Predicting the future of business education – the challenge of change

Interestingly, it is not the pandemic but too much bureaucracy to comply with internally and externally that is likely to be the greatest barrier to success for business schools in the next ten years.  Bureaucracy is seen as a problem by 73% of respondents while the impact of COVID-19 is highlighted by only 38% of those taking the survey.  Nevertheless, for those 38% the impact may be as significant as school closures leading to lost opportunities for students and lost jobs for staff.

Four further barriers are highlighted by more than 1 in 5 of the respondents:

• Poor access to resources to help us develop new business models (27%)
• Lack of engagement with employers to support new programme development (27%)
• Too few suitably qualified faculty (21%)
• Insufficient time to develop new approaches to learning (21%)

Respondents are clear that the future will mean new programmes delivered in new ways, but are uncertain whether they will have the resources, staff or time to develop these courses.  Many have rushed to move programmes from campus delivery to online in recent months, but are aware that so much more could be done and may have to be done with the technology already available and likely to be on offer in the coming years.

While the pandemic has forced business schools to rapidly introduce digital delivery for their teaching, for some schools it has been little more than a sticking plaster rather than a comprehensive and engaging digital experience. In recent years, CEEMAN through its EdTech has provided advice and support for schools seeking to digitally transform their offer and in 2021 will focus on how to take the next steps beyond the pandemic response.

So where do business schools already see opportunities and where do those charged with developing new programmes get their inspiration?

Three areas stand out for schools in the next decade – working with partners outside higher education to deliver new learning opportunities, chosen by 65% of the survey respondents, building stronger international partnerships to deliver programmes (63%) and growing our online/digital provision (60%). 

Digital provision will not be a surprise, but a focus on international partnership when so much international travel has been curtailed in recent months will have been less expected.  Schools may be looking for partners who can add capacity or skills in certain fields that they do not have themselves and there may be a need to look internationally for such resources.  Similarly, schools may recognize that higher education capacity remains limited in some parts of the world and consequently, there remains a demand for international provision to meet local demand in some places.

The search for expertise may also lie behind the interest in building partnerships outside higher education.  Many firms, especially those backed by technology, have entered the higher education space in recent years and are seeking partners to grow their business.  Some, of course, are competitors for traditional campus-based providers, but business schools often have strong brand reputations which others are keen to leverage to help grow their offer.

Perhaps not surprisingly the main source of new ideas and inspiration for programmes at a business school are other business schools, identified by 40% of the respondents.  Taking an idea that has been successful elsewhere and introducing it to another school makes sense, especially if it is backed by some local audience research; 35% of respondents found ideas and inspiration from research of the business education marketplace.

Continue reading at http://www.ceeman.org/news/predicting-the-future-of-business-education-the-challenge-of-change