You can see from the list of names in the article why those schools are dropping on-campus programs. Some of them are prestigious institutions, but not for business:
- University of Iowa
- Wake Forest University
- Thunderbird School of Global Management
- Virginia Tech
- Simmons College
There aren't many people out there thinking, sure, I'll go into six-figure debt so my LinkedIn can say I have a Simmons College MBA. Simply put, if your on-campus MBA program isn't likely to result in a six-figure job right out of the gate, it's not worth the cost.
And those six-figure jobs only come about if big, rich companies (banks, big 4 consulting/audit, big tech) come on campus to hire MBAs. If yours is not a Top 15 MBA program, you may be better off career-wise by staying at your current job and pursuing professional certifications related to your field.
It's not that simple. Take the University of Iowa as an example. The full time MBA program has seen declining enrollment and has been steadily losing money.
Conversely the PMBA program has seen increased enrollment and profits and it can be difficult to get into classes wanted/needed to complete the degree.
If you are planning to stay in Iowa the network effects of the Iowa PMBA program are pretty strong. Many of your classmates will be in leadership roles within local area businesses that you may be considering moving to at some point. Often times the students are looking to take another step up, but are lacking skills that can be provided by the degree. In many of these situations the businesses agree with this as the businesses are frequently footing the bill for tuition either in part or in full.
Students within the full-time traditional MBA programs are typically younger with less or even no professional experience. PMBA students are generally experienced professionals that have already proven a certain level of success to an organization that are then learning skills that will help them bridge a gap.
- University of Iowa
- Wake Forest University
- Thunderbird School of Global Management
- Virginia Tech
- Simmons College
There aren't many people out there thinking, sure, I'll go into six-figure debt so my LinkedIn can say I have a Simmons College MBA. Simply put, if your on-campus MBA program isn't likely to result in a six-figure job right out of the gate, it's not worth the cost.
And those six-figure jobs only come about if big, rich companies (banks, big 4 consulting/audit, big tech) come on campus to hire MBAs. If yours is not a Top 15 MBA program, you may be better off career-wise by staying at your current job and pursuing professional certifications related to your field.