In a time of flux, AMBA asked current MBA students what they thought of their programmes and the Business School experience as a whole to date, from admissions processes and teaching quality to careers support and value for money. By David Woods-Hale
How have students been managing to balance their studies and other commitments, in the face of Covid-19 and its impact on business education?
The third part of AMBA’s International MBA Survey sought to examine the opinions of current MBA students against the backdrop of the ‘new normal’ caused by the pandemic. Topics covered include their perceptions of business education, their reasons for deciding to complete an MBA, their aspirations, and their feedback on a variety of Business School facets, from programme design, recruitment and admissions, to onboarding, teaching quality and careers advice.
Parts one and two of AMBA’s International MBA Survey research series focused on the employability of MBA graduates and MBA career trajectories. Among employers, the research found confidence that Business Schools are producing MBAs with mindsets focused on maximising profit (42% thought Schools are producing ‘a great deal’ of MBAs focused on this); and 49% thought Business Schools were producing a great deal of MBAs with an international outlook. However, in spite of these encouraging findings, employers also revealed their worries about the recruitment landscape of tomorrow. There was an overwhelming lack of confidence in the future of both global and local economies, with most survey participants taking a conservative – and in some cases pessimistic – view on their plans for the coming months and years.
With volatility caused by geopolitical issues set to continue and even exacerbate challenges in the recruitment market, future trends on MBA recruitment figures are hard to predict. But how are these issues impacting on current students? And how would current students rate their Business School and MBA experiences?
Part three’s results showcase a discerning – and sometimes critical – group of students, with a shared passion for lifelong learning; but with a diverse set of views around their own ambitions and how their Business Schools can – and should – be supporting them on the path to their aspirations.
The decision-making process
MBA students were asked to share their main reasons for wishing to complete an MBA. The most popular reason (cited by 70% of the sample) was ‘to acquire more skills and knowledge about the business world’; this was followed closely by ‘to expand my area of expertise’ (cited by 69%).
The next most frequently cited reasons for completing an MBA included ‘to get a broader understanding of how business should be managed’ (53%); ‘to change career’ (51%); and ‘to help differentiate myself in the job market’ (49%). Fewer participants cited reasons such as ‘to learn how to run an ethically sound business’ (20%); and ‘to earn more money in the short term’ (12%).
The participant pool is roughly evenly split in terms of whether they had chosen to study at home or abroad, with 43% saying the programme they had chosen was based outside of their country of origin; and 55% saying it was based in their own country. Just under a third (31%) travelled abroad to enrol onto their course; and 68% stayed in their native country.
Students who had made the decision to study abroad, were asked for their reasons for choosing the countries in which they were studying at the time of completing the survey. The reason cited by the largest proportion of students for choosing a country in which to study is the academic reputation of the country (cited by 40% of students as the main reason they decided to study where they did).
Just over a quarter (26%) of respondents chose the country they did because the programme they wanted wasn’t available anywhere else, and 21% were attracted to the country they chose because of its culture. Just over one in five (21%) had other reasons for choosing their country of study. Some of the most common answers in this pool included cost of the programme, work and career commitments, and personal and family constraints.
Students were asked how many MBA programmes they had applied for and how many offers they received. About six out of 10 (60%) applied for just one programme; 18% applied for two and about 16% applied for three or more. Just under 5% were not required to apply for any programmes as they had already been offered a place at the Business School of their choice. The number of offers received was largely in line with the number of applications made, with 60% receiving one offer; 21% receiving two; and 16% receiving three or more.
The survey moved on to ask students to explain their reasons for choosing a particular programme. More than six out of 10 (61%) said it was the ranking of the MBA programme that led to their decision. Other popular answers included the reputation of the programme among businesses (cited by 50% of students); the quality of teaching (38%); and the way the programme is delivered (38%).
Student experience
The next section of the survey sought to ascertain students’ perspectives on various aspects of their Business School experience, including the application process, onboarding, careers support, course design and delivery, and accommodation.
The first question of this section polled participants on the application process. Encouragingly, current students are largely positive about their application experience. Almost three quarters (71%) said open days attended were ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’; 71% said information about the programme was ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’; 75% said information about the country was ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’; 70% said the entrance exam process was ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’; 71% rated communications from the School as ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’; and two thirds (66%) said communications with current students to candidates was ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’. In saying that, 43% believe that the application process could have been improved at their School, with only 29% saying that they didn’t think it could be improved.
