The Case Against Online MBAs
When the BNET Intercom asked readers if they'd consider getting an MBA online several weeks ago, the poll revealed that 29 percent of respondents thought it sounded like a great idea, while 40 percent would consider a web-based program as long as it was from an accredited university. Tech-savvy and hard-pressed by the dismal job market, younger workers might be tempted to take this route, but the evolution of online learning isn't acclaimed by all, and not just for the usual reasons of networking or the value of hands-on interaction. On NPR's Marketplace recently, Tyler Cowen, an economics professor at George Mason University and one of my favorite bloggers, says online education faces another problem: the placebo effect.
Placebos apply to a lot of other areas and that includes higher education. Schooling works in large part because it makes people feel they've been transformed. Think about it: college graduates earn a lot more than non-graduates, but studying Walt Whitman rarely gets people a job. In reality, the students are jumping through lots of hoops and acquiring a new self-identity.
The educators and the administrators stage a kind of "theater" to convince students that they now belong to an elite group of higher earners. If students believe this story, many of them will then live it. Colleges therefore are very concerned with prestige, status, and yes, pretense. That means thick syllabi, famous professors, and an impressive graduation ceremony.
Online instruction will never take over from traditional colleges and universities. In the armed forces, part of "making Marines" is that the soldiers feel they suffered to get there. So, effective higher education probably won't ever be cheap or easy.MBAs are certainly more directly relevant to many career paths than Walt Whitman, but there is a certain truth to the idea that struggling through school transforms and strengthens our sense of self as much as it gives us useful information and ideas. One could argue, though, that we pay for education to convince not just ourselves, but also potential employers that we're worthy, and if these degrees are accepted by employers, online programs could do that just as well as traditional ones. Do you think Cowen is on to something?