

随着使用这一教学方法的学校的增多，人们需要为此设定标准。2004年，位于布鲁塞尔的欧洲管理发展基金会(European Foundation for Management Development)和瑞士学习创新中心(Swiss Centre for Innovations in Learning)联合制定了EFMD CEL管理发展课程质量认证体系。

该体系专门关注技术增强型学习，以求发扬良好实践。迄今为止，该体系对7项课程进行了认证，最近是英国的利物浦大学(University of Liverpool)。新加坡在线研究生院U21高教在线(Universitas 21 Global)也得到了认证。

在U21高教在线，企业管理课程系主任海伦•兰格(Helen Lange)表示，申请数量逐年增加。创建于2001年的这家学院，得到了12个国家的20家研究型大学的支持。

兰格将在线课程的成功归因于教育方式的变化，人们的学习从以教师为中心转变为以学习者为中心。由于时间管理问题变得更为紧迫，在线授课也变得更具可行性。U21高教在线在新加坡、越南、马来西亚和菲律宾的发展很快，现正在印度和中东进行大力推广。

放眼中国

U21高教在线还把目光放在了中国。兰格预期，未来几年，中国在这方面的兴趣将大大提高。

她认为，远程学员的数量将继续增长。“传统的面对面教育不能满足日益增长的需求。高质量的教育无法提供到很多需要的地方。现在需求确实存在。”

一个长期存在的对远程教育的批评是，学员失去了社交互动的机会，这被视为MBA课程的一个重要部分。然而，兰格认为，通过在线互动，全球管理技能的发展会抵消这一劣势。

“在U21高教在线，来自多达65个不同国家的学员必须在虚拟世界进行互动，” 兰格表示，“他们在学习应对不同的文化和语言，同时指导课堂上的其他学员。这些虚拟管理技能是……虚拟世界软技能的发展。”

对于霍萨姆教授而言，在线学习拥有一个灿烂的未来，不仅对于授课和学习是这样，对于研究也是如此。

曼彻斯特大学环球商学院(Manchester Business School Worldwide)同意这点。该学院面向经验更为丰富的主管，推出了曼彻斯特全球MBA课程(Manchester Global MBA)。这反映出了企业环境，把个人研究与面对面学习、在线共同学习和虚拟学习方法结合在了一起。

曼彻斯特大学环球商学院首席执行官奈杰尔•巴尼斯特(Nigel Banister)表示：“这是生活方式、工作和学习的汇合。”

尽管许多人认为，在线学习代表着教育的未来，但兰格的想法更为深入。

“远程教学更好”

她承认，由于自己多年来进行传统课堂授课，因此她曾对在线教育能否提供与面对面授课同样多的内容表示怀疑。然而，在亲自体验了电子学习后，她改变了看法。“我认为远程学习——如果教学方法正确——更好。”

她表示，如果学校确立了面对面授课模式，那么投入通常很高，这种模式很难改变。相比之下，远程教育很灵活，面对面授课很难与之相比。

面对着全球经济的不确定性，在线学习——廉价、灵活且无处不在——似乎将成为那些希望在工作的同时攻读MBA的学员的一个解决方案。