In terms of onboarding, students are again positive about their experience, with 74% saying their onboarding experience had been ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’. However, 53% said that their onboarding experience could have been improved. Half (50%) of participants said the onboarding process at their Schools could have been improved with more information about how programmes work in practice. Other areas in the onboarding process participants think could be improved included the direct interaction they had with Business School staff (cited by 34% of participants); functional information to enable them to start studying (e.g. passwords, provision of software, provision of learning materials) (30%); and information about how the Business School operates (29%).
When prompted to suggest other enhancements that could improve onboarding, participants’ ideas included: buddy programmes; guest lectures from students/alumni during induction week; and more detailed information about work-life balance while studying.
Work-life balance
According to the results, 66% of students surveyed were working full time, 12% were working part time and 23% were not working while completing their MBA. Of those continuing to work, 72% were doing so because of a need to financially support the costs of taking an MBA ; 50% needed to support dependents; and 48% believed the work experience complements their MBA.
While a large proportion of participants had chosen to work and study simultaneously, 91% of these people conceded that this is ‘very challenging’ or ‘fairly challenging’.
Seven out of 10 (70%) student participants were living in their own homes, alone or with family while studying. Just under one in 10 (9%) of respondents were living in Business School accommodation; 8% were with living with siblings or parents; and 7% were sharing with other students. Almost nine out of 10 (87%) of this group agreed that their chosen type of accommodation suited their needs ‘very well’ or ‘fairly well’.
Expectations vs. reality
The survey then moved on to explore participants’ impressions of their course experience overall looking at various aspects from pedagogy and course design, to careers support.
Overall, 51% of students that took part in the research said that, at the time of completing the survey, the MBA experience was exceeding their expectations. A third (33%) said the experience met with their expectations; and 16% admitted it had fallen short of their expectations.
Given that popular decision factors for completing the MBA among the sample included the desire to change career, the survey moved on to ask participants if they were engaging with the careers support at their Business Schools in order to help them achieve their career goals following the completion of their MBA. The results were mixed, with 48% of respondents saying they were engaging with careers support at Business School and 49% saying they were not. Just over 3% of respondents were not sure whether or not they were engaging the services of their School’s careers department.
For the 322 participants that said they were using their School’s careers service, the survey moved to find out how effective this service was in supporting them to achieve their goals. Participants are generally positive about the services and support they receive from their School’s careers teams.
Considering the advice they received in terms of job applications, CVs and interview preparation, 80% rated the service as either ‘excellent’, ‘very good’ or ‘fairly good’. Just under two thirds of the participants (65%) rated their School’s networking with employers as ‘excellent’, ‘very good’ or ‘fairly good’. Job search facilities were also received positively by the sample with 65% rating them as ‘excellent’, ‘very good’ or ‘fairly good’ at their Business School.
The study sought to ascertain the aspects and also course topics within the MBA programme that were of most interest to students. Developing business skills was the aspect of most interest to participants, with 81% of the sample citing this as such. This was followed by developing people management skills (cited by 68% of students as an aspect of interest in their MBA); learning from industry experts (62%); improving soft skills (61%); networking opportunities (59%); and learning from other students (59%).
Considering topics taught within MBA programmes, 57% of student participants said general management is of most interest to them. This was followed by global leadership (cited by 54%); strategic marketing (53%); finance (52%); strategy execution (52%); and global strategy (52%). Just 22% cited accounting as an area that interested them most and less than one in five (18%) were most interested in statistics.
Students were then asked to rate the quality of the teaching they had experienced on their course so far. A quarter (25%) rated their teaching as ‘excellent’; 43% said it is ‘very good’ and 24% said it is ‘fairly good’. Just 2% said that the quality of teaching has been ‘fairly poor’, ‘very poor’ or ‘terrible’ in their experience.
Value for money
The MBA represents a significant investment for students but, overall, survey participants agreed their MBA was delivering good value for money. Just under a third (32%) said it had provided ‘very good’ value for money; and 48% said it had provided ‘fairly good’ value for money. At the other end of the scale, 7% believed that the MBA was ‘fairly poor’ value, or ‘very poor’ value.
While students polled were positive about the MBA experience and the value for money, as outlined above, seven out of 10 survey participants (69%) believed that the delivery and/or content of their MBA programme could be improved.
Half of those who said improvements could be made (50%) thought there could be better opportunities to network (although the research was carried out at a period in time when most countries in the world were experiencing enforced lockdowns or travel quarantines due to Covid-19); 43% think partnerships with their Business Schools and corporates could be improved; and 43% suggested improvements around teaching modern business trends (such as AI and data).
Post-MBA planning
The final section of the questionnaire sought to investigate
how MBA students were considering their future and their plans
for after the completion of their studies.
