This Major MBA Program Is Prioritizing Flexibility for Full-Time Students
Credit: Jeremy Hogan / Stockbyte Unreleased / Getty Images- Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business is revamping its MBA program to let full-time students choose how they finish their degree.
- The new Kelley Full-Time +Flex MBA Program will feature an in-person cohort for its first year, followed by flexible options for students in their second year.
- The push for flexibility comes as students increasingly want flexible MBA options.
- Students increasingly want both the flexibility of online options and the networking and real-world learning opportunities of an in-person program.
Master of business administration (MBA) students want the best of both worlds when it comes to in-person and online learning — and a major business school is giving its full-time students more options when it comes to flexibility.
Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business is revamping its MBA program to let full-time students choose how they finish their degree. The new Kelley Full-Time +Flex MBA Program will feature an in-person cohort for its first year, followed by flexible options for students in their second year.
Students will be able to choose whether to continue on campus or finish their degree online, according to a press release from the school.
Kelley Dean Ash Soni said the program represents a “first-of-its-kind flexible option that meets the needs of our students.”
Offering strong online options for students is nothing new for Kelley. The school’s Kelley Direct online MBA program regularly ranks at the top of national online MBA programs and has earned the school a reputation for innovation in online education.
“We’re leveraging our reputation as an innovator in business education with what we’ve learned over the last quarter century in delivering Kelley Direct, the No. 1 online MBA program,” Soni said in the release. “We think students will appreciate being fully immersed in our in-residence program and its benefits, but also having more choices as they pursue their career goals.”
John D. Hill, faculty chair of the Full Time +Flex MBA Program, said in the release that the program is ideal for students who want to pursue a full-time MBA program with in-person elements but need flexibility due to family obligations or work commitments.
“For prospective students, the choice of MBA has been between an immersive full-time MBA experience or the convenience of an online program,” Hill said.
“This program offers the unique Kelley full-time MBA experience, including our integrated core classes, academies, global experiences, and professional development support, while giving students the choice of completing the degree from anywhere.
Hill noted that student needs have changed. Online business education was already on the rise before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has surged in the years since.
Recent studies have shown that students want both the flexibility offered by a hybrid or online education as well as the strong networking and real-world opportunities offered by an in-person program.
The 2024 Tomorrow’s MBA report from the consulting firm CarringtonCrisp found that hybrid learning was in high demand, with report author Andrew Crisp telling BestColleges that students want “the best of both worlds.”
“People want the flexibility that online study provides them whether that’s synchronous or asynchronous, and they want the face-to-face to give them the experience, and to give them the networking more than anything else,” Crisp said in a previous interview.
A previous Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) report likewise found that hybrid graduate business students still want in-person options. Many candidates who want an online business degree still don’t believe the program will be as valuable as an in-person program, according to the GMAC’s 2024 Prospective Students Survey.
That report found that most hybrid students want a substantial portion of their learning time to be in person.
“Most hybrid candidates want to spend half or more of their class time in person and the rest online,” the report reads.
“Among different degree types, hybrid professional MBA and business master’s candidates are more open to online delivery compared to hybrid full-time MBA candidates.”
A growing number of business schools have adopted flexible and online options for students in recent years.
Washington University in St. Louis’ Olin Business School debuted a new Flex MBA program this fall aimed at working professionals, allowing students both online and in-person options.
“The demand for flexible part-time graduate degree programs has skyrocketed in recent years,” Andrew Knight, Olin vice dean for education and globalization, said in a release at the time.
Kelley’s new Full Time +Flex MBA program is unique in that it will feature full-time, in-person instruction at its Bloomington campus for its first year for all students, followed by flexible and hybrid options the second year.
“Student needs have evolved in recent years, and this is an opportunity to provide the experience they need with fewer compromises,” Hill said in the press release.