Technology has transformed almost every aspect of our world, and that includes MBA programs. While just a few years ago, the only way to earn an MBA was to attend classes in person, that’s drastically changing, even at top-tier schools. For example, just last year five more schools were added to the annual Financial Times Online MBA Ranking. Even more telling, enrollment in online programs rose on average 7 percent for the 15 schools in the 2016 ranking.
“Nearly everywhere you look, demand by students for online education has exceeded supply,” Matt Robb, managing director at Parthenon-EY—an education industry consultancy—told the Financial Times. “The question has never been whether there is a market but whether there is sufficient supply.”
Now, the Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, in partnership with 2U Inc., is joining the online revolution. Starting in 2018, the school plans to launch a new online MBA program called MBA@Rice.
MBA@Rice
Rice’s online MBA will be designed for working professionals who already have extensive experience in the corporate world. It will require MBA students and faculty to meet weekly in live, small-group online sessions. Students will also have access to pre-recorded interactive content as well as a few required on-campus and off-site experiences. These experiences will allow students to collaborate both online and in person, as needed, to further develop their leadership skills in a global and immersive context.
“Rice Business’ top priority is to deliver distinctive degree programs and groundbreaking research to impact businesses worldwide,” Peter Rodriguez, dean of the Jones Graduate School of Business, relayed in a press release. “Offering these degree programs will increasingly involve leveraging digital education, and we demanded a partner of the highest caliber. Through the new relationship with 2U, we have found that partner. Now working professionals across the country will have the opportunity to experience the same Rice MBA program we offer to our on-campus students without the need to relocate. We’re thrilled to partner with 2U to develop and deliver such an academically rigorous online MBA program.”
The MBA@Rice program still needs to be approved by the Rice Faculty Senate as well as Rice’s regional accrediting agency—the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges—but so far the program is on track. It already has strong approval from the Jones Graduate School of Business faculty as well as Rice University President David Leebron and Provost Marie Miranda.
The school’s goal is to offer the same rigorous MBA education through MBA@Rice as it does in its on-campus programs, but in a way that fits the ever-changing business landscape. Students will be able to complete the 54-credit curriculum in as few as 24 months.
“We’re excited that the Jones Graduate School of Business plans to offer Rice University’s first online blended degree program,” Leebron said in the release. “The Jones School faculty rightly insisted the highest standards be applied to this program, and we believe it will make an outstanding business education available to a larger number of talented students around the world.”
About the Jones Graduate School MBA Program
The Rice Business on-campus MBA program is one of the largest in Houston and one of the leading programs in the nation. Last fall, it enrolled 655 students and was ranked eighth in the nation by Bloomberg BusinessWeek. The Jones School was also ranked highly as a graduate school, tied with two other schools for the 29th place in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools” ranking.
The new MBA@Rice program will join the school’s three other MBA programs, which include the full-time Rice Business MBA, the Rice Business MBA for Executives, and the Rice Business MBA for Professionals. No matter the program that students choose, they will be taught the same core business fundamentals and specialized applied topics by the same nationally recognized team of professors.
About 2U, Inc.
2U is a digital education platform that partners with colleges and universities to provide a comprehensive fusion of technology, services, and data architecture. Its goal is to help programs transform their high-quality, on-campus experience into a digital version. “2U’s No Back Row® approach allows qualified students and working professionals around the world to experience a first-rate university education and successful outcomes,” explains 2U.com.