More than half of those surveyed (54%) did not intend to return to the same job they held prior to undertaking their programme and 17% were not sure. Those who were not returning to the same job they held before completing their MBA were asked what their post-MBA plans were.
Three quarters (33%) of student survey participants were planning to move to a new company in the same sector in which they currently operate – but with a different job function – following the completion of their qualification; and conversely, a similar proportion (29%) were planning to move to a new company in a different sector with a similar job function. Just under one in 10 (9%) wanted to return to the same company and the same job role, but at a more senior level, when they complete their MBA; and 7% hoped to have a different role in the same company. An ambitious 16% had plans to launch their own business. Notably, 6% of participants still did not know what their post-MBA plans would be, at the time of completing the questionnaire.
More than half (55%) were making plans to stay in the country in which they are completing their MBA; and, while 24% were planning to move elsewhere, 21% were still not sure where the future will take them.
Of those that were choosing to stay in the country in which they completed their MBA, the largest proportion (39%) were doing so because it is their home country. A third (33%) rated the career opportunities in the country where they studied; 29% liked the social life in their country of study; 20% considered it ‘home’; and 12% had met their partner in their country of study.
Conclusion
The findings reveal that, for the most part, 2020’s MBA students were riding the chaos of the current global uncertainty and making the most of their unique MBA experience. A quarter (25%) rated their teaching as ‘excellent’; 43% said it was ‘very good’ and 24% said it was ‘fairly good’.
Considering the advice received in terms of job applications, CVs and interview preparation, 80% of students rated the services provided by their School’s careers team as ‘excellent’, ‘very good’, or ‘fairly good’. Two thirds of the participants (65%) rated their School’s networking with employers as ‘excellent’, ‘very good’, or ‘fairly good’.
Just under a third (32%) said the MBA had provided ‘very good’ value for money for them; and 48% said it had provided ‘fairly good’ value for money.
In saying that, a significant proportion of respondents were keen to put forward suggestions for improvements their Schools may want to consider. Seven out of 10 participants in the survey believe that the delivery and/or content of their MBA programme could be improved overall; more than half (53%) said that their onboarding experience could have been improved; and 43% said that the application process could be improved at their School.
Participants also recognise the work being done by their Schools to mitigate the challenges caused by social distancing and remote learning, with several remarking that the continuity arrangements were impressive, allowing them to still enjoy their experience, despite the effects of Covid-19 lockdowns, that were out of the hands of their Schools.
Overall, more than half (51%) said that the MBA experience was exceeding their expectations and a sizeable 84% said the MBA experience either met or exceeded their expectations so far.
Considering the ambitious and discerning nature of the participant pool overall, the results mean that Business Schools within the AMBA network should consider themselves to be succeeding in their delivery and their mission, in spite of global volatility.
Methodology and participant demographics
Between 27 March 2020 and 27 May 2020 AMBA & BGA conducted its largest-ever online survey of its 49,000 MBA student and graduate members, based in more than 150 countries. A total of 752 current MBA students completed the online questionnaire and shared their opinions on their current employment situation and their views and aspirations for the future.
Considering the sample of current MBA students, 65% are male and 34% are female. In terms of age, 3% are aged between 18 and 24; 43% are 25-34; 37% are 35-44; 14% are 45-54; 2% are 55-64; and less than 1% are aged 65+.
The survey was global in its scope. The region that was represented most frequently is Europe (excluding the UK), with 27% of student participants based in this region at the time of completing the survey. This is followed by the UK (16%); India (12%); Africa (13%); Asia and the Middle East (excluding India and China) (12%); Latin America (7%); North America and the Caribbean (7%); Oceania (4%); and China (including Hong Kong, China (1%).
Of the total sample of current students polled, 63% were working towards completing an MBA at the time of completing the survey; 30% were studying for an Executive MBA (EMBA); 2% were studying for DBAs; 1% were studying master’s in business management (MBM) programmes; and 3% were studying another course.
Just under half of participants (49%) were completing a part-time programme, while 32% were studying full time and 20% were on modular programmes (where lessons are taught in short blocks of intensive teaching). In terms of the duration of the qualification, more than two thirds of participants (67%) were completing their studies over two years; 14% over one year; and 10% over three years.
The student sample is mixed in terms of their management experience,
with just under a quarter each having 0-3 years (24%), 4-6 years (23%), and 7-10 years (21%) work experience. Just 7% of student participants had never worked in a management-related role prior to starting their MBA.
In instances when figures do not sum to 100% or to a combined sum, this is due to rounding.
