Share this article on...
Contact Us
- Report errors or inaccuracies topmba@qsnetwork.com
- Contribute articles contribute@qsnetwork.com
- Advertise advertise@qsnetwork.com
Distance Learning Needn’t be a Lonely Experience
Paul Walley, Academic Director of the Warwick Distance Learning MBA, and Associate Professor of Operations Management
The distance-learning MBA, sometimes incorrectly called the online MBA, is becoming increasingly sought after and top business schools are responding by incorporating them into their programs. For some candidates and faculty, networking and team-building campus-based MBAs are an essential reason to attend business school. They suggest that a distance-learning MBA cannot offer that deep level of personal contact; others argue that this is not the case at all. However this needn’t be the case at all. Paul Walley, Academic Director of the Warwick Distance Learning MBA, and Associate Professor of Operations Management, argues the case.
I can remember the first time I got involved in working with a distance-learning MBA course, many years ago. At the time, each student received the usual weighty pack of books and teaching notes. Assignments had to be completed and attached to a cover note made of four sheets of carbon paper (remember that?) and sent out in the post. How times have changed. Now that the Internet has made communication faster and more reliable, this has opened up a vast array of opportunities for students to communicate more effectively with faculty and, perhaps more importantly, with each other.
No matter how good the content of the course you intend to embark upon, one of the most significant aspects of completing the MBA is the opportunity to develop team-working skills and networking opportunities with your peers. Full-time students benefit immediately from making new friendships and business acquaintances when they are studying. However, many distance-learning students report to us that their own part-time study has allowed existing work relationships and networks to be maintained. The importance of networking depends on individual needs, such as whether or not you are using the MBA to switch careers. The ability to maintain existing social networks also provides the opportunity to help the learning process, such as teaming up with people you work with who may be studying a different MBA at the same time.
If networking and team-working are important elements of an MBA, can they be achieved when you are a distance-learning student? When you are considering a distance-learning MBA there are a number of questions you might want to ask of each course on your short-list:
1. What opportunities are there to meet up with fellow students?
Distance-learning students are usually allocated into study groups of 10-12 people. If you live in a major city, it is possible that your group will comprise of people nearest to you, opening the possibility of meeting up fairly regularly. Distance-learning programs can have a more diverse range of students. Good team-building creates team diversity and distance-learning study can exploit this advantage easily.
Most courses will offer some opportunity to meet your peers at weekend seminars or, in some cases, longer “summer schools”. These seminars are your best opportunity to network and develop your own less formal study groups with people you really want to work with. Some universities provide classes in locations away from their own campus, in places that are more convenient for the student population.
Along with meeting fellow distance-learning students, you might want to ask whether you can network with students from other learning delivery modes. Check whether or not you will be allowed to study some courses with full-time students or on intensive modular weeks. Courses vary tremendously in how flexible they are when allowing students to mix together and network.
2. If I live remotely, can I still work with other students?
The obvious advantage of full time study is the scheduled time for formal learning in lectures and syndicate groups. However, we must add that full-time students often emphasize the value of their additional “kitchen conversations”, where they informally discuss the work they are doing. Their close proximity facilitates a deeper understanding of the course materials through ad hoc help. Distance-learning courses need to replicate these situations as much as possible.
All distance-learning courses should offer some opportunity for group based self-help when studying. These days the most effective way to achieve this is via an Internet-based study group. For example, at Warwick we have message boards and discussion boards for every subject and assignment. This allows students to work with each other when trying to understand the more complex aspects of say, financial accounting or when finishing one of their assignments. We encourage students to post questions on topics they are struggling with: “I don’t understand figure 3.2 in the textbook. Can a non-academic explain it to me?” This allows the informal learning to occur.
In most cases there will also be “café and social” areas of the websites, where students can arrange meetings, develop business relationships or just talk about sport.
